Hurricane Nostalgia

Hello Youtubes! As I watch the weather reports, I noticed that Hurricane Irene has a very similar path to Hurricane Gloria's back in 1985: Hurricane Gloria's Path Hurricane Irene on weather.com Strangely, this takes me back in time. Is this what they mean by seeing my life flash before my eyes? Hurricane Irene doesn't seem too bad (yet) in my area. Then again it blew the roof off my shed and my neighbor's power lines are down because of a huge falling branch. Anyway, I thought I'd share some of my memories with you via youtube. Here are some old commercials I found that aired in the New England area: Whalom Park Robolar Click on the "JUMP!" link below for more nostalgic videos:

X-Men: First Class

This is another late movie review... or, it could be an early review. It depends on which date you are looking at. X-Men: First Class came out in theaters on June 3, 2011 but, it's coming out on disk on September 9, 2011. I am definitely looking forward to the disk release. X-Men: First Class is my favorite comic book movie of the summer. Under Matthew Vaughn's (Snatch, Stardust, Kick-Ass) direction and a screenplay by 5 writers (including Bryan Singer) we are introduced to Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) before they became rivals and formed the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants. In X-Men: First Class Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr finds each other and together they establish the School for Gifted Youngsters in Westchester County, NY in order to protect children whom are affected by gene mutation from being feared, ousted and even hunted by ignorance. During the first act of the movie, James McAvoy (always Mr. Tumnus and Leto Atreides to me) as the young Charles Xavier plays this role in a deviously fun way as he has full control of his abilities (actor and character). As the movie progresses, Charles Xavier's demeanor changes as his protected life disappears while he gets introduced to a more serious and dangerous world when he becomes friends with Michael Fassenbender's Erik Lehnsherr. Michael Fassenbender shares the same amount of screen time as James MacAvoy but, Fassenbender steals the show with his on screen presence (worthy of Ian McKellen's performance as Magneto). Michael Fassenbender does an amazing job. The first couple minutes of the movie felt like a James Bond movie with Michael Fassenbender being Bond when Erik Lehnsherr hunted the Nazis who were responsible for his torment and his parents' death. X-Men: First Class has the best performances of all the X-Men movies. Jennifer Lawrence surprised me as the young Raven Darkholme (Mystique). Where did this girl come from? She was nominated for best actress in Winter's Bone? Hmm... Unfortunately, it also had the worst performance. January Jones' portrayal of Emma Frost was horribly forgettable. Surprisingly I don't remember much of the "alluring" Emma Frost (January Jones) even though she was in lingerie for most of the movie. In the subject of allure, I do remember how pretty Raven Darkhomle (Jennifer Lawrence) was in a 60's style skirt. Sometimes it's not about how much skin is shown, it's about the presentation. X-Men: First Class is no exception to veering off from the source material. One of the most glaring non-cannon changes was the addition of Havok in this timeline. Havok being Cyclops' younger brother doesn't seem right at all being one of the first members of the X-Men. Also, instead of the original members from the comics (Cyclops, Marvel Girl, Iceman, Beast and Angel) we get: Mystique, Beast, Banshee, Darwin, Havok and Angel. Beast being the same Beast as Hank McCoy but, Angel this time around is borrowed from Grant Morrison's run of New X-Men, Angel Salvadore. Even the uniforms were a rendition of Frank Quitely's design from New X-Men. I understand why some viewers are displeased with these changes. I can forgive the change in the founding members but, I don't like the change with the Summers Brothers (Havok and Cyclops). Even so, it didn't deteriorate my enjoyment of the movie. The screenplay was well put together coinciding the Cuban Missile Crises in the theme of fear, ignorance and human rights (mutant rights). With the fictional parallels you get Charles Xavier preaching education and peace while, Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon giving a wicked performance) spreads fear and ignorance. Then you get Erik Lehnsherr stuck in the middle standing on that fine line between virtuous and villainous, wanting to do good but, not sure which method to choose. This being a prequel we know which method he goes with. Another thing I appreciate about X-Men: First Class was the fact that being a prequel, it didn't go from point A to point B mechanically and called it a day as if it's some sort of history lesson (ahem... Episodes 1-3). It could have easily done that ("he got angry and became Magneto, the end!"). The movie showed us a journey of emotions that these characters dealt with before they became who they are. I'm not even sure if any of the comic books went into this much detail with Professor X's and Magneto's past. Most importantly, the display of the mutant powers and the action in X-Men: First Class are extremely fun to watch. Not to mention a ton of eye candy! I walked into the movie wanting to see a lot of Rose Byrne but found myself liking Jennifer Lawrence, Zoe Kravitz and.. ok, I got to admit, January Jones is still pretty hot despite the cardboard performance (from a guy's perspective). If the men of the movie is your preference, please leave a comment and balance this post out. X-Men: First Class hints as being in the same continuity of the previous X-Men movies with some surprising... "hints." I don't want to spoil it for those who haven't watched the movie yet. In the X-Men movie series, X-Men: First Class is my favorite (followed by X-Men: United (X2). Being a fan of the X-Men comics, I'm very happy that we get 3 very well put together movies which is quite a feat since these movies were not produced by Marvel (like Iron Man and Thor). The creative freedom at 20th Century Fox is not as broad. In any case, I highly recommend X-Men: First Class. Forgive the artistic licenses (it took some effort from me) and at least rent it when it comes out on disk. I am buying the Blu-Ray. X-Men: First Class-Trailer RATING: 4/5

Thor

Thor, Marvel's Mighty God of Thunder finally hits the big screen. I should say it finally hitted the big screen on May 6, 2011. Again, I'm a bit late on the reviews but, if you haven't already seen Thor, I recommend checking it out when it comes out on disk. A lot of people compares it to the first Iron Man movie since Thor seems to be the 2nd watchable Marvel produced movie (not wanting to acknowledge Iron Man 2). Thor is not just watchable. It is also fun, aesthetically pleasing and at points deep. I was worried at first that Thor will be another Iron Man knock off when watching the trailers. There were one-liners in the trailers that made Thor seem more like a smart ass than the arrogant Norse God. Also, after reading about how the Asgardians were treated as aliens really worried me. Especially after how Iron Man 2 was rushed out to be so formulaic and boring. I guess under Kenneth Branagh's direction, J. Michael Straczynski's and Mark Protoevich's screenplay things worked out. The material was kept as close to Marvel's cannon as much as possible. In fact, the way the Asgaridians were handled reminded me of Jack Kirby's take on the Norse Gods and even DC's New Gods. The way the Asgardians traveled in this movie using the Bifrost reminded me of the Boom Tubes that the New Gods used. It looked really cool. There were a few awe inspiring scenes in Thor. The one that sticks out the most for me is when Thor and his small army rides across the Rainbow Bridge in Asgard on his way to fight the Frost Giants. Asgard was a very good looking set. I'm not sure how much of it was CGi. Thor was a super arrogant ass in the beginning of the movie to the point where it almost got him and his friends killed. It is because of this Odin (Anthony Hopkins) strips him of Mjolnir and kicks him out of Asgard and down to earth powerless. While in the background, with Thor out of the way, Loki (Tom Hiddleston) plots to become the Ruler of Asgard. On earth, powerless but still having some supernatural arrogance and strength, Thor bumps into a crew of scientists searching for Extra Terrestrials. At first they think that Thor is an alien but the movie shifted towards the Norse legends more, which made me happy. Honestly, I think the scientists can be replaced by any actor and the movie would not suffer. Two of them has some star power being Natalie Portman and Stellan Skarsgard. The third scientist or rather assistant is played by Kat Dennings. With that said, portraying Thor, Chris Hemsworth does a great job being the asshole Asgardian who learns the ways of humility. He was almost overshadowed by Tom Hiddleston's Loki. Living under Thor's boastful shadow and personal tragedy, Tom Hiddleston's Loki is tormented with choosing between what benefits him and doing the right thing. Of course, he wouldn't be the villain of the movie if we agreed with him. Thor is very entertaining movie which follows some formula. The love interest and the hero losing his powers for example but both of the these things were handled well. I guess a love interest is a way for an immortal to grow an attachment to a lesser realm. I said earlier that Natalie Portman is replaceable but, her presence is definitely more than welcome and she's a fine actor (same goes for a certain prequel trilogy). Chris Hemsworth charismatic performance made up for the low key action of a depowered hero. Also, even without Mjolnir, Thor didn't just moped around the whole time, he still had his fighting abilities, strength and heroism. The lead up to Thor getting Mjolnir back was pretty rewarding. Be sure to stay during the credits for a hint of more Loki and Stellan Skarsgard in the upcoming Avengers movie. Check out Thor. There are some artistic liberties towards the Mighty Marvel Hero but in my opinion they are not glaring travesties. This is definitely the best Thor rendition Thor-Trailer RATING: 3/5

Doctor Who Series 6 Part 2 Tonight!

"My Time Is Running Out" Doctor Who Series 6 Part 2 will be airing on BBCA in a few hrs... well... actually, a bit more than a few hrs. Tonight, August 27, 2011 at 9pm EST. But really, who's counting? How does one kill time before "Let's Kill Hitler" premiers? You can watch the clips below or click on my "Doctor Who" tag below this post and check out the videos I have in my previous posts. Enjoy! And remember, always bring a banana to a party. Be sure to bring one or two... and I guess you can bring a Jaffa Cake too for the Youtube videos after the "JUMP!":

Zombie March New England

Hello Youtubes! This time on "Hello Youtubes!" I want to talk about a local Boston, MA event. There is an event that has been happening in the past 7 years in my city that I did not know about! The Zombie March has been happening for 7 years! 7 years! Being a huge zombie fan, I have no idea how I missed this the last 6 years. It's not like it's a small event. I'm talking about a huge horde of zombies. Miles of zombies and it disrupts (not complaining) the city of Boston for an entire day. I'm not talking about just one section of Boston. The march route starts from South Station. It goes through Downtown Crossing, Boston Commons, the Public Garden, Newbury St and to the Prudential. From there it goes through the Prudential Mall, back to Boston Commons and congregates at Government Center for a huge battle between the undead and the living. Miles of zombies! It's an amazing sight and loads of fun. There's no agenda or political subtext, it's just plain fun. The living dead were not the only ones marching. There were zombie hunters (Umbrella), survivors, Ghostbusters, super heroes and even Mr. T. Here's info on: Zombie March Boston VIII (2012) Be sure to click on "JUMP!" for more Undead goodness:

Doctor Who: Space and Time

"Imagine a Banana" For the 2011 Red Nose Day Charity on BBC, Stephen Moffat once again wrote up another interesting Doctor Who special. How can he possibly top the other specials? Especialy, the one with the 10th Doctor (David Tennant) meeting the 5th Doctor (Peter Davison)? The answer is simple (for me at least), TWO AMY PONDS IN SKIRTS! Why do you think Rory refuse to stay dead? Oh yeah, and the special talks about something or another about time and relative dimensional in space... Also, a little more than a week left until Series 6 part 2. Doctor Who: Space - Red Nose Day 2011 Special part 1 Doctor Who: Time - Red Nose Day 2011 Special part 2

Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling - Episode 1: Arrival

The Prisoner As some of you might know, I'm still migrating certain posts from my Livejournal site, Groggy Robot. This is one of those posts that I must migrate and has to be mentioned more than once. Local Boston Band, Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling's video for their song, EPISODE 1: ARRIVAL, pays homage to the 1960's U.K. show, the Prisoner. The video is an amazing shot-for-shot remake of the show's opening filmed by Michael J. Epstein (bass) and his crew. What makes this video extra awesome for me is that all the settings are filmed locally, here in the Boston area. It's pretty uncanny how the Boston shots are similar to the original U.K. setting. The star of the video is the vocalist and drummer of the band, Sophia Cacciola. Which today happens to be her birthday! So, feel free to pop onto the Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling's Facebook page and wish Sophia a "Happy Birthday!" You can wish Michael J. Epstein a "Happy Birthday" too if you want. Facebook: Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling Youtube: TheMotionSick Website: donotforsake.com And if you are in the Boston area tonight (8/19/11), Do Not Forsake Me, Oh My Darling is playing at T.T. the Bear's Place, 10 Brookline St, Central Sq, Cambridge: T.T. the Bear's Place Do Not Forsake Me Oh My Darling - Comparison of Arrival Music Video

G.I. Joe: The Movie - Liberi Fatali

Hello Youtubes! This time for "Hello Youtubes!" I am doing a self promotion. One day while sitting around (probably grinding exp during Final Fantasy VIII) I thought, "Liberi Fatali" will work with the G.I. Joe the Movie intro!" So, I played the video along side the music and they matched up pretty well. A couple of years later, my editing savvy brother cut the 2 together and uploaded it onto Youtube. It's not only "Liberi Fatali", other music intros works well with the G.I. Joe the Movie intro. The Ren and Stimpy intro music works as well but it cuts short. "Liberi Fatali" works without any video editing because it has the same running time as the G.I. Joe the Movie intro. The Ren and Stimpy music works well with the Cowboy Bebop intro though. I guess all intro tends to have the same editing and the same kinetic pace in music. In any case, that's enough talking. Check out this collaborated creation from my brother and I. G.I. Joe The Movie - Liberi Fatali Here are both of the original intros: G.I. Joe The Movie Intro Final Fantasy VIII Opening

Doctor Who: Time Crash

Wibbly Wobbly Timey Wimey! About 2 more weeks until the 2nd part of Doctor Who series 6 begins but... really, who's counting? Being human, we tend to experience time in the linear plane... If I can free myself from that perspective I had already and still watching the ending of series 6 as the second part premiers. Stephen Moffat often likes to practice this concept and an example of that is his teleplay for "Time Crash" for BBC's Children in Need 2007 special. Directed by Graeme Harper (a big time Doctor Who veteran), "Time Crash" takes place right after the Doctor drops off Martha Jones at the end of Series 3. The TARDIS goes wibbly wobbly and the 10th Doctor's and the 5th Doctor's timelines converge.... Doctor Who - Children in Need Special: 'Time Crash' 2007

Japanese Doll (日本娃娃)

Break Up Song GGR! My friend Macdaniel Macleod: asks a series of daily questions on Facebook. Why? To pity the fools maybe? But that's besides the point. One of his questions were: "Greatest break up song ever! GGR" My answer is after the "JUMP!":

Randall's Narrations

Hello Youtubes! "The Honey Badger! It doesn't care! It's badass!" -Randall The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger "Listen Honey! This galaxy is only big enough for one star!" -Randall Randall's Jem For other Randall's narrations check out his youtube channel at: CGZ123

The Five Doctors

Stuck in Time A little less than 3 more weeks before Doctor Who comes back onto BBCA. Here's some more Doctor Who stuff to fill in the void. The Five Doctors is a full length 90min TV special celebrating the 20th anniversary of Doctor Who. It features the First, Second, Third, Fourth and Fifth incarnations of the Doctor at the same point in time. In linear time, the Five Doctors aired on November 23, 1983. Four of the five Doctors and some of their companions were transported into the Death Zone on Gallifrey by a mysterious entity using the Time Scoop. While, the Fourth Doctor and Romana got stuck in the Time Vortex (because Tom Baker didn't want anything to do with this TV special). The companions that were included are: Susan Foreman, Tegan Jovanka, Vislor Turlough, Brigadier Lethbridge-Stewart and Sara Jane Smith. As a bit of trivia, Richard Hurndall replaces William Hartnell as the First Doctor. The reason being William Hartnell (the original Doctor in the series) passed away in 1975. He does show up in an archival footage to kick off the special. I wonder if something this cool is planned for 2013 when Doctor Who hits 50. The Five Doctors part 1 The Five Doctors part 2 (I can't seem to find part 2 on youtube anymore) The Five Doctors part 3 The Five Doctors part 4 The Five Doctors part 5 (part 5 seems to be missing as well) The Five Doctors part 6 The version I found on youtube is the original version from DoctorWhoCenter2010. I think if you do a search for "the Five Doctors Special Edition" LuckyTardis should have the full 90min. The special edition has updated music and a couple of new scenes inserted.

Ronald Jenkees Rocks

Hello Youtubes! I previously posted about Ronald Jenkees on my livejournal blog. The purpose was to start off a series of "Hello Youtubes" posts appropriately since the title of the series is inspired by the man himself, Ronald Jenkees! I'm going to mainly use blogger from now on so, please come back for more of my youtube finds. Remember! It's all about having fun! If you are interested in Ronald's music he has a cd out and you can purchase it at: ronaldjenkees.com You can also subscribe to him on youtube at: Ronald Jenkees "stay crunchy" video