Episode 10: “Because the lives of the wicked should be made brief”

Tonight is the London premiere of Sweeney Todd (even though the actual UK release date is 25th of January) and for that reason I’ve got this video. It’s a short clip with Johnny Depp commenting on his performance and shows a scene with him singing. I love the look and feel of the movie, but while I am a musical fan, I’m not sure I really like this music. Guess I’ll have to wait till the 25th to know for sure. 

I clearly remember the first time I played Soul Calibur II. It was a couple of years ago at a friend’s birthday party and I was playing with Ivy. At the time I didn’t like fighting games that much. I didn’t dislike them; I had played Mortal Combat and Battle Arena Toshinden on the PSone and then Dead Or Alive and Virtua Fighter a lot on the PS2, but that was more about winning from my brother and sister, then really finding it a great, good game. The first thing I noticed of SC was it’s fluidity; the game play was so smooth and graceful. It felt like watching a perfectly choreographed scene from a movie. Then instead of the standard “everybody uses their hands and feet and kicks and punches”, here everybody had a specific weapon: swords, staffs, katanas, etc. So, the first time I was playing I had Ivy. Now, for those of you who don’t know the game, Ivy’s weapon is kind of peculiar. It’s called a snake sword and with the right button the basic sword can actually turn into a whip. Imagine my surprise when that happened the first time!

When Soul Calibur III came out, I was amazed again. You could make your own complete characters! Plus their was a RPG-like mode added to it, so you could level up your characters and collect more items (weapons, clothes, extras). I spent hours trying to get further in the game, but alas my gaming skills aren’t that great. At a certain point, I just wasn’t good enough to beat the computer (I know I’ll be able to do it with enough effort and training, but I really don’t have the time for that). Anyhow it remains one of the best “beat your friends”-games (btw, I love Cassandra and Sophitia).

So, why I am I going on about these old games? A new trailer for Soul Calibur IV has come out during CES and it looks extremely wicked. A lot of the regular characters were alreayd confirmed to be back (Astaroth, Cassandra, Ivy, Mitsurugi, Nightmare, Raphael, Siegfried, Sophitia, Taki, Tira and Volvo) and one new character had been revealed, Hilde. The new info though? The PS3 and the Xbox360 both have special (unlockable) characters, namely…drumroll please… Darth Vader and Yoda! Don’t believe me? Take a look at some of the images below (via 1UP.com) or at the trailer. More images here and here.The downside is though that Darth Vader will be only in the PS3 version and Yoda only in the Xbox360 version. So we won’t be having any great Darth Vader vs. Yoda fights. However, 1UP.com is expecting some more surprises:

…we suspect that Namco Bandai still has plenty of stuff up their sleeve. Given their recent Ace Combat 6 shenanigans, we wouldn’t be surprised to learn that additional Star Wars characters are paid-for downloadable content. It’s unlikely that the company would go through all these negotiations with LucasArts to obtain the rights to only two characters, so expect more announcements as we get closer to SCIV’s release date.

Now there’s finally a reason for me to get a PS3!

Interesting links for January 8th through January 9th:

• Mind Hacks: A phobia of bridges – I’ve never stood still with how irritating such a phobia would be. But then, how could you even have such a phobia?
• Advertising: Jumper Teleporting Through Commercials – Weird crossover trailer for Jumper, where Hayden Christensen jumps into another commercial (HP, Serena Williams).
• Mind Hacks: ‘Stress’: from buildings to the battlefield – Cute little fact that Stress shouldn’t have been called stress (but strain).
• IQ-145: Teen Becomes His Father’s Freaky Experiment in IQ-145 – Trailer for a new web series IQ-145 with Thomas Dekker (Heroes, Sarah Connor Chronicles). Seems interestings.
• Environment: Vertical Skyscraper Farms Dominate Skyline of 2050 – Pretty nifty idea for the future: farms in skyscrapers.
• Microscopy: The Tarnished Gears of Steampunk Microscopy – Cool photos of watches under the microscope.
• Office Supplies Fetish: Customize Your Notes with the Circa Modular Notebook – Ooh, loving this note book system. Does anybody know if I can it in the UK anywhere?

Episode 9: “The microwave goes on, cause that’s probably like “magic” to them.”

I still have to see Hard Candy and Juno, but what I hear about both films is that Ellen Page just steals the show. Here’s a clip from her on The Late Show with David Letterman. You gotta love the “transparent slut” part.

With the writer’s strike still in full effect, some of you might have taken refuge into reruns of Heroes. Especially with the slump that is Volume 2, you might need something to make it a bit more “fun” ;-). Yes, I know not everybody agrees with my opinion on Volume 2, but I truly find it a disappointment compared to the first season. It’s not that it’s bad, horrible, painful, etc, etc; it’s just that it could have been so much greater than it was. I’m just annoyed with the wasted potential. However, Volume 3 seems promising and I can’t wait for the writer’s strike to end. Btw, a tip to any Heroes fan, get the Volume 1 comic; it seriously is a must-have. 

Anyhow, have a gulp/shot/glass, whenever you see:

1. Parkman using his telepathic, mind-controlling abilities (when you hear the “whisper” music).
2. Sylar acting creepy (when you hear the clock ticking music).
3. The whiny twins getting all black teary eyed again.
4. Hiro using his power (the I-am-concentrating-hard face).
5. Oh, why not: Any Hero using their power.
6. Mr. Muggles!
7. Hiro pushing his glasses back up.
8. Jessica appears. 
9. Mohinder saying “evolution”, “mankind”, or “cure”.
10. The Helix symbol.
11. Noah Bennett saying “Claire”.

Any expansions on these rules?

Episode 8: “Yeah, I can’t believe it’s me either.”No, sadly this isn’t a video with The Muscles from Brussels and Mr Ponytail together, but if we’re lucky enough (and the actors are dumb enough willing) we just might well expect such a movie coming soon. Moviehole reports: 

“Van Damme vs. Seagal” is a spoof comedy making fun of action heroes Van Damme and Seagal, both living in the Hollywood hills jealously trying to make each others’ life miserable – until a real nuclear threat arises and forces them to combine their action hero powers. 

He continues though with: 

Alas – I’m guessing, but I think it’s pretty safe to say I’d be correct with my supposition – it won’t feature the real ‘Muscles for Brussels’ or the true Ponytailed Cook, but the film still sounds like it’ll be worth a look. 

I’m still keeping my fingers crossed that both actors might consider taking up these roles. Seriously, what better way to kick-start their already dead careers? And, it’s not as if they’ve never made fun of themselves before, right? Here, take a look at these commercials. The first is Steven Seagal for Mountain Dew, the second is JCVD for World of Warcraft. 

Interesting links for January 7th:

• Culture-Jamming Decapitator Hacks London Ads – East London photographer is vandalizing ads by decapitating the models aka sticking a big photoshopped sticker over their heads replacing it with a big bloody stump.
• New 3-D Technique From RabbitHoles Makes Posters Pop – If I’m right this is the first time 3D posters are being commercially used. I know James Cameron is also involved in a company doing this same thing and think we’re going to see it once Avatar comes out.
• Art: The Ghosts Of Tomorrow’s Mega-Cities – Beautiful photos from photographer Peter Bialobrzeski of Asian mega cities and of the construction sites of Asian mega cities.
• Paper dresses by Jum Nakao – Pretty runway dresses completely made out of paper by fashion designer Jum Nakao. Plus you gotta love the black plastic Lego-like hair styles.
• Architecture: How to Make Molten Metal Look Like Rain – Cool 100-foot high sculpture from architect/designer/artist Thomas Heatherwick for the Wellcome Trust building in London.
• Battlestar Galactica: Secrets Of Battlestar Season Four Betrayed In New Photo – The cast of BSG pose in a Last-Supper-esque photo and executive producer Ron Moore gives hints about the next (and final) season. Very light spoilerage of the identity of the final Cylon.
• Torchwood: Captain Jack and Spike Kiss – First images of the steamy kiss between Captain Jack (John Barrowman) and Captain John (James Marsters aka Spike from Buffy)

Episode 7: “You can retire and then unretire?”

Great, funny video from Bill Gates’ final CES keynote speech about his last day at Microsoft. Appearances by Matthew McConaughey, Jay-Z, no I won’t spoil the rest, just watch it:

Episode 6: “Trill a cheery tune in the tub as we scrub a stubborn mildew stain.” 

Here’s a clip from Enchanted called the Happy Working Song. If you hadn’t heard of the movie, it’s a bit of a mix of homage and parody to the old Disney cartoon musicals. It’s about a cartoon fairy tale princess that gets pushed into “the world where there are no happy endings” aka New York. I knew I would love the movie when I saw it, because of the Disney nut I am, but I was surprised to find a lot of people loving it. Even my brother was recommending it to all of his friends, claiming it was more worth going to than I Am Legend (I haven’t seen I Am Legend yet, so I can’t say if that’s true or not).

The Happy Working Song is a tribute to the old Disney cleaning songs like Whistle While You Work and Just A Spoonful of Sugar. I especially love how they manage to rhyme toilet with spoil it.

Interesting links for January 5th through January 6th:

• Big TREK update! Footage seen! Script read! Tidbits galore! — – Rumours about the plot of JJ Abrams’ Star Trek.
• High Heels and the Body – How wearing high heels can damage your body.
• Jack Black Spills Year One Details – First details about Judd Apatow’s religious comedy “Year One”. Sounds like dangerous material to pull off, but I think Apatow (Knocked Up, Superbad) has the skills to handle it well.
• Michel Gondry’s Next Film – Return of the Ice Kings « FirstShowing.net – I loved Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind and Be Kind Rewind seems pretty awesome too. Quite interested to see where Michel Gondry goes next. If it is this idea “about kids who invent a water that makes you hear music when you drink it.” Wow.
• Kitty Wigs! – Pink is the color of fantasy. Our model, Chicken, looks like her mind is elsewhere when she wears this wig — somewhere in a land of cotton candy and pinwheels where the air smells like sugar kisses. The world we live in is a very weird place indeed: “Pi