Renting Movies

Remember when you used to be able to rent movies?

I wanted to rent that new Robocop movie the other day (hey, I'm proud of it), but it's not available on Netflix, it's not at Redbox, and it's not at the no-name Redbox competitor they have at the grocery store next to my work. However, it is available for sale at Target and for download on the iTunes movie store. Well... I don't want to buy it, and I don't want to pay five dollars to watch it on my laptop. It was released on blu ray / DVD two weeks ago, but Netflix has their release date as the beginning of July. Who knows about Redbox.

If only there was some kind of store where one could rent BLOCKBUSTER movies the day they are released.

Anyway, end of rant.

So Awkward: Star Wars Original Trilogy Discussion

Jester finally got around to watching the Star Wars original trilogy for the first time ever, so she and Don chat about it. Featuring special guest Lando Calrissian:

So Awkward: Chips Ahoy Taste Test

Jester and Don try a bunch of Chips Ahoy flavors... to mixed results:

Happy Birthday, Xena!

Jester and Don celebrate Xena's 13th birthday!

In Memoriam: Rik Mayall (1958 - 2014)

There aren't many people about whom I can say are among the funniest people I have ever seen, but Rik Mayall is most definitely among them. In fact, he's pretty high on the list of the funniest people anybody has ever seen. Today he died at the too young age of 56, and my heart goes out to his friends, his family, and anybody who loves to laugh.

In his honor, I offer this clip which I have already posted on my blog more than once, and which I will no doubt post over and over again as the years go by, because, as I have said before, it is the single funniest thing I have ever seen ever. I have probably watched this clip over a 100 times, and it makes me laugh every fucking time.

Damn.

Don and Jester review Edge of Tomorrow. Don loved it, Jester... didn't:

Don Reads Comics: Big Trouble, Batman '66, and Age of Ultron

Don reads Big Trouble in Little China #1, Batman '66 Meets the Green Hornet #1, and the Age of Ultron mini series:

Funko Friday

Jester and Don go crazy buying and unboxing Funko Horror Mystery Minis:

Iron Man 3

Well, this movie was dreadful.

When taking in the Marvel movie series as a whole, the Iron Man films stand out to me as not quite fitting in. They just aren't as fun. They just aren't as faithful to the source material. They just aren't... any good. Then again, they are the biggest hits of the bunch, so what do I know? I just spent the last three decades of my life reading Marvel comics and watching comic book movies. That doesn't make me any more of an expert on what's good or bad than somebody who has never read a comic or seen a movie, but it did lead me to the opinion that Iron Man 3 was as bad a comic book movie -- dare I say... just as bad a movie in general -- as any I've ever seen. You know... it was dreadful.

I don't recall Tony Start being a narcissist in the comics, at least not to the extent we are shown in these films. Nor do I recall him being so self-destructive or toxic to every other person in his life. That's not Iron Man, that's Ralph Kramden. I guess what I'm saying is that in the comics, Iron Man is actually a hero, while in these films he's just an asshole who occasionally uses his suit to stop people from harming Iron Man or Tony Stark's company.

Sure, in the comics Tony Start fought personal demons, but he overcame that and they defined him as hero. In the films he has demons too, and even though he overcomes then at the end of each film, the subsequent films begin right back with him being the same asshole drunk who only thinks about himself.

In the Avengers film, Stark actually was kind of a hero toward the end and fought for something other than saving himself, but but in the solo movies, it's just Tony Stark being threatened, and then using Iron Man to save himself. And in each film, there is less and less Iron Man at all. This movie had maybe fifteen minutes of Stark in the actual suit. Most of the rest of the film was either just Tony Stark by himself, or with a suit that was radio (or whatever) controlled remotely. Iron Man doesn't use robots!

But the worst thing about this movie is that it's just so boring. Nothing happens for most of the movie and the overall story was so poorly told I never really knew what was happening or cared about anything. I also heard a lot of people describe this film as dark, but I didn't see that at all. It's actually a wild, farcical comedy, and none of it was funny.

I mean, what is there to say about a movie where Gwyneth Paltrow has a better action sequence in the Iron Man armor than Tony Stark himself? Oh yeah... that it's dreadful.

Crossbones

I downloaded this pilot episode for free on the iTunes music store, and it was worth every penny.

I don't know what that means either, but it sounds like the opening to a snarky review, right? Anyway, I actually really enjoyed this episode about John Malkovich as real-life pirate Edwin Teach, aka Blackbeard. This is one of those shows where I'm not sure if the original premise was "a show about pirates" or "a show where John Malkovich gets to show off," but it delivers on both counts. It's a pretty good pirate show, and Malkovich doesn't disappoint. Seriously, if you like John Malkovich, check this out. He nails it.

The rest of the cast is good too. The "hero" is played by Richard Coyle, who looks so much like Russell Crowe it's actively distracting, but I thought he did a pretty great job. There's also a nice performance by an actress named Claire Foy who may, in fact, be the most bewitchingly beautiful woman I've ever seen. Check out this episode and prove me wrong. Oh, and remember Julian Sands? He's in there too. You don't remember him? Ah well, he's still in there.

It's not a perfect pilot, and it is the kind of premise that will make you wonder, "how are they going to get an entire series out of this setup?" But it's good fun, the acting is great, and the locations and sets are gorgeous. It's a big budget NBC series so it'll probably get cancelled within a few months, but I'll watch it until then.

Josh Brolin as Thanos

Hey... that's pretty great. I approve.

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