31 Aug

Out To Lunch

Sorry to say that there will be no new show this week as both Doug and I had commitments over the weekend that kept us from recording this week.

We’ll be back next week with the usual nonsense. See you then.

Jose

24 Aug

Postin’ in Vista

UPDATE: There’s some kind of problem with the doohicky. It’s being looked into.

Hey there is a new episode! Mostly just random news and ramblings this week. Here’s the Avatar trailer, which you have no doubt already seen:

And here’s A LINK to Wolfman, which youtube (or, more likely, Universal) doesn’t want anyone to embed anywhere for some reason. It’s not like you WANT more people to see your trailer, right?

21 Aug

Emmy

I think we are up to seventy. New episode is right here. I did not watch a single frame (or interlaced frame portion) of the Emmys this year. I don’t think I did last year either. After a while it’s just nice to find out who won after (or, on this coast, before) they air and not have to sit through hours of the awards actually being given out. Once again Antiques Roadshow was robbed of its rightful glory. I’ll be starting an online campaign to move it over to Best Dramatic Series for next year, so keep an eye out for that and add your futile e-signature to it if you agree with me.

I talked a little bit about Scribblenauts this week. I don’t know if I quite adequately explained what it is, so I’ve embedded the trailer below. Just watching it has given me some ideas of things to go and try out. It’s not particularly challenging yet, which is fine because it’s essentially a kids game, but it does make you think in new ways and kind of redefines the limits of what a game can do. Right now it almost seems to be more about the underlying concept than the actual execution, but I would imagine if there is a Scribblenauts 2 they’ll hammer out some of the physics issues and weird gameplay quirks and make something really amazing.

17 Aug

Remake City, Population You

Seems as if we talked a lot about remakes or material based on other mediums this week on the cast. Whether it was a possible Halo film, or Frank Darabont’s attempt to bring The Walking Dead to TV, Elmore Leonard’s Lawman (coming to FX), Spider-man on Broadway to finally a possible third remake of Battlestar Galactica, seems that there’s not a lack of “properties” or “brands” that the entertainment industry is willing to mine for safe, marketable ideas. Now that’s not to say that I am completely against remaking, re-imagining, or extending a franchise, but it does seem as if there is a glut of this stuff happening of late. That makes me wonder all the time, where are all the new BIG franchises coming from? Where is the new Star Wars or Star Trek (for that matter)? And for those of you who answer “Lord of the Rings”, it doesn’t count. We’re talking new and original. The Lord of the Rings trilogy, for all it’s awesome goodness, was neither new nor original.

That said one thing that was new this week was Neill Blomkamp’s District 9, which is a fantastic piece of storytelling that does, as we’ve talked on the show before, do that thing that science fiction does so well and best. Tell stories that could otherwise not be told without the lens of science fiction. District 9 covers a huge range of themes and issues, that become sharply focused by Blomkamp’s aliens in refuge. It’s probably one of the best movies that I’ve seen this year, if not the best. That said, Moon is pretty damn good as well. After seeing it, it made me wonder what his Halo film might have been.

Here is the both horrible and long trailer for “Legion”. The lesson here is “Less is More”

Followed by the short clip from FX Lawman. Really it’s just one step removed from Seth Bullock on Deadwood.

09 Aug

Without Lamps There Would Be No Light

Bonjour! Our thrilling new episode is now ALIVE AND ON FIRE. We talk at length about John Hughes’ death right up front. The man’s movies defined a generation, Jose’s generation specifically, and he will be missed. Plus, he wrote Beethoven. As discussed on the podcast, here’s a link to a great story that’s been making its way around the internet. It shows that Hughes wasn’t just going through the motions, he had a genuine connection to the world he portrayed on film. It also talks a little bit about why he dropped off the Hollywood map. Definitely worth a read. Here’s one of many montages that have been cropping up lately:

Other things of note from the cast this week include Terry Gilliam’s trailer for The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus, which you can watch here:

And a Brazilian commercial imploring everyone in the world (they call the United States out specifically) to conserve water by peeing in the shower. I’ve already started:

That’s it for this week’s youtube rodeo.

06 Aug

Generic RPG Hero

Who are they looking at?

The latest episode of the Zero Room is live! We did our best this week to keep things on a happy positive note but as you might imagine we do get a bit snarky, especially about the art that accompanies this post. This was Doug’s Worst Thing Ever this week. If the title MASS EFFECT 2 were not emblazoned on top it is massive letters it really could be any action game or movie or TV Show or cartoon or breakfast bar. I suppose that there’s an established brand for Mass Effect, but really, is this the best EA could do? I’m not entirely sure what anyone is looking at or doing in the piece, but hey there’s a big smoking gun, a girl in what looks like an uncomfortable pose and an Alien! Ship it!

Also here is my Worst Thing Ever this week, the trailer for WWII in HD from the History Channel. In pixelated Standard Def. I suppose it was just a good week for marketing fails.

03 Aug

Generic Action Hero RPG

Who are they looking at?

The latest episode of the Zero Room is live! We did our best this week to keep things on a happy positive note but as you might imagine we do get a bit snarky, especially about the art that accompanies this post. This was Doug’s Worst Thing Ever this week. If the title MASS EFFECT 2 were not emblazoned on top it is massive letters it really could be any action game or movie or TV Show or cartoon or breakfast bar. I suppose that there’s an established brand for Mass Effect, but really, is this the best EA could do? I’m not entirely sure what anyone is looking at or doing in the piece, but hey there’s a big smoking gun, a girl in what looks like an uncomfortable pose and an Alien! Ship it!

Also here is my Worst Thing Ever this week, the trailer for WWII in HD from the History Channel. In pixelated Standard Def. I suppose it was just a good week for marketing fails.

The Zero Room Podcast