“And we'll be saying a big hello to all intelligent life forms everywhere. And to everyone else out there, the secret is to bang the rocks together, guys.” -- Newscaster,The Hitch Hikers Guide to the Galaxy
Futurama will no longer be a part of Cartoon Network’s [adult swim] programming block. Futurama is moving to Comedy Central.
There is good news though. Futurama is moving because Comedy Central will have new episodes of Futurama. Don’t ask me when, because I’m not sure.
I kinda expect the recent Futurama DVD, Bender’s Big Score, to air on Comedy Central fairly soon after the move. I haven’t heard anything about it, that’s just my prediction.
Will [adult swim] continue to suck?
[adult swim] really needs to get it’s act together. It’s been going downhill for a while. Now it’s losing one of it’s best shows. Maybe that’s the kick in the ass that Williams Street needs. Don’t bet on it though. Futurama will probably be replaced with more live action crap.
Sorry this is late, but I do hope your holidays are going well. Christmas threw me off schedule a little bit and for once I have so much to post about that I’m behind. Looks like I’ll be busy posting through the first part of January.
Stocking Full of Posts
I have a lot of stuff to post about. A few of the gifts I received for Christmas are definitely getting a review. Not as gifts, as products. Some of ‘em are pretty darn cool, but one didn’t live up to my hopes. I still think it was a cool gift, I just don’t think it’ll work as I’d hoped. If I can get it to work at all. If I can I’ll post some info on the workarounds. If not, then I’ll post some alternatives.
Things to come
I also have some cool stuff planned for January. On Christmas Eve I received 2 review copies of books that I’m looking forward to discussing with you here on FanaticSpace. I’ve also got an interview with the author planned. Look for the interview on the 10th. The reviews may come before or after, I haven’t decided yet.
I’m looking forward to another year of FanaticSpace. I hope you are too.
I was looking forward to seeing Rob Zombie’s version of Halloween. I even wrote a post about how excited I was. I thought Rob Zombie was good enough to take on a classic slasher flick and do it justice. Boy was I wrong.
I’m switching to full feeds for FanaticSpace’s RSS. I was using partial feeds because I had it set up to display on the static pages of the site. The script I was using to do that had no option to cut the feed posts short, so I had to cut the feed itself short.
I switched over to Feedburner’s Buzz Boost option for displaying the feed on my static pages. It lets you choose how much of the feed you want to show. This lets me switch the blog feed back to a full service version.
What does this mean?
Well, hopefully it means that the feed will be more useful to you now. If you subscribe to the blog feed you should get the full post now.
I’m trying to make the site as easy to use as I can. That includes the feed.
I’ve been thinking about the book reviews I’d like to start doing on FanaticSpace. The problem I’m having right now is choosing a book. Do you have any suggestions?
Right now I’m kinda leaning towards doing a review of a Discworld book. I have 2 reasons for this.
I love the Discworld books.
It would give me a reason to re-read one of ‘em.
Ok, you caught me. That’s really one reason. That just makes my need for suggestions all the greater.
If you have any suggestions leave a comment. I’d really appreciate it.
Chaz Michael Michaels, played by Will Ferrell, is the bad boy of figure skating. When Chaz gets into a fight with Jimmy MacElroy, played by Jon Heder, his life is changed forever. Both Chaz and Jimmy are kicked out of Men’s Figure Skating for life.
Thanks to a crazy stalker and a has been coach Chaz and Jimmy might have a shot at gold again. It turns out that the lifetime ban is only in Men’s Singles, and there’s nothing in the rules that says 2 men can’t skate in Pairs competition.
My Opinion
In Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby Will Ferrell played a Nascar Driver. In Blades of Glory Will Ferrell tackles another borderline sport. This time he’s playing a figure skater. Much like Talladega Nights, Blades of Glory is surprisingly funny.
For some reason Will Ferrell is always a lot more entertaining than I expect. Admittedly, I don’t expect much. I just don’t think trailers and commercials can really capture the kind of humor Will Ferrell delivers.
Will Ferrell isn’t the only surprisingly good performance in this movie either. Everyone does a great job. The romance between Jon Heder and Jenna Fischer is sweet and awkward. The sibling bond between Will Arnett and Amy Poehler kinda made my skin crawl, and I didn’t know they were married until I watched the special features. Craig T. Nelson is always great.
Even the real figure skaters did a great job in this movie, but most of them didn’t have to do much. There are lots of cameos. Watch very carefully though, because some of ‘em are very fast. I saw three cameos in less than 2 seconds during the hearing. I don’t know if they were originally supposed to get more screen time or if this is a treat for attentive skating fans. I’m left wondering…
What would Brian Boitano do?
DVD Extras
The extras on this disc are great. There are some behind the scenes stuff, several interviews and even a music video. Out of all the special features I think my favorite is the interview with Will Arnett and Amy Poehler. They’re funnier in the interview than they are in the movie. They’re kinda creepy in the movie.
Music Video
One of the extras I really liked was the music video. The song that Will Ferrell and Jon Heder sig in the movie is sung my Bo Bice. You can also hear the song on the closing credits. You can also watch it below.
Verdict
I’d recommend this movie. It’s strange and funny, like a lot of Will Ferrell’s stuff. Everyone involved did a great job.
I really liked this movie. It’s definitely worth a rental. Shoot, I may end up buying it.
Shrek the Third isn’t going to be a huge surprise. If you’ve seen the first 2 then you know what to expect. If you haven’t seen the first 2 Shrek movies yet you should be looking for those instead. They’re both great, but the first one is the best.
Shrek the Third does suffer from sequel-itis. It’s not quite as good as the previous movie, which wasn’t quite as good as the first movie. That’s really to be expected though. We know the main cast, but nothing new is introduced.
Movie
In this movie we get to know more about Fiona’s home, the land of Far Far Away. Fiona’s dad is ill and Shrek is filling in as king. Things do not go well. There’s a great sequence that shows how some of the royal functions Shrek performs turn disastrous. During all of this Shrek just wants to go home to his swamp.
Shrek learns that if he wants to avoid being the King of Far Far Away he has to bring back Arthur, the only other person in line for the throne. So he sets off to drag Artie back. While he’s gone Prince Charming, who has been planning revenge, makes his move.
All in all it’s pretty good. It’s not the best Shrek movie, but it has it’s moments.
Moment of Pure Awesome
This is a Shrek movie, so you know there is going to be at least one moment of pure awesome. For me, this clip, and the following sequence, was it. This is what happens when you mess with Snow White.
Special Features
Basics
Like all the Shrek DVDs there are some pretty cool features. I’ve always liked the CGI bloopers. It’s kind of cool to see some of the weird things that go wrong when trying to make a CGI animated movie.
Arthur’s Yearbook
One cool extra on this DVD is Arthur’s yearbook. You get a good idea of what life was like for Artie when he was in school. It’s filled with characters that are only briefly glimpsed, or not in the movie at all. Most, if not all, of them are historical or legendary figures like Arthur Pendragon himself. That makes a few of ‘em even more amusing if you’re a fan of Arthurian legend.
Verdict
I’d recommend this movie. If you’re a fan of Shrek, you won’t need a recommendation though. If you’re not a fan then why did you read this review?
All the old familiar faces return and they’re a welcome sight. Joining the crew of the Black Pearl in Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End are an assortment of new faces. Chow Yun-Fat plays Captain Sao Feng, and steals almost every scene he’s in. Taking command of a scene when you’re on screen with the likes of Geoffrey Rush’s Captain Barbossa is more than impressive. That’s damned good acting.
At World’s End resolves the Pirates of the Caribbean storyline, and it does it in just under 3 hours. Ouch. That’s way too long. Especially when nothing really seems to happen for the first part of the movie. Oh, there’s plenty of action sequences, but what little storytelling there is could be done in much less time.
The ending is satisfying. It just seems right. If only they could have gotten to it a bit quicker.
Oh and for the ladies…
There’s more Depp than you can shake a pair of panties at.
DVD Extras
The extras are almost non-existent. There’s a gag reel, and that’s it. The bloopers are good, but not good enough to be the only special feature. No behind the scenes, no “making of”, no nothin’. That really sucks. I would love to see a making of documentary for this movie. C’mon! Would one interview with Keith Richards hurt the sales of the premium DVD that much?
I have no doubt that there will be a special collectors premium edition that contains the special features that should have been on this disc. Would I buy it? No way. Not a chance. I doubt I’d even rent it. Ok, maybe I’d rent it if it has that Keith Richards interview.
Verdict
This wraps up a trilogy, so if you’ve seen the others rent this one. If you haven’t seen the first 2, you’re not missing anything.
As for buying it…
I’d only recommend purchasing this DVD to fans of the series. If you have to add this one to your collection, wait. In a couple of months there will be a DVD that has the special features this one should have had.
I wrote a post about Superbad about the time it came out in theaters. I didn’t get to see it on the big screen, but I rented the unrated and extended edition. Here’s my review.
The Movie
Superbad is about three high school friends and is set couple of weeks before graduation. These guys are geeks, no two ways about it, but thanks to a fake I.D. they have a chance to finish high school in style. They set out on a quest to buy booze for a party.
Seth and Evan need the booze to impress the girls they’re interested in. They want to make the most of their time before they go their separate ways in college. They also want to go to college with at least some experience, and I ain’t talking about band camp. That’s pretty damn important at that age.
The adventures of Fogell, A.K.A. “McLovin” played by Christopher Mintz-Plasse, is where most of the humor is. McLovin tries to use his crappy I.D. to buy the booze. The store gets robbed and the cops are called, he’s just unlucky I guess. Or is he?
The cops seem to believe the fake I.D. or just don’t care that it’s fake. They offer him a ride to the party, but get caught up in other things. Things like getting drunk and shooting street signs. Along the way they offer him advice on life. Bad advice. Bad cop, no donut!
DVD Special Features
All the normal extras are here. Commentary, deleted scenes, a gag reel and previews. There are a couple of interesting extras.
I’m reviewing the unrated and extended edition of Superbad. I don’t know if the extras on the, no doubt numerous, other versions are similar. I’m thinking that theatrical version is missing a few of these.
Line-O-Rama
A lot of the dialog is very creatively foul and apparently ad-libbed. Line-O-Rama shows you the different versions that didn’t make it into the movie. Some of ‘em are lame, but others are hilarious. I enjoyed the different ways Jonah Hill, who plays Seth, described his choice of porn.
Cop Car Confessions
The Cop Car Confessions are a few short scenes with the cops talking to different people who are in the squad car. I enjoyed all of these a lot, but my favorite was the guy busted for drugs. He was just makin’ his famous pancakes for his buddies and the cops broke in and arrested him for possession. Happens all the time.
I don’t know why these didn’t make it into the movie, maybe they were filmed especially for the special features.
The Vag-Tastic Voyage
This is the porn site Seth talks about in the movie. They’ve included the full scene of the fictional site as a special feature. From the initial pick up to the closing shot, the entire thing is a spoof of a real porn site. It’s pretty darn accurate too. Ummm… Not that I would know.
Verdict
This is definitely worth renting, it’s a great movie with some really cool extras. Superbad is an old school raunchy teen movie in the spirit of Porky’s and the first American Pie.
Ok, I know I said I’d be doing book reviews, but I have to get a few DVDs out of the way first. A handful of movies I’ve been wanting to see have come out on DVD. I was able to snatch up a few of ‘em on release day for a change.
So I’ll be reviewing the following DVDs next week, hopefully.
Superbad
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
Shrek the Third
Blades of Glory
As you can see, I haven’t had time to read a book this week. I’ve been too busy watching movies. Oh, and obsessing over the last episode of Heroes.
Allan’s World Music - This is an indie music blog where Allan, Joe, Kevin and Noah talk about music they really like, do album reviews and talk about concerts they’ve been to or want to see.
