DVR Weekly: 5-21-12
Life can get pretty busy, so the invention of the Digital Video Recorder, aka DVR, has been a godsend for those of us who love television programming. Well, I’m one of those people. In this weekly article, I’m going to talk about some of the shows I am keeping up with on my DVR. Pretty straight forward, right? Well let’s get started.
Sorry about the lateness of this post. The Sherlock special post will be coming up this weekend.
Community – Eps. 3.20-22 “Digital Estate Planning”, “The First Chang Dynasty”, “Introduction to Finality”
These were some amazing episodes. An 8-bit episode where we get “Troy and Abed spitting lava!” “The First Chang Dynasty” rounds out the over-arcing story of Chang’s takeover. It was a great homage to Heist movies specifically Ocean’s Eleven. And finally “Introduction to Finality” wraps up the season nicely. We get some resolution on the Evil Abed thread and Troy’s destiny in the Air Conditioning School. This episode definitely had an interesting sense of “finality”. On one hand, the question of cancellation loomed over head while writing this episode, but on the other, the fact that Dan Harmon will be leaving raises the question of how well the show can do without him.
Young Justice – Ep. 2.04 “Salvage”
In this episode, we find out where the other three missing members from five years ago have gone. Wally/Kid Flash has retired to settle down with Artemis. I thought it interesting that Wally is benched at a time that he is missing in the DCnU. We also found out that Roy is on the hunt for the original Speedy. There is an intervention of sorts featuring Wally, Dick, Green Arrow, Black Canary, and the Guardian. The parallels between Roy’s unwavering focus and Speedy’s drug addiction in the comics are apparent, but very well done. We also learn that Cheshire and Roy have had Lian. If this show doesn’t make you nostalgic for the old DCU, you haven’t been reading comics long.
Short list this week so I can focus on Sherlock.
I’ll see you all next week… same DVR channel… same DVR time…
The Great Gatsby
F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote many marvelous stories and a couple of the favorites have been successfully adapted for the big screen: The Curious Case of Benjamin Button and The Great Gatsby. This year it is Baz Luhrmann who is directing this latest adaptation and I must say I am excited. The jazz age was all about liquor and music and the story does a great job of incorporating this environment into the lives of these characters.
Quick Story Detail:
Nick Carraway is the narrator who moves to Rhode Island to start his career. His second cousin Daisy lives nearby with her husband Tom Buchanan. Carraway’s other neighbor is the millionaire and titular character Jay Gatsby. Gatsby and Daisy used to be lovers during WWI, but were separated. Gatsby remained obsessed with Daisy and procured a fortune to try to win her back. When he finds out she has married he uses his newly acquired fortune to move into the neighborhood and throw lavish parties to get her attention, but she never attends. Gatsby befriends her cousin Nick and convinces him to arrange a clandestine meeting for him and Daisy. Their love affair begins again and sets the rest of the plot in motion.
Do not be fooled, this is not a love story people! This story has deceit, booze, women, secret pasts, money, and car crashes. All while delving into characters and examining selfishness at its core. Insight and action rolled up into one. That is just the book. Now you take this exciting plot and add Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire, Carey Mulligan as seen through the lens of Baz Luhrmann and you have a promising movie. So dust off your copies of this amazing book and brush up before its release this Christmas. Perhaps also re-watch Leonardo DiCaprio in Luhrmann’s Romeo & Juliet.
Cheap Date: May 23rd
This is Cheap Date, where I will tell you my opinion on how to spend under $30 for your week’s geek entertainment.
Another light week, but I was able to salvage it and find you some entertainment. Hopefully you can enjoy this week just the same.
Games – $15
ArmA II: Combined Operations is on sale from Amazon for $15 until the 28th. It contains Arma II as well as the expansion Operation Arrowhead. While the game itself is mediocre, there had been a mod that is going around that everyone is talking about called Day Z. What is Day Z? Down to its bare bones, it is a zombie shooter. While that is simple enough, the game is so much more than that. Everything in the game is as realistic as possible (granted there is a zombie apocalypse). You need food, you can bleed out and you can not trust anyone for shit. Other players sometimes play the role of bandits, as players can kill each other. Instead of venturing into a zombie infested town, you can scavenge resources from other players. Like other great zombie fiction, the zombies are just dressing. How people interact with each other is the best part of the game. I am beyond fascinated in playing this game.
Be warned though that this is a PC game and it is very intensive, some hardware may not be up to the challenge. If you past that hurdle, the game is a challenge itself as average life time for players runs about four hours.
Comics – $11
For comics, this week I have three books to recommend.
The first one isBatman Incorporated #1from DC Comics. it is written by Grant Morrison with art by Chris Burnham. This will be the first time Batman, Inc. will be showcased in the new DC 52. While I have not always been a fan of Morrison’s writing, I cannot deny that his run before the DC relaunch was one of the better books out there. Plus, it is fun learning about all the different “Batmen” from around the world.
Dan Slott’s run onAmazing Spider-Mancontinues in issued #686 from Marvel Comics. The “Ends of the Earth” story line is rising to a climax soon, so you should hop on board now. All you need to know is the Earth is in peril and only Spider-Man can save the day. Not to mention Slott has promised some seismic changes to the Spider-Man universe by issue #700.
Finally, there’s Cobra #13 from IDW. Seriously, if you are even remotely a fan of G.I. Joe as a kid then you should read the three series that IDW puts out and Cobra is by far the best one of the group. The next chapter of the G.I. Joe story line starts here as the Joes are being backed into a corner. Now we get to see who will get their hands truly dirty.
That will do it for this week’s Cheap Date and hopefully you enjoyed yourself.
Skyfall Trailer
Bleeding Cool has released the new trailer for the new 007 film, Skyfall. Check it out:
Not too much on details. We definitely get to see a lot of the modern Bond action sequences that I enjoy. I really hope the meaning behind Skyfall is kept a mystery, but the words I would have said in response to Skyfall: “Anticipation”.
Episode 4: Do It
Hello! In this week’s episode we talk about George Lucas’ retaliation for the Grady Ranch, emo haircuts, Community, comic book news and much more. Hope you are still enjoying us a month in!
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Harley Quinn’s Revenge DLC Trailer
We talked about it for a little bit in last week’s podcast, but here’s the trailer for Harley Quinn’s Revenge DLC for Batman: Arkham City. Take a look.
Sets up the story and shows what is going to be happening. It looks like the majority of the game takes place in Arkham City’s Industrial District where Joker set up camp in the main story. The game will be split as you spend time playing as both Batman and Robin. I’m looking forward to see exactly how much more Batman lore we’ll get from this story. Will there also be more hints to future games (Arkham World?). We’ve only got a few weeks to find out.
No More Action: Jackie Chan Retires
Three words haven’t meant so much to this nerd since “No more mutants.” Yeah, I went there. But at Cannes, Jackie Chan has announced that he is retiring from action films. He will continue acting with a larger focus on his abilities as an actor, not just a comedian. Read more over at Daily Mail.
I will miss Jackie Chan’s action but at 58, he has gone above and beyond what he needed to do. I will always remember the movies that introduced me to his wonderful martial arts style like Rumble in the Bronx, Drunken Master series, Operation Condor, and Supercop. I look forward to seeing what roles he begins to take now.
Ka-Pow 101: Wibbly Wobbly Avengers Time Stuff
So readers have really been enjoying the Avengers stuff lately. I wonder why. Well let’s add on another layer. You’ve all seen the movies. You know they all are connected. But do you know the timeline? Well now you can. Marvel has released Avengers: The Art of Marvel’s the Avengers (that’s not a long title). Inside you can find a copy of the movie universe timeline. It’s actually a very well-made infographic. Check it out.
I don’t know how much longer we’ll do these Avengers features, since we’re approaching the releases of Amazing Spider-man and Dark Knight Rises. I’ll definitely put up one more lesson looking at the future of the Avengers films.
Album of the week – Time Travel edition… Early 2000s
So this week the new albums were less than amazing so i decided to go back into my vault and pick out three albums that are worth checking out:
The Strokes – I think we can all agree with Rolling Stone when they say that Is This It? was one of the top albums of the 2000s. This album dropped in the U.S. in October of 2001 and after that you could actually see a change. The music began swaying to that addictive Indie Rock sound and even the fashion began to change. Dudes especially, started saying Good-bye sagging pants… Hello skinny jeans! It is rare when you can have such a significant shift from the success of one album. The music speaks for itself, you have upbeat melodies paired with Julian Casablancas‘ raspy voice and stellar lyrics. This is an album which will be on repeat for days and keep you entertained. My Top 3 Fav tracks: Last Nite, SOMA, and Someday.
Kill Hannah – For Never & Ever is a surprisingly great album. I had heard Kennedy on the radio a few times and thought it would be just another blip on the radar kind of band. A friend of mine insisted that I was wrong, burned me a copy purchased a copy legally, and presented me with it. I was automatically hooked. This band has a way with lyrics that makes you dig deep into the most primal emotions and run with it. Kill Hannah’s Lead Vocalist / Songwriter / Guitarist / Piano man Mat Devine is an amazing frontman. I had the pleasure of catching Kill Hannah while they were opening for Mindless Self Indulgence and I was blown away by their intensity as well as his utter androgeny. ( Nerdy Sidenote: He recently was tapped for the Broadway show Spiderman: Turn off the Dark as Grim Hunter. However, the mounting issues led to a Hiatus and then his role was cut along with the rest of the Geek Chorus.) All in all this is a fun listen. My Top 3 Fav tracks: 10 More Minutes with You, Kennedy, and Boys & Girls
Jimmy Eat World – Bleed American also known as their self-titled album. This album came out in July of 2001, the record label was afraid that the name would be misconstrued (Bleed, American!) after 09/11/2001 so they changed it and the track name to re-release. Despite this small controversy the album sold very well and became the album this band is known for. They even had a successful re-release in 2008 and a ten year celebration tour (which of course i attended singing each word with the equally smitten masses) The lyrics in this album are extremely thoughful and can be applied to any emotional high, personal crisis or pensive moment. My top 3 Fav Tracks: Praise Chorus, If you don’t, don’t and Hear you Me ( the current name of my iPod).
Hope you enjoy these picks and i will keep an ear out for the next album of the week! Don’t be surprised if next week has a bit of disco in it. Mourning yet another music legend this week, Donna Summer. She died of cancer today at the age of 63. So sad, I spent many Saturday nights listening to disco night on 98.1 and Last Dance wrapped it up each time.
Call Yourself A Nerd 