The Lorax—3D Film Salutes Wilford Brimley

March 1, 2012, 11:00 am

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At last, the crusty old man with the brushy moustache receives his due.

Hats off to the Despicable Me creative team for figuring out a way, no matter how awkward, to pay homage to one of Hollywood’s most beloved character actors.

Adapted from a 1971 Dr. Seuss book, the CG Lorax follows the quest of 12-year-old Ted (Zac Efron) who is determined to win the affection of his older neighbor, Audrey (Taylor Swift). Ted leaves his town of Thneedville to find the fabled Trufflula Tree.


  

Once a thriving, colorful piece of vegetation shaped like a dust mop, the Truffula Trees are gone now. But they were once guarded by, you guessed it, an orange creature with a Wilford Brimley moustache called The Lorax.

Here’s where the wheels came off for me. Brimley, though aged, is still alive and would probably have agreed to voice the character. But for some reason director Chris Renaud chose Danny DeVito. And while DeVito did a perfectly serviceable job, the part cried out for Wilford’s gruff no-nonsense, plain talk, the kind that would shame you into buying and eating oatmeal.



Screenwriters Cinco Paul and Ken Daurio avoided the overt environmental message contained in the original Lorax.

Instead, a nuanced script describes how the overprotected Truffula Trees were allowed to grow too close together. Unable to be pruned with dead dry Truffula branches piling up, the forest was dry and brittle as an immense Triscuit.

I won’t spoil the film, but there is a scene with a Cat in a Hat leaning against a Truffula Tree and having trouble lighting a White Owl cigar.

Excellent job by Bruno Mahé as global technology supervisor. That is an enormous task when you consider how much technology there is in the world. Bruno certainly stays on top of things.

Three and a half stars. There would have been more, but just the sight of the Lorax’ moustache had me eating oatmeal again.

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A Message from Jonathan Ross and Bryan Hitch

March 1, 2012, 11:30 am

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TWICE AS MUCH AS MARVEL FOR A DOLLAR LESS.

Okay, that’s a bold statement and possibly contentious enough to get you to read this but it’s absolutely true.

AMERICA’S GOT POWERS launches in April from Image by us, (Bryan Hitch and Jonathan Ross). We told you a bit about it in January. What we hadn’t told you until now was that issue one has THIRTY-EIGHT pages of story and is still only $2.99.

Here’s why.

Bryan says: Since I started drawing Ultimates issue one in late 2001, I may have only delivered two or three 22 page books. I’ve always pushed the story either with additional visual material to underscore what’s been written or to pump action to the level we all wanted but would never have had the room for. So I just drew it the way it felt right to do so.

Go count the pages in each issue of Ultimates, Captan America: Reborn or FF. Not many 22 page issues. I got hell of course but my deal has always been that giving the story the best work it can have is the only deal that matters. I even did some pages for free to get them in the issues.

We have taken stuff out of AMERICA’S GOT POWERS issue one, moved it around and walked around the room whistling. It should have been a 22 page first issue but there were things we felt had to be there and those scenes needed to breath. The story needed to be told properly; it ALWAYS does. So we put it back in and told the story the way we wanted to. Thirty-eight pages of it!

Normally a book this size would be at least $3.99 but that didn’t seem fair to us. It was our decision to make the first issue this big and it’s not right to ask you guys to pay extra for it. We are proud of AMERICA’S GOT POWERS, insanely proud and we want to pass that on.

Big time.

We’re just another small business like many of the retailers and we believe completely in the story we’re trying to tell so instead of putting out a 20 page issue and asking you to pay $3.99 for it, we’re giving you nearly DOUBLE that for a dollar less.

It’s had a knock-on effect though. Initially we had intended to release issues one and two in the same month, a sort of double whammy to kick-start the book. We’ve changed that plan slightly as most of that material is now in a single 38-page issue rather than two separate books.

As a result issue two will move backwards slightly into May, issue three into June etc so our team doesn’t kill themselves providing this much awesome in a single month

So we ARE still releasing what we intended to in April; the same TWO ISSUES of story but now it’s in one book and only the price of a single. We’re giving you what we said we would but at half the price.

$2.99

Boom.

And, to emphasize that boom, here’s a sneak peek at a big boom in a cool two pager from the first massive double-sized issue of AMERICA’S GOT POWERS.

Did we mention it was 38 pages at $2.99? It’s also worth mentioning that we can’t guarantee any of the other issues won’t exceed 20 pages either. Though if they do, they’ll never exceed $2.99

Enjoy the pencils sneak peek. Over the next few days, we’re going to properly introduce you to our characters and the amazing world they live in along with loads of pencils and inks from the first issue to get you excited.

Jonathan and Bryan

The Symbolism and Biology of ATTACK THE BLOCK'S "The Attacker"

March 1, 2012, 12:00 pm

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The minute the monstrous beasts in the trailer for the film Attack the Block opened their jaws, revealing their neon green, glowing teeth surrounded by their pitch black bodies, I knew I was in for something special.

It then went on to spend its opening ten minutes telling me in bold, clear images that every major genre cliché was going to be ignored or toyed with in a very special way.

Its main leads are, after all, teenaged muggers who would be promptly devoured by any alien menace were they to be cast into Doctor Who.  Here, not only do they survive, but the result of their first encounter with one of the featured aliens has the kids beat it to death and carry off its corpse as a trophy. 
         

It proceeded to continue the fun from there.

And part of that fun, comes from the unique creature designs.
 
Symbolism of the Attacker

The beasts are never named in the film.  Usually, they are just called “the Aliens” or “big gorilla wolf motherfuckers.”  They speculate wildly about what the monsters could be.  Moses, the leader of the gang, thinks at one point that they’re government made. 

“No, I reckon yeah, I reckon, the Feds sent them anyway.  Government probably bred those things to kill black boys.  First they sent in drugs, then they sent guns and now they're sending monsters in to kill us. They don't care man.  We ain't killing each other fast enough. So they decided to speed up the process.”

It’s a fun peak into a bleak world view.  In truth, they’re just aliens (yeah, “just”).  Their true symbolism isn’t keeping one group of people down.  Instead, they are a modern incarnation of the Greek Furies. They are the consequences of actions taken in haste.

The boys kill the first monster to appear, and the other monsters spend the rest of the film hounding them—tracking the scent of the first monster on the boys.  These boys have been living in the now most of their lives, not really thinking things through or understanding the full consequences of their actions.  They sell weed to make money, they don’t really realize that other kids look up to them and try to be like them.  They mug a woman at the start of the film and only regret it later not due to some epiphany that threatening a person is a bad thing to do.  No, the wrong to them is that they mugged someone from the same block as they are.  They were on a dark path to becoming just another set of statistics, but this divine intervention forces them to change their ways of thinking. 

Well, they are from the heavens in some sense of the word.

Biology of the Attacker
The beasts travel from planet to planet in meteors.  Males following the scent of the female once they get on the surface.  Their method of travel and apparent breeding cycle brings to mind a quote from a British Sci-Fi author: Douglas Adams.

“Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind- bogglingly big it is. I mean, you may think it's a long way down the road to the chemist's, but that's just peanuts to space.”

Pretty much, compared to the vastness of space, such a breeding cycle and travel form for these creatures is ridiculously inefficient.  How they even get into their traveling meteors is unexplained.  With that as a base, it seems that even if they are alien, they are likely a form of bioweapon being used against earth. 

An inefficient bioweapon, but a bio-weapon nonetheless.

Physically, these monsters are totally blind.  They appear to rely on their sense of smell to track things long distance, and their constant noise making would also indicate that they are using echo location as well.  They have a physiology designed for climbing, with sharp, hooked claws and strong musculatures to support it.  They’re not spider-man, but definitely up there with Spider-monkeys, which for their mass and size is simply incredible.

One of the most interesting features about them I mentioned at the start of the article.

In the males are the blackest thing on a cinema screen and their teeth glow neon green.  The darkness likely acts as camouflage while they hunt.  The neon teeth would likely wise serve as a threat display to other animals, telling them how dangerous and powerful they are, or at the very least, shocking and disturbing any potential adversary. 

The apparent breeding cycle has a female secreting pheromones to attract potential suitors who then compete to get as close to her as possible. 

The seed for this is explicitly shown to the characters in a nature documentary and it is indeed used by insects and other animals as a mating strategy. 

It’s likely that they’d form a breeding ball like what is done with green tree frogs.





Really not a pleasant thought with those monsters in play.

CONTEST! Win TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON on DVD!

March 1, 2012, 12:30 pm

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Imagine, if you will, a book of awesome power. A book that will make your deepest, darkest desires come true… but at a horrifying cost. This is The Book of Pure Evil, and it’s loose in Crowley High, unleashing its dark power and filling the school hallways with monsters made of human fat and flesh-eating zombie rockers. Thankfully, four teenagers stand between The Book and the end of the world as we know it. And they will save our souls -- whether they like it or not. This February, join Entertainment One for TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL: THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON; just in time for the second season debut this March on FEARnet, the fan favorite series comes to twisted life in this splatter-tastic 2-disc set, filled with eye-popping extras and every quirky, unforgettable episode from Season One. Only TODD & THE BOOK OF PURE EVIL stands between the world and total destruction, so unleash the devilish hilarity today with THE COMPLETE FIRST SEASON!




And we're giving away three copies!

To enter, please send an email with the subject header "TODD" to geekcontest @ gmail dot com and answer the following question:

Todd & The Book Of Pure Evil co-stars Jason Mewes. How many times has Mewes portrayed "Jay" in View-Askew projects?

Please include your name and address (U.S. Residents only. You must be 18 years old).

Only one entry per person and a winner will be chosen at random.

Contest ends at 11:59 PM EST on March 25th, 2012.

Race Comedy And The Blerd Frontier

March 1, 2012, 1:00 pm

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I love race comedy.

And a big reason for it is because I've never quite understood bigotry and racism.

I mean, I know them. I've been the target of them. I've likely been a perpetrator and victim of them, even at the same time, in the same breath. The idea of race beginning in the early stages of colonialism and slavery, the roots of bigotry in fear of the unknown and primal safety in similar-looking people – I get all of that.

But many times, more often than not, I find racism and bigotry funny. The idea that you believe XYZ-people are lesser than you (bigotry) and to enact lawful inequality (racism) is just so unfathomably wrong to me that it becomes funny. I have to laugh at that kind of evil.

Part of my particular blerdiness is that I am a comedy nerd. And so I love race comedy.

Now, that's different from race jokes. It's a higher game.

Simple race jokes throw a stereotype out there and that's that. That's the “black people do this and white people do that” kind of jokes. Or the “white people say racist things but it's not racist because we know they're not racist” jokes from the likes of Sarah Silverman, Daniel Tosh ... or the shit Amy Schumer suddenly began tossing to a dying Patrice O'Neal at Charlie Sheen's Comedy Central roast.

The higher game of race comedy, in this modern age, goes to Dave Chappelle, who could make biting, flip-the-script stuff such as blind, black white supremacist Clayton Bigsby, then ruefully exclaim “This racism is killing me inside!” during the “Niggar Family” sketch.




That sketch had hologram quality; all the jokes were shining, but not all of them detectable from one point of view. It was enough that he was playing on use of the dreaded N-word, but even deeper were the flips in majority-minority power relationships and how the codes of our different cultures can bring out something you had no idea was there.

That's where race can be tricky, and race comedy even trickier. Lucky for us, there's a new addition to the race comedy ranks, and its name is Key & Peele.

MADtv alums Keegan-Michael Key and Jordan Peele pull back the layers of race and bigotry to find silliness underneath. In a recent sktch taking place during World War II-era Germany, an SS officer (played by Modern Family's Ty Burrell – so weird) stops at a house while “hunting for Negroes” to find Key and Peele in ridiculous whiteface – it's just white shoe polish slathered on their faces.

But the Nazi doesn't suspect they're black by just looking at them. Instead, he uses increasingly ridiculous stereotypes of blacks to test the black men in whiteface, such as foisting beets on them and brandishing cat toys.

Key and Peele	Tuesdays 10:30/9:30c
Das Negros
www.comedycentral.com
Comedy Central Funny Videos Funny TV Shows

To me, that's what bigotry does. It holds out cat toys and claims the heads of an entire people come only in half-sizes.

And I know that finding bigotry and racism funny is not right. I know that, in 2012, I occupy a space in history two generations removed from the last great civil rights struggles of black Americans. That racism – that serious, pervasive, lawful and unlawful, in-your-face racism – is something I've seen only in an increasingly small group of history books and movies. (And, sadly, to increasingly minimized degrees; have you read/seen The Help?)

I know that if I grew up in a time of lynchings and fire hoses, I may not find racism so funny. I'll never be my father, who was a little bit younger than Emmett Till when he was murdered for allegedly whistling at a white woman on the street.

That distance has left a space for my blerdy self to laugh when Key & Peele does a sketch of Martin Luther King Jr. and Malcolm X, and devolve it from reverent black history theater to Tyler Perry-style buffoonery; which one panders to its audience? Only in a time such as now, so removed from those struggles, could a pair of black nerds look at such civil rights atrocity and laugh, or make slavery jokes off the cuff.

They're dropping the fear, which I never understood. Especially fear of this black nerd from the white gaze, and fear of this blerd from within the community as not black enough. Key and Peele joke about how they can't be scary rappers. (Key: “What am I going to rap about? My master's degree in fine arts?!?”)

But then I think about how often I've had white people ask me to smile. Or I'd hear a nice-guy version of “you’re one of the good ones.” Or my mother would tell me about how, when she'd tell white people I was going to Harvard, she got the affirmative action shuffle. Someone thinks you got over on affirmative action, but they don't want to sound racist to your face, so the smile a litle to broadly and just say "that's great" over and over.

There's no need to be scary as a rapper, I guess. Key & Peele had Obama win a rap battle by saying into the microphone, "I'm the leader of the free world."

So maybe I'm better off if I just give the lead white character some sage advice that will transform his life. Or I lay hands on him, and his troubles melt away. When I hear liberals' disappointment in our Black Nerd in Chief, I hear someone who felt their Magical Negro shorted them a wish or two.

At least Key & Peele, in their totally blerd selves, made a pair of dueling Magical Negroes fight Dragon Ball Z-style.

Acorn Media Will Make Sure That AGATHA CHRISTIE Is Done Right

March 1, 2012, 1:30 pm

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ACORN MEDIA GROUP ACQUIRES MAJORITY STAKE IN

AGATHA CHRISTIE’S LITERARY ESTATE

Landmark acquisition includes

More than 80 novels, 19 plays, and nearly 40 TV films

Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time and

Creator of iconic characters Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple

Acorn Media Group, a leading independent media company, has acquired a 64% stake in Agatha Christie Limited from Chorion. With more than 2 billion books sold, Agatha Christie is the best-selling novelist of all time. Her works only follow The Bible and William Shakespeare as the most widely published books, and they continue to be adapted into internationally successful films. This milestone acquisition gives Acorn Media majority ownership of Christie’s extensive works including more than 80 novels and short story collections, 19 plays, a film library of nearly 40 TV films, and iconic characters Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, among many others. The Agatha Christie family retains its 36% holding and Mathew Prichard, Agatha Christie’s grandson, remains Chairman of Agatha Christie Limited.


 Miguel Penella, CEO of Acorn Media said, “This development, along with our purchase of Foyle’s War in 2010 and last year’s launch of Acorn TV, the first British TV-focused streaming service, signal the new prominence of Acorn Media Group as the most forward looking distributor of British television in North America. We see this acquisition as a key step in the company’s continued evolution into content ownership and television production, and look forward to working with Mathew and James Prichard and the Agatha Christie family for years to come.”

Mathew Prichard, Chairman of Agatha Christie Limited, added, “My family and I are delighted to be forming a new partnership with Acorn Media, which I am sure will continue the successful history of the company, and produce much more Agatha Christie material for fans everywhere, particularly in the U.S. I remain grateful to my colleagues at Chorion for nearly 13 years of fruitful partnership.”

Acorn Media Group Chairman Peter Edwards added, “This is a momentous occasion for Acorn Media and a gratifying one for me personally. While we are keenly aware of the financial and strategic worth of this transaction for Acorn Media, we are also grateful to partner with the Agatha Christie family in the promoting and protecting of their family legacy.”

Called “chief curators of the best Brit TV” by TIME magazine, Acorn Media has been releasing TV movie adaptations featuring Christie’s two most famous characters, Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, on VHS, DVD, and now, digitally since 2001. Both series rank among the company’s best-selling series of all time. ITV recently commissioned new episodes of Poirot and Marple. The eight television films will start production in summer 2012 and broadcast beginning in 2013 on ITV and PBS. Feature film adaptations are also in development with these characters.

Agatha Christie was born in 1890 and died in 1976. She wrote the biggest selling mystery novel of all time, And then there were none, as well as Murder on the Orient Express and Death on the Nile. With HarperCollins and the other international publishing partners, Christie sells more than 3 million books per year worldwide. Her most famous characters include Hercule Poirot and Miss Marple, as well as Tommy and Tuppence, Parker Pyne, and Ariadne Oliver. Chorion originally purchased its majority stake in Agatha Christie’s literary estate in June 1998.

Based in suburban Washington, D.C. and founded by Chairman Peter Edwards, Acorn Media Group has grown from a one-man basement documentary production and distribution operation in the mid-1980s into a leading independent media company operating on three continents. The Acorn Media Group consists of four divisions. With its Acorn label, Acorn Media U.S. is the leading distributor of British television programming to consumers in North America. Its Acacia label offers a line of original health & wellness programming. Appealing to the growing lifelong learning audience, Acorn U.S. also offers acclaimed documentaries on the Athena label. Acorn Direct is a direct-to-consumer division offering DVDs, digital downloads, and other high quality products in North America through its Acorn and Acacia catalogs and e-commerce websites. Acorn Media U.K. and Acorn Media Australia distribute comparable lines of DVD titles to consumers in the U.K., Australia, and New Zealand. www.acornmedia.com

TARUNG aka FIGHT: CITY OF DARKNESS

March 1, 2012, 2:09 pm

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Are you ready to get kicked in the face?

Indonesian martial arts cinema is back with a vengeance!


Dormant since the glory days of Barry Prima & Billy Chong in the early 1980’s, The Warrior and the master of Crystal Fist may have faded from the spotlight as the genre fell out of favour, a new generation of film-maker is bringing full blooded Indonesian martial arts cinema back to the big screen.

Gareth Evans jumpstarted the return with Merantau and the yes, it's every bit as kick ass entertainment as you’ve heard The Raid, and now Director Lee Ngan-cheong and veteran Indonesian action director Alip Santosa unleash the high impact high octane Tarung aka Fight: City of Darkness, and The Man in Hong Kong for Forces of Geek, Mike Leeder brings us the following review.

Fight tells the story of four young men, Reno, Coky, David and Galang who grew up together in an orphanage in Jakarta, where they became a family under the guidance of Mrs Lastri who took care of them. Reno has just been released from prison, after serving time for his involvement in the death of a local troublemaker.

But no sooner has he been released when he is attacked by a mysterious group of thug’s intent on killing him. The four friends had always followed the code of one for all and all for one, an attack on any one of them was an attack on all of them. The friends fight back but begin to be drawn deeper into a violent world of lies and deceit.

At the same time, Galang has become involved with Astrid, a sexy dancer who has to provide extra entertainment for clients that her manager/pimp sends her to perform for. Galang doesn’t care about her past, and takes the fight to the Pimp for mistreating her and forcing her into the business while Coky has got caught up in the drug trade, but tries to redeem himself by funneling money from the syndicate back into supporting the orphanage.

But as things take a dark turn for the worse, and the truth about who is behind the attacks on them is revealed, for Reno, David, Coky & Galang it’s all about true friendship and this time, it’s all for one and one for all to the death!




I first got excited about Fight at the 2011 Hong Kong Filmart when the film’s producer and fight choreographer Alip Santosa/Sak Lap-fai premiered a pulse pounding three minute montage of high impact action and bone crunching reactions, which combined with some very slick camerawork and moody cinematography had buyers flocking to find out more about the project. And it’s with great pleasure that FOG! is happy to say that the film delivers on the promises made by the trailer and confirms the arrival of the next generation of Indonesian action movie making!

First: The film also proves once again just what can be done with a modest budget and equipment, if you have the right talent and ambition behind it. The film was shot in HD, but not on the Red One but using a couple of Cannon 5D prosumer cameras, and really shows just what can be done with the camera if you know what you’re doing. The camerawork in the movie is very impressive, combining Bourne Identity styled shaky cam at times, with crisp captures of the choreography and stunts and some very strong cinematography by both Director Lee & Freddy Lim that puts the camerawork of a number of bigger budget movies to shame. This isn’t the Jakarta we’re used to seeing, this is Jakarta as seen through the eyes of Blade Runner and Korea’s Nowhere to Hide, backlit rain, shadowy figures, freeze frames and more.

Second: The Choreography. While the trailer promised so much upon first viewing, it did also hint at perhaps an overdose of Shaky cam, and we’re happy to say that the film delivers very strongly in the action department. The shaky cam was used so well in the first Bourne movie, but done to death in the subsequent ones and various movies since, Quantum of Solace and The Bourne Ultimatum you know who we’re talking about. Whereas in the first Bourne movie, the camerawork complemented the action and the story, the audience was meant to be as confused as Bourne by the way the fight progressed and the sudden brutality, too often shaky cam has been used and left audiences confused, often with a headache and stunt people wondering why the hell they did so much dangerous and hard work if tis going to b shot so badly that you can’t see what’s going on. The shakey cam is used sparingly here, and enhances certain shots through its use. This time round, you can see what’s going on and it looks damn good!

Alip began his career as a stuntman and choreographer in Hong Kong and Taiwan, working on everything from Chinese Super Ninjas at Shaw Brothers to Portrait of a Nymph at Golden Harvest through various independents including Outlaw Brothers, The Big Heat, Kickboxers Tears and his own action comedy classic Nightlife Hero. Alip returned to Indonesia in the late 1990’s and has become one of the most prolific and highly regarded action directors and producers of action dramas including the Dara Dai Cinta series with Ari Wiboro. Alip knows what an audience wants to see, there’s clean techniques at times as well as down and dirty mixed martial arts moves, with elbows, knees and various body parts being used as weapons, there’s also some occasional wirework to enhance a specific move but the films’ fights are still grounded in reality. Alip’s action has a brutal feel to it at times, people do classic Hong Kong reactions but you feel like they really took those hits. I’d love to see Alip being given a bigger budget and canvas to work on, or perhaps a chance to work in the international market.

Third: The film is called Tarung which does mean Fight, and it delivers exactly what that says, plenty of action and a story that while not the most original, is a perfect framework to hang the fights and stunt sequences from. The film knows what the audience wants from a movie with that title, and it delivers in abundance and none of the fights disappoints, the film also makes great use of practical locations from the mean streets of Jakarta, to the neon lit clubs, to abandoned factories to the wastelands and more. The heroes are the good guys born on the wrong side of the tracks who just want a chance, while there’s also the bad girl who wants to be good and nasty villains out to make trouble. It’s not trying to be a thought provoking drama, it’s a no holds barred adrenaline pumping action movie, and it’s so good to have something that actually delivers without short-changing the viewer.
 
Fight is very much the product of a partnership between Lee as director and Sak as his action director, the action in the film is as important as the storytelling and drama and it’s a partnership that works very well. The two understand the importance of each other’s work, and show once again just what a director and action director working together can deliver in terms of kick ass action and excitement.
Action highlights include several bone crunching bouts in an underground fight club, a table turning glass smashing face off in a club, an M:I2 inspired motorcycle face off which does more with sheer guts and enthusiasm then the CGI and millions of dollars did for the finale of Woo’s Cruise thriller. There’s a high impact face off in a junkyard, a backlit fight against hooded thugs and a blood drenched finale to enjoy.

Fight: City of Darkness or Tarung as Indonesian audiences know it, delivers pound for pound one of the most enjoyable fight flicks of the last few years. It may not have the big budget or big name cast of certain movies, but it gets the Impact thumbs up and comes close to The Raid in terms of unlimited martial arts mayhem!

The film just finished its Indonesian theatrical release and should be hitting DVD & Blu-Ray as we go to press. Hopefully some enterprising Western distributor will snap the film up and we’ll have the chance to enjoy an extras laden collector’s edition with trailers, behind the scenes footage, interviews with cast and crew etc. In fact any interested distributor should contact me c/o of  www.forcesofgeek.com and I’d be happy to put them in touch with Alip and his team.

Essential Indonesian Action Movie Viewing:

The Warrior (Jakka Sembung)
Barry Prima plays the Indonesian hero Jaka Sembung in the classic comic book adaptation.




Subsequent adventures saw The Warrior teaming up with Ninjas, Blind Swordsman and more. Crying out for an Ip Man styled make’over! Mondo Macabre put out a slick remastered version a few years back.

The Devil's Sword
Another comic book adaptation, The Devil’s Sword follows a group of heroes and villains as they battle for the possession of an ancient sword that holds the greatest power imaginable! Worth watching for a number of reasons including a bonus disc of Indonesian cinema themed extras including trailers for countless action and fantasy films produced by Rapi Films in Indonesia, a featurette about Indonesian cinema and an off the wall interview with The Warrior himself fittingly entitled, An Encounter with Barry Prima!




Ferocious Female Freedom Fighters
Come on the title says it all, and if not check out the trailer




Billy Chong (Willy Dhozen)
Indonesian martial arts actor who had the potential to be the next Jackie Chan, but whose career misfired for various reasons.

CLICK TO PLAY

Final Score and Lethal Hunter
Chris Mitchum son of Robert, kicks ass, takes names and some insane Indonesian stuntmen risk life and limb for two English language Rapi actioners for the international market, with Bill ‘Superfoot’ Wallace turning up as the villain in Lethal Hunter and IFD Films regular Mike Abbott playing a supporting role in Hunter and the main villain in Final Score.







Merantau
Gareth Evans & leading man Iko Uwais reintroduce the concept of Indonesian action cinema.




Their bombastically brutal follow up.

The Raid (The Raid: Redemption)




HYPERLINK "http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkULMOFpuCo" http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PkULMOFpuCo

Trailers Galore : THAT'S MY BOY, DESPICABLE ME 2, FRANKENWEENIE, DECODING DEEPAK

March 2, 2012, 6:00 am

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Today we have a good teaser, a good trailer, and a crappy looking comedy.

Do you still find Adam Sandler funny? Well then That's My Boy is just the film for you. If you're looking for something a little deeper, check out the documentary Decoding Deepak about the disciples of the author Deepak Chopra. But if you're looking for something to enjoy with the kids, or perhaps just something funny, watch the teasers for Discpicable Me 2 and Frankenweenie. Take a look at all the videos right after the break.




In That's My Boy, a man is about to get married, unfortunately for him his father decides to move in with them and immediately begins to fight with his soon to be daughter-in-law. The movie stars Adam Sandler, James Caan, Susan Sarandon, Andy Samberg, Will Forte, Vanilla Ice.




Gotham Chopra directed and produced the documentary Decoding Deepak. The film follows the son and father on a year-long road trip in an effort to understand the spiritual figure, his followers and continue the search for answers of all of life's questions. The film will also look into Deepak's origins, his own spiritual breakdown and the empire he has built. It will premiere at SXSW on March 11th.

Tim Burton's latest work is an adaptation of one of very early short films. The new full-length  animated Frankenweenie is the story of a boy and his dog, though when his dog dies the boy tries to bring him back to life. Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara and Martin Landau make up the cast of voices. It’s set for release October 5.







Despicable Me 2

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The teaser for Despicable Me 2 is just a bit of silly fun, enjoy it and get ready for the movie next year. All the actors are said to be returning, but nothing about the plot has been said.

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SAFE HOUSE Director Daniel Espinosa Set To Direct THE OUTSIDER

March 2, 2012, 6:30 am

≫ Next: First Looks : COMMUNITY, HUNGER GAMES, DARK SHADOWS

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Deadline reports that Warner Bros wants Daniel Espinosa to direct the gritty action film The Outsider.

The film is written by Andrew Baldwin about a POW in Osaka during WWII who begins working for the Yakuza.


Espinosa has helmed Snabba Cash (aka Easy Money) and Safe House starring Denzel Washington and Ryan Ryeynolds, the latter putting him in demand in H'Wood.

First Looks : COMMUNITY, HUNGER GAMES, DARK SHADOWS

March 2, 2012, 7:00 am

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In today's first looks we have arrows, ivory, and a creepy looking Johnny Depp.

First up we have a clip from the Hunger Games which shows how true to the book the adaptation will be. Then we have creepy Johnny Depp. Seriously, I can't look at the picture too long or he'll show up in my dreams. To clean your eyeballs though, we have a bunch of pictures from the return of Community. Only two more weeks left. Check out all the cool stuff right after the jump.


In this first clip from The Hunger Games, Jennifer Lawrence's character Katniss is trying to impress the sponsors and Gamemakers. It's a pivotal scene from the books and gives the viewer the impression that this is a very accurate adaptation. Author Suzanne Collins recently praised the film herself. It also was given a PG-13 rating by the MPAA for intense violence all with teens. Also, I've read the script and it does follow all the things that happen in the book, even the violent parts.




Here are some new photos of Johnny Depp in his full make-up for Dark Shadows. The film is Tim Burton's next live-action project with Depp, it also has Helena Bonham Carter in the cast. It comes out this year on October 2nd.

We just have to wait two more weeks for Community to come back. Here's a sneak peek at the episode called Urban Matrimony and the Sandwich Arts. From these Images, I have no idea what's going on. Troy is wearing Pierce's dead dad's ivory hairpiece, Malcolm Jamal Warner looks to be dancing and singing for Shirley and Pierce looks like he's ready to work on either Wall Street or next to Don Draper.  The show returns March 15th on NBC. 

Bruce Willis Stars In FIVE AGAINST A BULLET

March 2, 2012, 7:30 am

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Today, Columbia Pictures released a press...well... release announcing that old (school) action star Bruce Willis will star in their action thriller Five Against a Bullet.

The script comes from Alex Litvak (Predators, Paul W.S. Anderson's The Three Musketeers), centering on a Mexican politician who hires the five best bodyguards from around the world to protect him after his father is murdered by a drug cartel.


There is no mention in the press release of who Willis will play, but I'm going to go ahead and assume he plays one of the five bodyguards, most likely the most lethal one (with the most screen time).

Willis can next be seen in G.I. Joe: Retaliation and The Expendables 2. He also soon begins production on A Good Day To Die Hard.

The full press release follows:

CULVER CITY, Calif., March 1, 2012 – Bruce Willis will star in Five Against A Bullet, the action thriller being developed by producers Lorenzo DiBonaventura, Jordan Schur, and David Mimran for Columbia Pictures, it was announced today by Hannah Minghella, president of production for Columbia Pictures.

Alex Litvak is writing the screenplay which centers on a Mexican politician who, after his father is killed by a drug cartel, hires the five best bodyguards from around the world to protect him through a contentious election.

Commenting on the announcement, Minghella said, “We have been excited about this project since acquiring the rights last year from Mimran Schur and believe Bruce Willis is the perfect actor to lead this cast. We look forward to moving Five Against A Bullet into production quickly.”

Sam Dickerman and Lauren Abrahams are overseeing the project for the studio. Erik Howsam, who first brought the project into Columbia Pictures, will oversee on behalf of DiBonaventura Pictures

Bruce Willis has demonstrated incredible versatility with roles in such diverse films as Pulp Fiction, Nobody’s Fool, 12 Monkeys, In Country, The Sixth Sense, and his signature role as Detective John McClane in the Die Hard series. Willis was last seen in the Golden Globe nominated feature film RED opposite Helen Mirren, Morgan Freeman and John Malkovich and he will next be seen in Wes Anderson’s Moonrise Kingdom and Rian Johnson’s sci-fi thriller Looper as well as this summer’s G.I. Joe: Retaliation & Expendables 2. Willis will soon begin production on A Good Day To Die Hard (the fifth installment in the popular Die Hard franchise).

Lorenzo Di Bonaventura worked at Warner Bros. Pictures from 1989 to 2003, rising through the ranks of the legendary studio to lead their production division and oversee their film slate. While president of production, he was involved in over 130 motion pictures, including Falling Down, A Time to Kill, the Matrix series, Three Kings, Ocean’s Eleven, the first three Harry Potter movies, and Training Day. Since forming his production company in 2003, the company has produced 14 pictures, including the box-office hits Transformers, Transformers: Revenge of The Fallen, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra, Salt, and RED. His most recent film is Man on a Ledge.

Mimran Schur Pictures was co-founded by Jordan Schur and David Mimran in early 2009. The company’s first project was Stone, a psychological thriller directed by John Curran and starring Robert De Niro, Edward Norton and Milla Jovovich. They have also produced Henry’s Crime, directed by Malcolm Venville and starring Keanu Reeves, Vera Farmiga and James Caan, and Warrior, starring Tom Hardy, Joel Edgerton, Jennifer Morrison and Nick Nolte, who received an Oscar nomination for his portrayal of an alcoholic former champion.

TV CASTING : MATTHEW PERRY, HAYDEN PANETTIERE And More

March 2, 2012, 8:00 am

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Some big names are featured in today's round-up of television casting news.

The news in this edition will see Matthew Perry working again with a Friends executive producer, Hayden Panettiere is in Nashville, NBC has cast doctors for County and Do No Harm, and comedy pilots all over pick up a few more stars. Check out the full list right after the break.

Deadline reports that former co-host of The Talk Leah Remini will be the only female cast member in the comedy pilot White Van Man. The show is based on the British series and is centers around a man that is forced to shelve his dreams and pick up the family business of being a handyman. Kyle Bornheimer plays the lead and J.K. Simmons will play his father, Tony. Remini is set for the role of Tony's happy massage therapist sister.

Sara Rue will be co-starring opposite Reba McEntire in the upcoming ABC comedy pilot Malibu Country. The Less Than Perfect star will play a neighbor of Reba's who is described as a "share-too-much, hug-too-freely, trophy wife." McEntire plays the lead, a woman who is cheated on by her rock star husband. After finding out he's also spent almost all their money, she grabs her kids and moves from Nashville to Malibu.

But going back to Nashville, TVline says that Hayden Panettiere will be starring in ABC's drama about the musical city.  The Heroes cheerleader is set to play the teen singer Juliette Barnes who is on her way to stardom as another star is on the decline. Jonathan Jackson and Powers Boothe have previously been cast in the country music soap.

According to Variety, Matthew Perry will be the lead in NBC's comedy pilot Go On. The show is centered around Perry's character, an "irreverent yet charming sportscaster," who deals with his loss with the members of his mandatory group therapy sessions. Julie White and Suzy Nakamura will co-star. Perry will be reuniting with Friends executive producer Scott Silveri who wrote the pilot and will be acting as executive producer on the pilot.

Deadline has the scoop that Saxon Sharbino will play the lead in Fox's untitled drama pilot from Karyn Usher. The newcomer will play Jane Forsythe, an orphaned daughter of a CIA operative who is picked up by a mysterious rogue agent who becomes her professional mentor and a surrogate father. Brett Ratner will be directing the pilot with a script from Usher.

NBC has cast Norbert Leo Butz in the drama pilot County from Jason Katims. Butz will star opposite Jason Ritter in the show which revolves around a group of medical professionals in an underfunded, yet very busy LA County Hospital. Butz will play an intern who would rather be partying than working

Cosby Show alum Phylicia Rashad will be playing the Chief of Surgery in the medical drama Do No Harm. The NBC show is said to be Jekyll & Hyde-esque and Rashad's character is described as "powerful, cutting, and intimidating."

Aly Michalka (Hellcats) has joined the uplifting Fox comedy Rebounding, which follows a man recovering from the death of his fiancée with help from his pickup basketball league. The actress will play the girlfriend of one of the team’s members.

GAME CHANGE Screenwriter Danny Strong Adapting Dan Brown's THE LOST SYMBOL

March 2, 2012, 8:30 am

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Deadline reports that Danny Strong (yes, the actor from Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Mad Men) has been hired to adapt the third book in Dan Brown's Da Vinci Code franchise, The Lost Symbol.

Strong previously wrote the political HBO films Recount and Game Change, making The Lost Symbol his first big screen feature. Strong has been brought in after both Dan Brown and Steven Knight both took a crack at adapting Brown's novel.


Ron Howard will not direct the sequel to Da Vinci Code and Angels And Demons, instead producing the film with Imagine partner Brian Grazer. Mark Romanek (One Hour Photo, Never Let Me Go) is the attached director at this point, and though he has signed no official contract Tom Hanks is likely to return as symbologist Robert Langdon.

The Lost Symbol is a high priority for Sony who made tons'o'cash on the past two films in the franchise, so expect further news on the project soon.

Smallville: Random, Awesome and WTF?! - S4E2: Gone

March 2, 2012, 9:00 am

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The hunt for Chloe Sullivan begins as Lois and Clark fight off a T-1000 knockoff and the arrival of General Sam Lane, while Lana returns from her misadventures in Paris.

And don’t think Lionel being in prison ends his feud with Lex...


The Random:
1. All generals by Executive Order of the President of the United States of America must smoke cigars at all times.

2. Oh, joy, Lana’s back in Smallville and making friends with Lois. This can only be good for Clark.

3. First Lex had an obsession with computer simulations of the car crash that involved Clark, now he’s got one with the plane incident. I’m sure there’s a fetish site on this.

General Sam Lane: Smoking himself patriotic.

The Awesome:
1. Lionel is in prison, but cannot be stopped from making overt death threats towards his own son. While doing push ups. He just doesn’t care, does he?

2. Lois is the one character on the show who just says what she means. No whining, no moping, no passive aggressive emo crap, just straight-from-her-very-fine-hips shooting.

3. Lionel’s shower had a little interruption by way of a would-be assassin sent by Lex. Good thing he didn’t drop the soap.

“Lex, I’ve got like 200 more of these to do. THEN I can threaten to kill you again. Be patient.”

The WTF?!:
1. So we can add cemeteries to places people can just do whatever they want at in Smallville when Lois—in broad daylight—digs up Chloe’s grave to see if Clark’s right about her being alive. And then has a fight with an assassin. And Lana.

2. Even for Smallville, the explanation as to how Chloe survived the explosion is pretty damn far fetched—even though we saw the house explode just as Chloe closed the door, somehow Lex’s people swept them down into secret tunnels under the house all in less than a second?

3. So not only does Smallville have a T-1000 wannabe trying to kill people, they also have him defeated in pretty much the same way? Way to be original, guys.

“Guys, you’ll never believe how I got out!” “You’re right, Chloe. Because it’s bull$#!t.”

AMC Spoils THE WALKING DEAD

March 2, 2012, 9:30 am

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Huge Walking Dead Spoilers in this post. WATCH OUT! Unless you actually want to know who dies.

The Hollywood Reporter spotted something strange on AMC's shop yesterday. Something big happens in the upcoming three remaining episodes that will change everything. It's been reported earlier that someone will die, but know you can find out just who it is. If you are sure you really want to be spoiled click on past the jump.


The ad for the limited-edition Blu-ray looks pretty normal saying that it has special features like a making of, extended scenes and more. And then you spot "Shane's last episode." So it looks like Jon Bernthal is going to have to star looking for a new job.

A spokesperson for the network said, "The post on the AMC store was completely unauthorized. The matter is currently under investigation." The set has now been removed from the AMC store, but here's a screenshot.

There have been rumors for a while that Shane wouldn't be going on to the third season. Bernthal actually already has a new gig, L.A. Noir,  lined up with former Walking Dead show runner Frank Darabont. In the comic books, Shane dies pretty early on, so this probably isn't much of a surprise.

Creator Robert Kirkman was quick to downplay the rumors about Bernthal. In February he said, "I wouldn't let any casting rumors make you think that it's spoiled any show, especially this one. In the case of Jon Bernthal, who's to say he survives that first pilot[of L.A. Noir]? Maybe he dies in the first episode."

Kirkman and fellow executive producers Glen Mazzara, Gale Anne Hurd and Greg Nicotero said before the second have of Season 2 started that there will be "more death to come when the series returned in February."

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MY TOP 5 Entertainment Documentaries I Saw Last Year

March 2, 2012, 10:00 am

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I like a good documentary about gay whales' rights off the coast of Nigeria as much as the next guy.

The thing is, those are the ones that get all of the press. They get nominated for Oscars and people seek them out on DVD as soon as they hit.

These movies are important and informative and even amazing, but they're not always particularly entertaining. I'll watch them when I want to feel bad about my First World problems.

These are not those kinds of docs. These are docs about my favorite subject: entertainment!

I care about the gay whales…but I would rather watch a movie about album covers…'cause I'm a shallow human being.  Hence, the following are MY TOP 5 entertainment docs I saw last year.

CORMAN’S WORLD: EXPLOITS OF A HOLLYWOOD REBEL

Many of us know about Roger Corman and his school of filmmaking. We all know that without him Scorsese, Coppola, Nicholson, Howard and hundreds of others never would have gotten into the business.

What we don't all know is the man's philosophy on film and how it was that he got all of these talented people to shoot past him. That's what Corman's World strives to tell us about through interviews with the man himself and all of his acolytes and minions.

By the end of the film, we want to check out all of Corman's films, even if we think they're complete crap. (Some are, some are absolutely not.) Corman's passion shines through every in every film he's made, even if they star a Sharktopus.

And, most amazing of all, we've seen Jack Nicholson genuinely cry.





BEATS OF FREEDOM

In case you don't remember, Poland used to be a war zone. I'm not sure how much it's changed lately, but in the late 70s and early 80s, people were dying to get out, quite literally.

At the same time as every other 1st world country was going through a punk phase, Poland picked up on it, too. These oppressed kids started making some of the most exciting, interesting, darkest and, unfortunately, least heard punk music in the world. Beats Of Freedom does its best to show us how the worst of times breeds the best art.

There still isn't a very good compilation of some of these artists and that's a crime. When is Shout! Factory or Anchor Bay gonna get on this? There's gotta be enough for a 3-4 disc set. I would absolutely be in line for it.






UPSIDE DOWN: THE CREATION RECORDS STORY

Meanwhile, a couple of hundred miles away, England was going through its own revolution of sorts.
Joy Division had just become New Order and Brit Pop had just started. Primal Scream, The Jesus And Mary Chain, My Bloody Valentine…all of them not quite household names, but they never would have even been names if it hadn't been for Alan McGee and Bobby Gillespie at Creation Records, THE Brit-Pop label of the mid-80s to early 90s.

While the doc moves a bit fast at times and glosses over a few things, it gives us some insight into one of the most influential sounds of its time and show us how Oasis, while being one of the best bands of the genre, basically killed the genre, too.






TAKEN BY STORM: THE ART OF STORM THORGERSON AND HIPGNOSIS

Storm Thorgerson SHOULD be a household name by now, because his artwork is in just about every household. With album covers for Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Genesis and Audioslave, everyone owns at least one of Storm's pieces of art. We all just wish that they knew it.

Extensive interviews with Storm and his friends (including David Gilmour) give us a pretty good portrait of a man who doesn't care what you think about him or his views. All he cares about is his art and how it fits with the music between the covers.

(Just for the record, he was never a fan of his most famous piece of art. He says that the Dark Side Of The Moon cover is boring.)




SOUND IT OUT

Record stores aren't dying in some towns, I live in a town where vinyl positively thrives.

Sound It Out Records, though, is the last record store in Northern England. The closest one to it is about 50 miles away.

The owner of Sound It Out is a holdover from a distant time. He's not an old man, by any means, but he holds the old idea of "records hold memories" dear to his heart. He also holds his position as a musical guide for the young punks in Teeside, England dear to his heart. He's introduced great music to more kids than he can count. And, really, that's what record stores are for. If it weren't for these stores, most people wouldn't have found some of their favorite music.

Sound It Out, the movie, shows us how much we need Sound It Out, the store. It's great to live in a town with so many record stores, but movies like this make me realize how lucky I really am.

THE MUPPETS Have A Sequel In The Works, Without JASON SEGAL

March 2, 2012, 10:30 am

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The Muppets will be coming back to the big screen soon. *throws hands in air like Kermit* YEEEAAAH!

According to Variety, Disney is looking to make a sequel for the recently rebooted franchise which has made over $150 million worldwide.  The first film was co-written by Nicholas Stoller and Jason Segal, but Segal will not be working on the sequel.


While Segal was a key part of getting the first movie made, he has two films in the works in addition to his part on How I Met Your Mother. Instead, the director of the first film, James Bobin, will be working with Stoller to create a new script.

The film has been successful in theaters and will likely see a large market in at home sales. Bret McKenzie won the best song Oscar on Sunday for his song "Man or Muppet", Disney is hoping the win will push sales in the second and third screening theaters that still have the film.

The sequel was officially announced by Kermit and Miss Piggy during an appearance on ITV's This Morning. The Muppets have been on an international tour for the first film.

Borders Lives on . . . Sort of

March 2, 2012, 11:00 am

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A lot people will acknowledge that 2011 was a pretty bad year for a lot of people; it was also the worst year possible for Borders, concluding with its going out of business sale in September, where thousands of employees (including yours truly) lost their jobs.


During the month of the company’s demise, I wrote a column, “Thank You Borders,” on what Borders had done for me personally, as well as what it had done for so many readers and customers and employees over its many years of service.

Now, six months later, Borders Books, Music & More is becoming little more than a memory for everyone . . . and yet the memory that was Borders lives on in some ways.

This is how.




For about a month now I have been working for Dimple Records, where I am known as the “book guy.”

Dimple Records is a chain of seven stores in the Sacramento area that sells new and used music, DVDs, and video games; they even have an awesome used vinyl store.

Throughout the month of March Dimple Records will be rolling out the first of their store remodels, as they move into the world of selling new and used books.

The first store will be the Citrus Heights store and will offer a larger variety of titles of fiction and nonfiction, as well as children’s and graphic novels.

In my work in preparing the books for this first remodel, I have come across a number of these “memories” of Borders.

During my days, I spend my time sorting, organizing, shelving and preparing hundreds of books, and everyday I come across evidence that there was once a chain of bookstores called Borders.  A number of the used books I come across have the “BINC sticker” on the back of the book, which was the sticker that Borders used to identify and organize every single book it received.

The sticker tells me things like when the book was received, where it was shelved, what the cost of it was, and what store it came from.  It’s almost like a time capsule as I look at each sticker, which helps me shelve the book in the appropriate section for Dimple.  Of course, I have to take the sticker off and discard it, but with each BINC sticker I see, I learn when it was roughly bought and from which store and have a little thought about the short history of this book when it once lived at a store called Borders.



A number of the bookcases and bays that I’m sorting and shelving onto were once located within a Borders store, which helps me as I know how to adjust the shelves, use the endcaps, attach shelf-talkers, etc.  Dimple Records also acquired a number of other fixtures from Borders with plans to use them with their remodels, all of which I am familiar with.  There was even an A-frame that had an old sign I’d made myself during the going out of business sale from the Roseville store, and I can remember selling that fixture to the customer who was from Dimple; little did I know I would be working for them within five months time.

Finally, every once in a while I’ll be going through a box, taking out the books in columns and stacks and then sorting through them, placing them in their respective section piles, and I’ll come across an old relic of a book with the “Borders Exclusive” sticker on it.  These were books that were either directly published by Borders using their own publisher, or were books that were published and were only sold and available through Borders.  The one I came across the other day was The Great Snape Debate, which was made available at Borders leading up to the release of the final Harry Potter book, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows.

It featured writings from the likes of Amy Bermer, Orson Scott Card and Joyce Millman, on whether at the very end Snape would turn out to be a friend or an enemy to Harry Potter.  As I saw this book, I was instantly taken back to the release of this book, and the midnight release party of the final Harry Potter book at my Borders store.



These “reminders” represent just a few memories of Borders that I have come across so far, and I will no doubt come across more in the future.  My story also is a single, personal one, and there are no doubt a number of similar stories being experienced by people across the country, as those fixtures and shelves and BINC-stickered books and Borders Exclusives are rediscovered by people who used shop at or work for Borders.  Some readers may see this column as little more than a piece of nostalgia, as I have a fun little trip down memory lane, but I think there is more to this.  It gives a sense of recycling about these Borders items and fixtures, as they are reused for new purposes, or in the case of Dimple Records, are reused for the purpose they were originally intended.



So the next time you’re in a bookstore, take a second to stop and think about where the shelf or bookcase may have come from; contemplate on whether it might’ve once made its home within a former Borders bookstore; flip over that used book and take a peak and see if there’s an old sticker on the back that’s a mustardy-yellow.  If it’s got one, that means your holding a book in your hands that was once purchased from a Borders bookstore.

STAN LEE Will Be A Playable Character In THE AMAZING SPIDER-MAN Game

March 2, 2012, 11:30 am

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Haven't you always wanted to fight crime as an old man? Well soon you will be able to fight as comic creator and legend Stan Lee.

Stan answered the question from addict of fiction which asked him if he played the Marvel Vs. Capcom games. While he says he hasn't played any games, he did break the news that he would be a playable character in the upcoming Spiderman game from Activision. Watch the video of Stan in action right after the jump.

Network Theory Lets You Geekify the World

March 2, 2012, 12:00 pm

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By Garth Sundem

Jobs did it.

For better or worse, Gates did it.

Seth Rogen is doing it.


The “it” in question is changing social norms – tipping the very playing field of society in the direction of resplendent geekery.

The question is, how can you do it?

For my book, Brain Trust, I interviewed Princeton evolutionary biologist and network theorist, Simon Levin, who has the answer. And as an example, he points to something distinctly non-geek: skateboarding.

In 1972 Tony Alva jumped a fence to covertly skate a dry pool near California’s Venice Beach neighborhood. Soon, a core group of Venice surfers-turned-skaters, including Stacy Peralta, made pool poaching a habit. When the police came, they ran. But now in the recessed pools of skate parks around the country, kids have made Alva’s once innovative moves the norm. You know the story of Dogtown and Z-Boys. But how did Alva pull it off? How did this illegal, harebrained stunt become the social norm?

Simon Levin explored the question from a slightly different angle: “In bird flocks and fish schools, you have a few individuals who think they know where they want to go, and the vast majority of individuals who are imitating,” he says. Levin builds software models of these schools with his collaborator, Iain Couzin.

Basically, he tags individuals as leaders or followers (or percentages thereof), connects them to others in the school, and then flips the switch on individual fish to see how the change propagates through the group. By tweaking the model until it acts like a natural school of fish, he discovers the mechanisms that allow change to flow through groups. It’s like setting up a very detailed crowd of dominoes—when you knock one brick, how far and how fast does the ripple travel?

Or, that’s what Levin used to do.

Now he applies the mathematics of fish changing directions to groups of people changing opinions.

“First, social change relies on distributed networks,” says Levin. The opposite of “distributed” is a “well-mixed” network like that of a country with an authoritative central government, in which top-down control quickly suppresses novel opinions—nails that stick up are pounded down. “These systems are robust over short periods of time,” says Levin. But when top-down control fails, the whole system is shot.

Now imagine Venice Beach in the 1970s. In this far-flung node of a distributed network, when Alva had the idea to skate a dry swimming pool, the sheriff wasn’t able to kill it before it grew. These distributed networks, with pods of far-flung autonomy and an absence of top-down control, “have the capability for novel opinions and attitudes to spring up,” says Levin.

So if you want to change cultural norms, you need to live in a place where the seed of your idea can take root without being summarily hit with Roundup by authority or the power of strong social norms. Perhaps innovating from a home base in Berkeley is easier than creating the same shift while based in Salt Lake City.

And the idea thus rooted can take over a population the same way a school of fish changes direction.

“Individual fish or birds are attuned to the seven to ten fish or birds around them,” says Levin, “thus the first to imitate a behavior are those most similar to the individual in which the behavior arises.”

In the case of skating dry pools, these similar individuals were Alva’s neighborhood friends, who coalesced into the Z-Boys, defining themselves based on this new skate culture. And just like closely following a leading fish’s tight turn keeps following fish in the relatively safe center of the school, group members who quickly conformed to the new skateboard norms earned benefits. The Z-Boys had turf, they got girls, they were cool.

But in order for your innovation to spread beyond your posse, you need another important network feature: connectivity. The Z-Boys earned this connectivity at the 1975 Del Mar Nationals, where the pod of long-haired, Vans-wearing ne’er-do-wells rocked the socks off the clean-cut competition.

The newly reformed Skateboarding magazine wrote a series of articles on Dogtown, and suddenly the Z-Boys had direct domino connection to kids across the country who wanted a piece of the action. The dominoes fell, and social norms changed course.

Levin points out the same progression of innovate-coalesce-connect in neckties, disallowing smoking in public places, tattoos, fingernail polish, gender equality, and recent rapid changes in the caste system of India. Today, you don’t wear a tie because it’s comfortable, but because it signals your membership in a group of professionals. What started as an affectation of Croatian mercenaries and earned fashion connectivity in Paris is now the social norm.

If you want to drive social norms, start by jumping a fence—any fence.

Then push the idea on the seven to ten fish closest to you. Then connect your dominoes to the world at large. In that way, you like Jobs and Gates and Rogan can reshape culture in the image of your personal brand of geekery.















@garthsundem is a TED speaker, Wipeout loser, Wired GeekDad and author of books including Brain Trust: 93 Top Scientists Reveal Lab-Tested Secrets for Surfing, Dating, Dieting, Gambling, Growing Man-Eating Plants and More which is available from stores and online retailers now.