Recurring readers might remember my blog post from last year about the Hide & Seek Festival. It was a great three days of playing pervasive games, meeting like-minded people, and running around like crazy. This year the event is again being held for three days, and it sounds like it’s going to be just as fun.

The event will take place in and around the Royal Festival Hall, part of London’s Southbank Centre. They’re starting this evening at 19:00 with a couple of games (with as theme Beyond Werewolf), including Grand Emperor (which I’ve been wanting to play for some time now) and Hermit’s House (Players take the roles of a group of people stuck in a haunted house, and must find creative ways to solve the problems presented to them).

Tomorrow and Sunday the games run from 11:00 to 18:00, although if you just want to dip in for some brief gaming, you can drop in (and leave) at any time you want. It’s sounds like as if it’s going to be a fun couple of days, and I’m really interested in going. I’m not too sure about tonight or Sunday yet, but I’m definitely going to make it tomorrow (although 11 might be a bit too early). Check out the complete schedule on the Hide & Seek website, so that you can plan which games you want to participate in (no need to sign up or anything). See you there?

The Book of Eli: This looks awesome! A post-apocalyptic tale, in which a lone man fights his way across America in order to protect a sacred book that holds the secrets to saving humankind. Release Date: January 2010 (US, UK)

Hot Tub Time Machine: After a night of drinking Red Bull and vodkas, a group of guys travel back in time in their hot tub to when they were younger cads. This could turn out horribly wrong and with another cast I would have said it definitely turn out though. This combination of actors though just seems hilarious! Release Date: February 2010 (US)

Toy Story/ Toy Story 2 in 3D: So this year both of the first two Toy Story’s are being re-released in the cinemas in 3D. The trailer is pretty cute (and not just recycled scenes from the movies as I expected). Release Date: October 2009 (US)

Saw VI: I liked the first Saw movie, but I never have bothered with any of its sequels. For those of you that do though, here’s the trailer. There’s first a not very interesting interview with Tobin Bell though. The plot? I’m guessing evil traps, lots of deaths and Tobin Bell. Release Date: October 2009 (US)

Dark Country: A couple (Thomas Jane and Lauren German) en route from Las Vegas are forced to deal with a body out in the desert making their honeymoon one hellish ride. I’m liking the look of this movie, it’s a bit film noir like, but I’m not too sure about the rest. Doesn’t seem like an interesting plot. Release Date: Unknown

The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard: Who is Don Ready? Salesman? Lover? Song Stylist? Semi-professional dolphin trainer? Ready is all of the above, except for a dolphin trainer. When he’s asked to help save an local car dealership from bankruptcy, Ready and his crew descend on the town of Temecula like a pack of coyotes on a basket full of burgers. Okay, this doesn’t look funny at all. The only thing interesting is some of the actors involved, but it seriously looks like an “avoid at all costs”. Release Date: August 2009 (US)

A Serious Man: A black comedy set in 1967 and that centers on Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern professor who watches his life unravel when his wife prepares to leave him because his inept brother won’t move out of the house. Another movie from the Coen brothers. I really can’t connect to there movies, and so far I’ve never really enjoyed any of their previous movies. But I know loads of you out there do, so you’ll be happy with this quirky trailer. Release Date: October 2009 (US), November 2009 (UK)

I was following all the tweets and blog posts coming from Comic-Con last week, but didn’t feel I could really blog about it without showing some quality footage. There have been a couple of handheld shot videos, but some of them are just so crap to watch (like a certain Doctor Who trailer, that I’ve been waiting and waiting for to be released properly). Slowly though some better footage is coming available online.

One of the funniest video was of the panel of The Big Bang Theory. I love that show, and I think it’s only gotten better as the series has gone on. The clips are from the WB’s official YouTube channel, but I’m a bit annoyed that they only featured these two short clips; why not show more?

Anyhow, here they are:

Jim Parsons is hilarious! I just love that you can see when he goes into “Sheldon mode”.

Update: I found the following four videos which feature the entire talk. It’s not perfect, but the sound is pretty great (compared to some of the stuff I’ve seen):

Episode 130: “mauw”

Ah, Simon’s cat. How we adore thee. It’s been more than a year since we last saw you, but you remain funny and so very very catlike:

[Watch on MissGeeky.com]

If you haven’t seen the previous ones (and love cats), you’ve got to check them out: Cat Man Do, Let Me In and TV Dinner.

I first heard about Moon back in January, when the first reviews of Sundance came online. Everybody was gushing about it, and I’ve been looking forward to it since. Then in April I featured a trailer for Moon here on my blog; and I was even more intrigued. I finally got to see it last week and I was right to be so interested in this movie. This is one of the best sci-fi movies of this year (maybe even THE best) and it’s great to hear it’s getting a wider release here in the UK.

Moon takes place sometime in the near future, where scientists have discovered an alternative energy resource harvested from the Moon. Astronaut Sam Bell is an employee for Lunar Industries stationed on a lunar base to extract this resource and send it back to Earth. He is almost at the end of his three year contract, having spent the past three years without human contact, and only his robot Gerty as a companion.

I won’t say more than that, cause it’s mainly the story of this movie that’s interesting. I heard a couple of weeks back that the trailer “only shows scenes from the first 15 minutes of the movie”. That’s not entirely true; I think it’s more like 20-25 minutes. Still the trailer doesn’t spoil it at all, and that’s what I love about Moon. What might have been the end/climax of most movies is here only the beginning.

Moon is very much an intelligent sci-fi story about the moral consequences and dilemmas of a “What If” situation. It moves pretty slow, and harks back to those sci-fi movies of old, like 2001: A Space Odyssey and Outland. Everything unfolds slowly, moving at its own leisurely pace. For some, this might feel a bit tedious, but I think it added to the charm of the movie.

The visuals are pretty stunning and it feels as if it’s shot on a much larger budget than is actually the case. The outside moon landscape scenes were mainly shot with miniatures and it’s refreshing to see that again instead of CGI. Except for one scene at the end, I thought it all looked fantastic. I also should mention the music; the score from Clint Mansell adds very much to the effect of the overall movie with some hauntingly beautiful tunes.

Sam Rockwell’s acting is the highlight of this movie. He carries Moon on his shoulders and without his strong performance the entire movie would come crumbling down. I can’t go that much into depth without giving too much away, but believe me when I say his performance is extra special.

Moon is one of the most interesting movies this year so far and I think it could be the best sci-fi movie of the year (although we’ll have to wait for 9 and District 9 first before I can claim that). It’s got a great, intelligent story and goes beyond your standard space plot. Highly recommended!

Moon – Out now in cinemas

I’m subscribed to the weekly new Threadless T-shirts feed, so I get to see the latest tees that they’re offering. Most of the time there’ll be 1 shirt I like, with the rest only achieving a yawn or a “meh”. This week, however, was full of some great tees!

I’m Not A Blogger, I Just Tweet A Lot seemed just so appropriate for some people I know:

Then came this beauty (The Sin):

But the one I really love is called Missing!!!:

You’ve got to check out the website to see the entire story on that shirt, but I just found it adorable. Other cool ones were The Smiley Factory and When You Think About It, All Galaxies Are Far, Far, Away.

Another soapy drama with pretty people: The Beautiful Life revolves all around the fashion industry about a pair of fresh young models. Here’s the description from The CW:

The life of a high-fashion model appears glamorous and sexy, but as every new model learns, behind the beautiful façade is a world of insecurity and cutthroat competition. Two teenage models just discovering this world are Raina Collins (Sara Paxton, Last House on the Left), a stunning beauty with a secret past, and Chris Andrews (Benjamin Hollingsworth, The Line), a strikingly handsome Iowa farm boy. Raina befriends the newly discovered Chris, introducing him to her friends at the “models’ residence’ she calls home. After an intense photo shoot and an exclusive industry party that a violent turn, Chris questions whether he can survive in this world of dangerous excess and fleeting fame.

I want to not like this series, but I have a feeling that just like with Gossip Girl and 90210, I’ll get hooked.

The trailer is a bit long, but I’m already curious to see more of the characters; they seem likable already. The main girl Sara Paxton seems so familiar to me, but I can’t figure out where I’ve seen her before (browsed through her IMDB page, nothing popped out). I’ve always hated Mischa Barton, but if her character remains the bitchy girl-we’re-supposed-to-hate I don’t have a problem with her.

The Beautiful Life – Serie Premiere: Wednesday September 16th

In anticipation of Terry Gilliam’s latest movie The Imaginarium of Doctor Parnassus, the BFI Southbank are holding a Terry Gilliam season. Each of Gilliam’s movies will be screened 2-3 times in August (excluding his short features). So that’s:

• The Adventures of Baron Munchausen
• Brazil
• The Brothers Grimm
• Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
• The Fisher King
• Jabberwocky
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail
• Tideland
• Time Bandits
• Twelve Monkeys

Check out the dates of all the screenings on the BFI website.

I think it’s a great idea that the BFI are screening all of Terry Gilliam’s movies again. I loved Twelve Monkeys, but never got to see it in the cinema. Plus I still haven’t seen Brazil, Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas or Tideland, even though they’ve been for ages on my list of films to watch. If anybody else is up for it, I’m thinking we should arrange a meetup to (at least) one of these movies; leave a comment behind if you’re interested.

Thanks to BFI, I’ve got two pairs of tickets to give away here to any of the Terry Gilliam screenings mentioned on their site. All you have to do is leave a comment below with your name, email address, and which Terry Gilliam movie is your favourite (and why). Entries are open to anyone, but you have to be able to come to London to enjoy this prize. Contest deadline is July 31st 13:00. I’ll contact the winners that same afternoon and they’ll be able to choose which movie and which screening to go to.

Check out the screenings for the Terry Gilliam season on the BFI website.

Interesting links for July 20th through July 27th:

• Melancholia – I didn't say she stole my money. A sentence with 7 meanings.
• Comic Con Live Blog: CHUCK Panel – Great write up of the panel of Chuck at Comic Con. I loved how Season 2 ended, and I think Chuck might be one of the most under-appreciated shows at the moment.
• Flickr: The Anaglyph (Red-Cyan 3D Pictures) Pool – I remember ages ago I got a magazine with photos of Mars in them in 3D, and you got one of those flimsy paper red/green 3D glasses with it.
• Ridiculous Life Lessons From New Girl Games – Ugh, list of the "girl" games coming out this year, and most of them are horrible; they're all about fashion, modeling, makeup, boys, etc. Why do game developers think these are the only type of games girls would be interested in?

Produced by the Wachowski brothers (The Matrix and its sequels). Written by J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5, duh). Directed by James McTeigue (V For Vendetta). And starring the Korean popstar Rain. I so want to love this movie!

Here’s the description from Wikipedia:

Raizo (Rain) is one of the world’s deadliest assassins, having been kidnapped as a child and raised by the Ozunu Clan, believed by the world to be a myth. When Raizo’s friend is executed by the clan, Raizo flees into hiding. He later reemerges, seeking revenge. Meanwhile, Mika Coretti (Naomie Harris) is a Europol agent who investigates money linked to political murders and finds that it is linked to the Ozunu Clan. She defies her superior, Ryan Maslow (Ben Miles), and retrieves secret agency files to find out more. The clan, finding out about the investigation, attempts to assassinate her, but she is rescued by Raizo. Hiding in Europe, Raizo and Mika must find a way to take down the Ozunu Clan.

Sounds a bit average, right? It’s not exactly an original story. But take a look at the trailer:

I think it looks wicked! I’m loving the martial arts sequences we get to see, which I’ve kind of missed from a lot of the big action movies recently. Give me smooth choreographed fight scenes over big explosions every day! (Although the occasional big explosion can be fun too).

Ninja Assassin – Release Date: November 2009 (US, UK)