This is the kind of thing that you can expect to see in Piranha 3-D according to our conversation this week, only with less clothes and an extra dimension. Honestly, this is fun for the whole family.

That said we’re back this week, albeit a little more low key than usual. I think vacation, coupled with a 3-day weekend pretty much sapped our strength.  Next week we should be back to our usual mediocre form. I plan on just looking at the side picture to get some strength.

What you see here is pretty much my view of the podcast, except sometimes I look up and talk directly to Jose instead of hiding behind my pop screen and taking a quick nap while he talks about Tara and Eggs or whatever. The tissues are because Jose is allergic to my cat, who is imprisoned in a cat-proof cell for the duration of the podcast. Here you can see Jose banging on the sound effects computer and getting mad that he cannot play farting noises at the appropriate time.

I will be in lovely New Jersey next week, so there will be no new episode.

We run our sound effects from an older mac laptop who’s sound capabilities are currently on life support which might explain the various pops and crackles during this weeks show. Not exactly sure what we’ll replace it with once it gives up the ghost. If it was up to Doug I’m sure that we wouldn’t replace it at all, but I am determined to continue annoying him and our audience with more and more quotes and effects.

This week we chat a bit about some verboten topics including Star Wars and Lost. How Lucas can manage to get such attention and reaction to a 15 second twenty-seven year old piece of footage is a continuing testament to just how ingrained the Star Wars mythos is in our collective consciousness. For those of you that haven’t seen it here’s a link that is still live to see the footage.

Maybe this is what Doug had in mind when he mentioned on the show this week that the new Thor trailer lacked some “epic” moments. I’m not entirely sure if all of the CG effects in the world can make Thor more epic than this, they should just give up now.

We also argue about Superman, and Jose basically just reads you facts about this week’s True Blood that he ripped off of another website.

One of the things we talked about this week was the ousting of Edward Norton from the Avengers movie by Kevin Feige in a not so diplomatic announcement. Quoting here from the press release…

“We have made the decision to not bring Ed Norton back to portray the title role of Bruce Banner in the Avengers. Our decision is definitely not one based on monetary factors, but instead rooted in the need for an actor who embodies the creativity and collaborative spirit of our other talented cast members. The Avengers demands players who thrive working as part of an ensemble, as evidenced by Robert, Chris H, Chris E, Sam, Scarlett, and all of our talented casts. We are looking to announce a name actor who fulfills these requirements, and is passionate about the iconic role in the coming weeks.”

Strong words any way you slice it. It was pretty well documented that Norton and Feige clashed heads over the final cut of the Incredible Hulk film two years ago and we all know how that ended. So maybe Norton was right? Maybe Feige blames Norton for the Hulk’s middling box office returns? (IMHO the movie relied way too much on CGI trickery and action at the expense of character and story) Who knows? Fact is Norton is out and now we’ll get the 3rd actor in 7 years to play the part of Dr. Bruce Banner.

Honestly it’s too bad. I think Norton brought a lightness and charm to Banner that had been missing since the Original TV series and is only now being rediscovered in the comics. Also, I’d rather have an actor who willing to fight for a better movie than one who’s just willing to play ball. That said, I’m typing on a blog and don’t have to make multi-million dollar decisions. So, there’s that.

We also talk about some other stuff but if you’re reading this you’ve probably listened to the podcast already.

(I would like a DVD release of Norton’s cut of the film, BTW)

We opened the show this week with some harsh audio which accompanied the picture above. I’m always happy to see shows push past limits in what you can do with drama and visuals. Some would look at it as a cheap grab for attention. I feel like it another example of genre fiction doing what it does best, using the new rules of a fantastical universe to depict emotion and story. Yea it’s pretty whacked out image, but it works at  leaving an indelible memory in the viewer. That is good T.V.

We also talk a little bit about the WW costume. I could go off for a few more paragraphs about how ridiculous and hyperbolic some of the internet reaction has been, but I will recommend that you listen to the guys at iFanboy and their latest podcast. They have a nice handle on what’s going on with the Amazon princess. Suffice it to say she hasn’t had this kind of attention in a long time and that is not a bad thing. Not bad at all.

New podcast up there, on that grimy gray bar with the arrow on it.

We talk a lot about Red Dead Redemption this week, and if you own an Xbox and haven’t played it yet, you should definitely pick it up assuming you are an adult who appreciates good storytelling. This is definitely not a kids game, and while you could say the same thing about GTA4, with its prostitution and its rampant murder, GTA4’s story was decidedly juvenile, comparable to any number of R rated films that twelve-year-olds are typically watching these days. In fact, they ripped things right out of a lot of those films and didn’t seem to care. On the other hand, Red Dead, with its prostitution and rampant murder, tells a much more mature story that contains actual themes and undercurrents.

It’s the kind of thing that would likely go over the head of most kids (I say most, because there are smart kids and dumb kids). And really, without the storyline you have an average open world, a simple shooting mechanic, a gripping herb picking simulation, and no boss battles. It’s the story, the experience, that sells this one, not a gameplay gimmick, which is a rarity in gaming and something we haven’t seen since… Bioshock? Unless I’m missing something.

If I had used a few more big words and some italics, this blog entry could have been on Penny Arcade.