As I write this blog entry, 2010 is coming to a close and New Year’s is right around the corner. After enjoying Tron: Legacy last week with family and friends, I started to wonder what will be the holiday movie blockbuster next year. From there it was a short trip to wonder what the entire year’s worth of movies would be that interest me. So the list that follows is exactly that: dates and names of movies that I’m looking forward to in 2011 and beyond. Of course the dates get a little more fuzzy the farther out it is, so take them with a grain of salt. If I’ve missed any, please be sure to let us know in comments. If you’re interested in some in particular, let us know that, too! Here’s hoping that 2011 will be a great movie year!
@FakeGrimlock in the Holiday Spirit
Are you a Transformers fan? Do you enjoy reading funny and/or geek-related Twitter streams? If either and/or both the answers to those questions are yes, I wholeheartedly recommend you follow @FakeGrimlock. There’s just something special about an eons-old Dinobot making his entrance to the internet through Twitter. Whether it’s his robot brain damage or semi-ambivalence to humanity, I always seem to get a chuckle from his tweets. Recently, I had a chance to catch up with @FakeGrimlock and ask him a few questions. His answers are in true @FakeGrimlock form.
A classic interview with Cybertron’s favorite son past the jump. Continue reading »
This Saturday’s American Top 20 countdown will be Casey Kasem’s last, USA Today reports. After 34 years off American Top 40 and five more of variants, he’s heading off the “free up time [he] needs for other projects.” It’s a sad day. But I’m sure more than one GWCer hopes that he’ll choose to(/have the opportunity to) spend some of that newly-earned free time voicing Cliffjumper in Transformers 3.
We catch up with the 2007 live-action Transformers movie in preparation for this week’s Transformers 2 premiere! Highlights: we discuss the movie’s awesome soundtrack, point out the movie’s awesome demostrations of the practical aspects of transforming, discover just how cool a homie Bumblebee can be, learn that Chuck is sadly underinformed re: Australia, note that Sam’s mom seems to really have it together, again almost lose it watching S7 bastards torture Bumblebee, enjoy the movie’s Heartbreak Ridge moment, and talk Unicron poo. Don’t miss our NYC meetup and live-audience podcast next weekend!
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Today we finish up our Transformers primer, heading into the 1986 movie next. Highlights: we discuss new-Transformer acting prowess, place GoBots and RoboTech (including one special crossover) in context, wonder about Daniel’s mother, point out that Transformers do age, get into Arcee and Elita One specifics (and lack of Madonna cones), talk Transformer sex (yes, it happens) and (technical) Disney bestiality, and catch up on Mass Effect news (a new trailer and iPhone app).
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Join us as we (well, mostly Sean) offer some insight into what makes Transformers a great source of sci-fi stories. Highlights (brought to you this week by Audra): We discuss some of the origins of the Autobots and Decepticons and why they become vehilces/dinosaurs/animals, talk loyalty and what it means in the Transformers universe, explore what it might be like to live on the all-robot Cybertron, get into some specifics about Optimus Prime, Megatron, Starscream, Bumblebee, and Arcee, hear what Sean really thinks about Inspector Gadget’s Penny, take a few last-minute Trek/Terminator calls, and explore tribble sex.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
Move over big, burly tough guys. You’re being replaced by “skinny, awkward, and studious looking” A-listers — the next generation of action heroes, according to the UK’s Telegraph. Citing up-and-comers Shia LaBeouf (Transformers, and of course the new Indiana Jones) and Emile Hirsch (Speed Racer), the Telegraph says younger actors appeal to a younger audience, especially now that “the geek is god in Hollywood.”
Indeed, the Telegraph speculates that the action genre is changing as well. “Who would think of Robert Downey, Jr. as a superhero? Where did that come from?” tony Angellotti, a veteran publicist, asked the Telegraph.
Why Geeks Are The New Action Heroes [Telegraph.co.uk]
The new Transformers series seems to be taking a lot of guff for being either too stylized and Flash-based or too “kiddie” for its own good. I am — and shall continue to be — a staunch supporter of the show because, well, I just have a lot of love for those of the Cybertronian persuasion.
But I did notice something alarming in last week’s episode: Sari’s little robot dog was named “Sparkplug” and looks just like the the dog pictured above — only animated, of course. I had to back it up twice to make sure, but it’s true! Anyone who watched the original series knows that this is a head nod to Sparkplug Witwicky, who was a super-skilled human mechanic.
I’m not sure how I feel about this. I always loved the original character, mostly because he would often pull the Autobots’ lugnuts from the fire at great personal risk to himself. All this little dog does is bark and wobble around a little.
Why would they take a character as noble as Sparkplug and turn him into Aibo? I don’t mind the head nod. But reducing a pillar of coolness to “Bark, bark (wag tail)?” Maybe if Sparkplug was some kind of robotic Lassie and saved Bumblebee from falling down a well or something it’d make this pill a little easier to swallow. But that’s not the case.
Hopefully they’ll make up for it later. In any case, I still dig the series and will keep watching.
Paul Goebel over at TV Squad popped a trivia question this morning that got me thinking. The question?
Who did Blackarachnia fall in love with?
The answer’s easy: Silverbolt. But there’s a lot more to the story.
The short version is that Blackarachnia was originally a Maximal but was stolen (so to speak) by the Predicons. She was cruel and pretty bad, but Silverbolt thought she was not only hot — she was damn hot for a bug chick — but he thought he could change her evil ways and they could be happy together.
In Season 2 or 3 — I can’t remember which — she did grow to love Silverbolt and did, in fact, change sides. (Be warned, though: this only works in comics. Do not attempt to win an evil chick’s heart in real life. She’ll kill you.)
It was a great Romeo and Juliet story that really brought Beast wars home for me.
An interesting side note is that they’ve brought Blackarachnia back in Transformers: The Animated Series, and not only is she half organic, but it looks like Prime might be her love interest this time. How freaky is that?
(Props to my mom, by the way, for setting up a sweet-ass box system for me to keep the card backs of all the Transformer boxes I had when I was a kid — like the one pictured above. Mom, you rule!)
Stump The King: Transformers [TV Squad]
Join us as we rewatch and discuss the live-action Transformers movie the same day it released to DVD and HD-DVD. Highlights: we review the history and various story lines of Transformers, geek out over slow-motion battles, question the meaning of life and the concept of DNA-based computers (and Furbys), love on Michael Bay, enjoy the embarrassment of Sam’s special time, speculate about sequel plots, and hear about Sean’s Transformer-inspired bike.
Podcast: Play in new window | Download
I’m normally not a fan of marketing schemes like this — but this one is easily the coolest thing I’ve run across in many days. Once I heard, “Chuck, this is Optimus Prime…” I didn’t give a damn what they do with my information. I’ve already bought the DVD anyway. It’s just totally worth it.
The link below takes you to the Transformers movie site where you can create a custom message to a friend or relative from Optimus Prime himself. You can select various options to personalize the message, and the final result is, well, sweet. Trust me — check it out. You’ll love it.
Create Your Message [TransformersMovie.com]
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