ORCCA

NEW WEBSITE

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Mon, 20 Jun 2011 16:27:00 -0400

We Have Moved...

plannedbanter.com

And the name changed! So go there for all our bitingly sarcastic new articles. We will post our new episodes here, but we will make our new site our home! So please join us for ADVENTURE!

Episode #51: Identity Crises

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 01:48:00 -0400

So we've had a break and now we're ready to ingrain ourselves into your hearts and minds once again! We've all crossed the desert on a horse with no name to bring you another enthralling discussion, now with our brand new designation Planned Banter! We've got a brand new site and everything (plannedbanter.com) but we'll still be carrying over content from one to the other for the time being. In the meantime, you can thrill to tales of taking a break to read Star Wars novels at the Toyota plant! Gasp in awe at the treachery committed towards the definition of the word 'interesting' when we discuss E3! Futilely shake your fist at DC with us for creating a reboot aimed at people who read comics for 3 months straight every 5 years! Plus: hang onto your tea and biscuits because there's a fresh new session of Parliament after which nothing will ever be the same! Except for all the yelling; that's never going to change.

Summer Is The New TV Hotness

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Sun, 19 Jun 2011 00:56:00 -0400

It's Chris's time to shine!

Most people don’t look for new TV series to start in the summer, but I would advise you all to give several a shot for 2011. Most networks broadcast their big shows at the traditional fall times, or midseason replacements. Yet this practice is starting to show its age. Now, some of the best shows around are not on the big networks AND premier in the summer.

This season’s hottest new program is the legal dramedy “Franklin and Bash”, starring Breckin Meyer and the former Zach Morris, Mark Paul Gosselaar. The two are up-and-coming, hot shot lawyers who don’t really take their jobs seriously and have a certain ”style” to their practice. They attract the attention of legendary L.A. lawyer, Stanton Infeild (Malcolm McDowell), who heads one of the city’s biggest firms. Kickstarting the series’ set-up, he invites them to join their unorthodox practicing firm. The show has great humor and fascinating legal drama as well. Law shows of late have been bogged down with the Law and Order template and this show is a breath of fresh air. It’s a great summer watch and I hope they keep it around for another season. It airs on TNT.

Another great show for the summer is “Memphis Beat”. This show is in its second season on TNT and stars one of my favorite actors, Jason Lee as Dwight Hendricks. The show follows the police detective throughout the city of Memphis moonlighting as a local blues singer, with a deep love for his city and Elvis. The show has an ensemble cast that really ties the whole experience together. The show brings a new vibe to the standard police show.

This summer also offers more new show yet to premier: Falling Skies (the new sci-fi drama staring Noah Wyle on TNT), Wilfred (FX’s story of a man who attempts suicide and then sees his new dog as a man), and Torchwood: Miracle Day (the remake of the hit BBC series) will be seen on Strarz. When most people are watching reruns of last season’s shows, I suggest checking out the new breed. You may find out, like I did, that summer is the new TV hotness.

The Prices Are Alright: Not The Brightest Day Edition

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 22:33:00 -0400

Green Lantern is unleashed on the masses, to punish us for enjoying logical film.

Here are the predictions!

Green Lantern:
Jaysun: 65 million
Richard: 57 million
Marshall: 60 million
Michael: 85 million
Chris: 70 million

Mr. Popper's Penguins:
Jaysun: 25 million
Richard: 22 million
Marshall: 23 million
Michael: 25 million
Chris: 20 million

Review: 'Green Lantern'

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 15:56:00 -0400

I've mentioned before that in reviewing a movie I think in terms of personal enjoyment, if I could recommend it to other people and if it was actually a 'good' movie; Warner Brothers' Green Lantern fails in all 3 counts unfortunately. It's a leaden, awkward and inconsistent mishmash of several elements that never even come within the same radius of each other, much less into anything resembling a coherent film.

More After The Jump.

I’ve mentioned in the past how I believed Ryan Reynolds to be miscast in the lead role of Hal Jordan but I can say that he’s not the problem here. He seems to be actually trying very hard with the materials he’s given but it’s a hopeless struggle; what parts of the script left in by the shotgun editing are such a bizarre mishmash of weak concepts and reluctant whining that I’m not sure if any actor could make it work. We’re just meant to accept things as being exactly how we’re told they are for 90% of the film. We hear that Hal’s an amazing pilot but there’s only one scene of him flying and the most impressive maneuver he makes is flying straight up really, really high. We’re told of how amazing the Green Lantern Corps is and how their rings are incredibly powerful but we never really see much to demonstrate either. The only indication we have that Hal has known weird villain Hector Hammond in the past, is a passing glimpse and a ‘Hi, Hector’ given at a cocktail party. As a result, any sort of personal gravity their eventual conflict is meant to have gets totally lost in the shuffle of ungainly set pieces presented for them to do battle in.

The entire film is stunted and small despite trying to deal with large-scale concepts like planetary genocide, intergalactic struggle and ancient alien races weighing in as to the value of humanity as a whole. Of course, that isn’t to say that the smaller elements are equally fumbled as well. Hal’s transformation from totally irresponsible (and arguably dangerous) uber-jerk to doubting hero and finally into one of the (supposed) greatest members of the Corps is utterly graceless. Reynolds does best with the smug jerk aspect but his emotional exposure to Carol Ferris over his questions of self-worth are completely uninteresting because the script makes us neither believe nor care about his conflict. We’re treated to several discussions between Blake Lively as Ferris and Reynolds that basically amount to “I’m a jerk but never really cared until I was told I could be more than that”. To her credit, Lively does a lot better than the trailers would have made you believe; she gets some of the cheesiest lines but remains steadfast in light of nothing around her working.

Ironically, one of those emotional scenes is probably one of the best shot in the movie. Martin Campbell was a strange and ultimately bad choice for director; all the scenes on Earth basically feel as if he just put the camera in two or three spots then had the actors perform their scene over and over while he went off to get lunch. The parts on Oa are better but it’s a completely digital environment populated with CGI characters; how responsible Campbell is for the few good choices made in these scenes I can’t be sure. It does seem like he was much better prepared for them than anything on Hal’s native world what with its bland sets. The aforementioned cocktail party scene gives off an overwhelming vibe of indifference on the filmmaker’s part that you can only hang your head in shame as it becomes the public debut of Hal’s new identity. It says something when two of your three major confrontations are shot inside of warehouses especially in light of how one of the character’s main abilities is flight. To give an idea of how weak this feels, it would be like having Batman run around on the street during broad daylight trying to catch jaywalkers.

Despite only running about a 1 hour and 50 minutes, the movie feels very long. It doesn’t help that it works at establishing elements that go absolutely nowhere. For example, Hector Hammond gets a huge amount of setup as the primary antagonist despite no real introduction, scant motivation and little impact to the course of the film. That’s sad because you sense that Peter Sarsgaard is trying despite how little he has to do. Literally our only introduction to the character is that he has an unkempt, tiny house where he plays MMORPGs and Computer Chess in a dark room. Then he’s swept away to join Amanda Waller in unnecessary character land to go do whatever in a subplot that gets plenty of screen time but amounts to nothing. If Hammond was ever meant to be sympathetic in the time before he was a villain, we never know; the film introduces him and builds him towards being the villain, expecting us to accept that fact without question. Parallax is the major bad guy but being a big goofy CGI cloud doesn’t make for a compelling nemesis; as a result they shoehorn Hammond in, obviously trying to work him as a foe Hal has personal connections to akin to fellow comic movie baddies Obadiah Stane, Loki or Harry Osborn. However, we never end up caring about him the way they’re trying to make us. Taika Waititi ends up being really distracting in his role as Hal’s only friend, Thomas Kalmaku; his goofy reactions and geekiness over the ring are grating in a way topped only by the awful pandering present in the scene where Hal tries to activate the Lantern for the first time. He ends up being as pointless as Tim Robbins Senator Hammond character does, making little impact on the plot both serving only as something for their respective scene partners to bounce reactions off of. When Kalmaku disappears about 2/3 through the film you don’t even really notice he’s gone anymore than some audience members will end up caring about Angela Bassett’s turn as Amanda Waller despite getting more background on her in a few brief shots then we ever get on most of the principals. DC’s transparent attempt to replicate Marvel’s use of Nick Fury in their movies actually ends up shooting themselves in the foot here; its one more thing they’re going to have to work around when they do the damage control for the next DC film. The one positive aspect of Waller being in the movie is that John Ostrander will hopefully get some royalty money from her usage.

When you’re working with big concepts, such as an intergalactic police force made up of several thousand extraterrestrial races, you probably should make an effort to show how grandiose those ideas are. Parallax is meant to be the biggest threat to the Green Lantern Corps ever, a being that consumes whole galaxies as it feeds off the fear of their inhabitants; we’re told all that but all we see is a big smoke monster that sucks digital skeletons out of a bunch of random extras while waiting alternately for the Corps or Hal to come after it. It’s the dumbest CGI boogeyman in recent memory despite Clancy Brown doing his best with voicing the creature.

Speaking of doing your best, Mark Strong turns in a surprisingly adept performance as Sinestro despite having little to work with. The fact that he does such a good job despite his character ultimately making little sense in the context of the film does a big credit towards making the scenes on Oa better than all the other ones in the movie. He could’ve been played as an obvious Snidely Whiplash type but Strong makes him interesting while showing very little emotion in the process; he was the perfect choice for how this movie ended up being, confident in his role while still managing to make a lot of a confusingly written role. We hear how great and powerful the Corps is but Sinestro is the only one among them who helps us believe it in any capacity. Geoffrey Rush and Michael Clarke Duncan also fare pretty well but they’re only vocal performances in the roles of digital creatures Tomar-Re and Kilowog, respectively. They end up being the only memorable characters in the movie that aren’t Sinestro despite only existing to give exposition.

It’s ironic that the 3 alien characters overpower the main cast in no small way since so much time is spent reflecting on how worthy a human is to join the much hallowed Corps. But that’s the movie’s downfall is employing relatively capable actors to tell you the exposition but never has any of them make moves to get you to care about the actual events that transpire afterwards. The only time the film ever gets creative is in coming up with bizarre ways to have Ryan Reynolds run around in his underwear; the first scene on Oa where he’s treated to some bizarre Cronenberg-style physical probing might be the most transparent attempt at this sort of thing ever made. Just Go With It and Thor managed to play things like this for laughs, better to break up the tension built for the opposite gender. It makes for a good metaphor for the movie’s quality though, teasing you with plenty of things but never quite finding a way to puncture the embarrassment you feel for seeing what’s on the screen. The score of this movie alone makes you want to roll your eyes so much you might end up having a detached retina. James Newton Howard obviously did not care at all about the work he was doing here as the score jerks from silly Top Gun lite in the Jet scene to ridiculous 70’s buddy cop chase music when Hal runs from the authorities in Thomas’ jeep, to inept synthesizer orchestrations when we’re told of the grand tradition of the Lantern Corps.

Some reviewers are terming Green Lantern as 'harmless summer popcorn fare' but I think that's a disservice to movies of that classification. Just because a movie is meant to be light summertime entertainment doesn’t mean it has to be simple or self-deprecating to the degree that this film is. It talks down to its audience in a major way as Hal’s story is treated with vague contempt both for the actual material and towards the audience. I wouldn’t recommend this to anyone, except the most dutiful of fans. It’s a sad failure, worse than other disasters like the Fantastic Four films. As awful as X-Men: The Last Stand is, it at least tried to be ambitious despite its many bizarre and insane choices. There’s nothing even resembling those aspirations here; much like Hal’s Jet fighter, the movie stalls after a few minutes and never really recovers outside of a few flickering spurts of barely passable effort. Lantern not only fails to entertain as a good movie, it can't even be interesting as a bad one.

Monday News: Tiny figures with pipes and hammers edition

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Mon, 13 Jun 2011 14:33:00 -0400

It's been some time since I've done any news but there's more than a few good reasons for it, of that you can be sure. Anyway, we're slowly making the transition over to the new title of Planned Banter though having to squeeze time away from work to do business cards and e-mail addresses and what-have-you is not a fast process especially the second time around. That's not going to stop me from yakking about all the stuff on the show that can't really sustain a conversation outside of more than two of us though.

Well, they didn't goof off when it came to the collector's edition it seems

One of the most legendary pieces of Vaporware finally appeared in real life as every territory excluding the US has already seen the release of Duke Nukem Forever. It drops here on the 14th but so far, the reviews have not been exceedingly kind as you can see here, here and here [Source: Joystiq, PC Gamer and IGN]

If you're in the mood for some positive press about the Dukester, you can head over to either Newton Gimmick's site Infinite Hollywood or to Poe Ghostal for reviews of NECA's action figure of him. I'll probably get one at some point if not just to pilfer his cigar for my Marvel Legends Thing and Nick Fury figures. [Source: Infinite Hollywood and Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation]

More After The Jump

Who else is trying to ignore that '30' up there?

While you're at Poe's site, you can also check out the news that Mattel has entered a licensing partnership with Classics Media, the company which currently holds the rights to the Filmation Masters of the Universe cartoon. As Poe says, this is a pretty good sign and could potentially allow Mattel to start making figures of characters like Shadow Weaver and Lizard-Man who Filmation possessed the ownership of. [Source: Poe Ghostal's Points of Articulation]

I will never get tired of this cover. Never, never, never.

SDCC is quickly approaching and that means people are finally revealing more exclusives such as this minimate boxset based off the initial arc in Walt Simonson's run on The Mighty Thor.

What this means for the Beta Ray Bill planned for a TRU wave is currently unknown

There's also a set for the Future Foundation from Hickman's FF title that I was interested in until I found out the Sentry would be reappearing in it. It's too bad as this set would have been an excellent chance to get Franklin and Valeria Richards which would have increased it's appeal hugely in the eyes of people who don't get the contemporary minimates.

Lame that Sue is entirely clear; I'd rather forgo the extra parts for Reed and have alternate parts for a visible Sue

Thor and friends are an AFX exclusive so they'll be available outside of the show without much difficulty; you can still get most of their sets from years past as the 2010 New Mutants box I still need to buy. Plus, as much tooling as Beta Ray Bill required, I'm sure they've made a ton of it. The Future Foundation set is the real mystery as it's apparently not going to be at the con itself, but at the Disney Store in a nearby Mall. This is the weirdest manifestation of Disney buying Marvel yet so how obtainable they end up being is a total mystery.

Finally a Dormammu minimate, even if it is in a costume that appeared in one miniseries.

They've also announced the breakdown for the TRU and LCS waves of the Marvel vs. Capcom 3 minimates. Let it be known that the TRU wave has Mike Haggar packed with the Hulk and that's basically a one pack justification for why this line was a genius idea.

MIKE HAGGAR IS ALL YOU NEED TO KNOW

[Source: Minimate Headquarters]

The wave that launched a thousand Ebay auctions

The Transformers: Dark of the Moon product is hitting in full force, and while I debate whether or not I want Shockwave every time I see him in a store, Hasbro has been sending the remnants of the past year's toys to outlet retailers like T.J. Maxx and Marshall's (perhaps even Ross stores, none of which are near me to my infinite annoyance when a ton of obscure Joe stuff shows up there). What's this mean? Well, rarities such as the second wave of Reveal the Shield figures are showing up in larger numbers then they've ever been seen out of Ebay, thereby making them a practical expenditure for the first time ever! The new Perceptor is in this wave as well as Wreck-Gar and a funky version of Optimus Prime based on the G2 Laser Prime toy. There's also a repaint of Classics Bumblebee inspired by his movie paint scheme for those who don't have that mold already. They've also been getting the RTS Scout class figures including the much coveted Windcharger, a figure that legendary customizer Jin Saotome is having trouble locating.

He's so rare, it's hard to find decent pictures of him.

So if you collect Transformers and you haven't already heard, get out there. If you don't but happen to be going to one of those stores than check them out for me and any of our loyal listeners that may not have one. I'm pretty sure that 5 Windchargers ever were sold in a regular store, 3 of which were in Hong Kong. Besides, they get plenty of other things like past season Lego sets and some extremely random G.I. Joe stuff, much of which is often believed to be canceled/unproduced. BTW, if you find any of the canceled Target Exclusives (specifically the Twin battle gun with the Range Viper or the Desert RAM Cycle with Sandstorm), Pursuit of Cobra Snow Job or that keen Transforming Motorcyle Armor, feel free to let me know. In the meantime, feel free to head out to Twitter pal Generals Joes site just to see what a wizard he is at getting even the most poorly distributed stuff.

Anyone out there not have the Back to the Future Trilogy blu-ray? Well do I have news for you! We mentioned this on the show last night but the time frame for getting this price will be really short so I'm mentioning it here; this week Target has the set on sale for a staggering $15 down from the regular price of $50+. That's a spectacular deal made even sweeter by the fact that many places are price matching it such as Amazon and Best Buy. There's even a printable coupon for Best Buy right now that gives you $5 off any DVD/Blu-ray priced over $14.99 so you could potentially get this for $10. That's crazy and all you need to do is bring in a copy of Target's flyer or use the Target App to get a price match for the deal of a lifetime. Of course, you could always just skip leaving the house and order it through Amazon if that's your thing. Either way, you can get the Best Buy coupon here. It doesn't expire until July 31st so there's probably going to be plenty of chances for you to use it in the next 40 or so days. I've used it twice already and I'm just getting started with the thing.

UPDATE 2! The Prices Are Alright: Hidden Monster Update

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Sat, 11 Jun 2011 01:26:00 -0400

We have FINAL numbers for the weekend, and new rankings after the jump.

Previous Scores and Rankings:

Jaysun: 896

Marshall: 879

Richard: 861

Chris: 769

Michael: 726

Final is $35 million for Super 8. Michael got a bullseye.
Jaysun: -2
Richard: -5
Michael: +5
Marshall: -20
Chris: -5

But, seeing as Michael did NOT give a Judy Moody number, the 5 point deduction washes the gain. So he comes out even. But Richard hit a Bullseye here. Yet, the previous 5 point deduction from underestimating washes it as well. Le Sigh.

Jaysun: -6
Richard: +5
Marshall: -12
Michael: -5
Chris: -5

New Scores and Rankings:

Jaysun: 888

Richard: 861

Marshall: 857

Chris: 759

Michael: 726

Richard moves to 2nd place, with a very narrow lead over Marshall. Nearly 100 points separates third and fourth place. Next week is Green Lantern. That is going to be very very tough.

Original Post As Follows:

Quick Post for our prediction (done yesterday, but posting today)

Super 8:
Jaysun- 33
Richard- 30
Michael- 35
Marshall- 45
Chris- 30

Judy Moody:
Jaysun- 9
Richard- 6
Marshall- 12
Michael- None
Chris- None

Let's hope for Super 8 to have strong legs throughout the summer. It's a fascinatingly good movie

'Super 8' Review (spoiler-free)

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Thu, 9 Jun 2011 12:29:00 -0400

Who got this poster? The final we got was just the teaser with credits at the bottom.

This is Richard so everyone's clear on that fact; since we have other posts now I should probably start marking mine more clearly.

When I'm reviewing a movie I usually think about three questions. The first is "did I enjoy this personally?" The second is "would I recommend this to other people?" The third is "was it actually a good movie?" All of these qualities can sync up though they don’t necessarily have to; I’ve recommended plenty of movies I didn’t enjoy (Howl’s Moving Castle comes to mind) and hesitated to push ones I was thrilled by (Speed Racer). Super 8 sits somewhere directly inside of the triangle formed by these ideas: I enjoyed it, believe it to be a good movie but might hesitate to recommend it to other people. Click That "Read More" for...more.

Super 8 is great, if not excellent. It’s not as much to take in the first time as X-Men: First Class was but I think they both benefit from a second viewing. Super 8 has some truly memorable imagery and manages to absolutely nail the Spielberg elements without feeling like a lazy cheat sheet for emotional and thematic content. It’s a surprisingly earnest and sweet film though still finds some really ambitious content without violating the ‘late 70’s small town’ aesthetic. It’s fascinating to see a film in 2011 replicate the mood and atmosphere of movies from years ago, ones that possess such a distinctly identifiable feeling that can only be tracked back to their director. To say this is in the same vein as E.T. or Close Encounters of the Third Kind isn’t doing a disservice on either side; Super 8 stands with those and other Spielberg films in a fashion so seamless it seems kind of eerie. Abrams is a sure handed as they come with this and really presents a beautifully shot film; any kid first learning about what directing is could pull a surprising amount from watching this. Everything comes together in just the right way from the cinematography to the editing all the way through the performances.

I think whoever did the casting for this movie should cast every kid for every film until the end of time as all the young actors are excellent; if there’s one gift Abrams undeniably shares with Spielberg in this movie it’s that he gets some stupendous performances out of kids. So much of the movie rests on their shoulders and they carry it with vigor, all of them making memorable impressions with some difficult things to evoke in the process. There’s one nighttime scene in particular that’s really amazing in its genuineness, letting the two leads effortlessly carry us away from the fantastic elements of the movie into some spectacular, purely emotional content. The adults do just as well despite having smaller arcs, a result of the movie being told almost entirely from the perspective of the kids. The father issues present in so much of Spielberg’s work is present here as well, providing a surprisingly deep background for the characters while still maintaining a quick pace.

Setting the movie in 1979 not only benefits the tribute being attempted but also gives the film a great environment, one a lot more genuine than some other films established in the same period. That may be the greatest strength of Super 8 as it really conjured up the ‘feel’ of some of my faintest memories despite them taking place a few years afterward. There are almost no references to the period, such as all of the kids going to see Star Wars at the movies or something, but there’s enough to suggest the time period without using them; no mean feat when you could easily name drop the era’s pop culture and current events as shorthand to do all that work for you. Michael Giacchino’s score is also really notable though it’s not as dynamic as some of his other works; that’s not a slight since it fits the film like a glove and really shows that he’s one of the most versatile composers out there, not disappointing with anything I’ve heard by him.

The reason I might hesitate to recommend it is based on how I have no idea what people are expecting. A lot of the advertising makes it out to be more frightening than it actually is; the movie is still intense at times but I can’t say it’s scary in the way that the ads make it appear at times. The film’s success will be all about audience expectation since so much of the marketing has been based on teasing aspects without giving away anything, outside of the film’s early Spielberg vibe. I can see why they did it; showing too much of the film might deflate the ambitious mood that Abrams was recreating. Though as a result, I’m not entirely sure what people in general believe the movie to be like; co-workers and customers have given me thoughts ranging from it looking like a live-action version of The Iron Giant to it being a faux-documentary like Paranormal Activity. There have even been a few articles about how low Super 8 has been tracking in the weeks up until release, though I think people are jumping the gun with the thought that it’s going to bomb. Word of mouth may have to carry the film in the first few weeks, but that’s pretty much the case for any movie this summer that isn’t The Hangover Part 2. The reviews are coming in and many of them are pretty positive though there isn't a lack of backhanded praise (Corliss' review in TIME comes to mind where he calls it "the year's most thrilling, feeling mainstream movie" comes to mind). Some critics, likely hoping for an ad quote, are even comparing it to Inception due to it being one of the few mainstream movies this summer without a prior source material. That quantifier has never really been fair but there’s likely a need to move on to some other nit to pick since everyone grows weary of how much reviewers bemoan the number of sequels every summer, all the superhero movies or the abrupt inundation of 3D. To their credit, they do seem to be going light on the spoilers.

What you take from it may vary from person to person though some may be soured on expectations derived from all the secrecy to it. Allow yourself to be taken into the film and you’ll be richer for the effort. Super 8 is definitely worth seeing; it’s unique, emotional and powerful while seamlessly living in the trappings of one’s man style and the past memories of its audience.

Mii and U -- Michael's E3 Rebuttal

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Tue, 7 Jun 2011 23:34:00 -0400

So, I've been following E3 this year a little sporadically. Honestly, I was interested in only one thing: Nintendo's "Project Cafe" ... now the WiiU. See, I'm a big Nintendo fanboy. I've always had Nintendo consoles and handhelds ... even when I probably shouldn't have. (*COUGH*Virtual Boy*COUGH*) So the rumors surrounding this new console had me all aTwitter.

Then, I watched the media presentation. Then I read Jaysun's article (as quite a few of you have, as well) Jaysun has some very valid points. But, overall, I disagree with his views on E3, so far. I'll take it system by system.

MICROSOFT

Okay. Really? This is where Jaysun and I are in total agreement. The Kinect heavy presentation was a bit of a letdown. With horrible acting. That's right, acting. Because this is all marketing, and instead of having people up there who might actually enjoy playing some of this stuff, they got people who would appeal to that game's target audience. I am not impressed. Halo 4? Meh. Halo: CE Anniversary Edition? Meh. GoW3? Meh. Here's the thing ... I'm not a fan of shooters. I could care less. Maybe some people are hyped, and more power to you. The trailers are very cinematic. The one thing that excited me? TV on my Xbox! So, I don't have cable. I have Hulu and Netflix. Primarily used through the Xbox (The PS3 has issues buffering ALL THE TIME on our internet for some reason). I catch a few games on ESPN for Xbox. Now, I may get to watch shows not currently on either of those services? SIGN ME UP! Also, apparently, not even mentioned in the presentation, Microsoft is adding cloud based storage for Gamertags and Saved Games. Awesome! The death of "Recover Gamertag"? I'm all for it. Talk about stuff like that, Microsoft. Instead of pimping Kinect Star Wars. *shudder*

SONY

Vita? I'm down with it. Especially since one of my favorite franchises of all time is getting a new life because of it. (Heh ... vita ... new life ... heh) ODDWORLD is BACK, BABY! Specifically, Stranger's Wrath, one of my all time favs! So excited. Beyond that? Well, I'll probably get a WiFi Vita. AT&T for the 3G? And, to be honest, 3G? Why not partner with someone for 4G? Someone who has ... um ... good reception? Anyway. To me, Sony underwhelmed. No real shockers for games. No announcements on long-awaited games. (Final Fantasty XIII Vs., anyone?) The Vita is a really solid portable ... but so was the PSP. What happened? There is something intangible that Sony just hasn't had in the past with handhelds. Maybe the Vita will change that. I'll still prefer my 3DS over it, even so.

NINTENDO

WiiU. Silly name, awesome concept. Here lies the major crux of my disagreement with Jaysun. His complaint is that they are talking about it way too early, with no tangibles to deal with. To an extent, I see his point. But, I'm okay with that. How many first party games by Nintendo are buggy? Very, very few. You know why? They test the hell out of their games. Alas, this does cause delays, or at the very least, announcements well ahead of when they should be. Yes, we are probably looking at a Spring/Summer 2012 release for the WiiU. (My reasoning for this is twofold -- firstly, early adopters will be able to build up hype for the system so that holiday sales will be ridiculous, and there are a plethora of games coming out Q2/Q3 that the WiiU will probably want to get in on.) But, in order for developers to have a good foothold on getting great games out for the WiiU in time for launch, I'm sure developer units are getting sent out soon, if they already haven't been. And for those developers on the fence ... think of the possibilities! This announcement was about innovation. Nintendo has been at the forefront of gaming technology. Now, you have an entirely new way of playing. Again. Motion controls were so popular, both Sony and Microsoft got in on the action, after the Wii, which has not had the best lineup of third-party games, has sold a quadrillion units or so. You now have people who have never owned a video game console (or quit playing video games after the "grew up) have a Wii in their house. With the WiiU ... those hardcore gamers who sold their Wiis long ago may be enticed to come back. And the promo video definitely appeals to the casual gamer that made the Wii so popular. But, third-party support will be how this console lives or dies. We know that Darksiders 2 is supposed to be a launch title. Batman: Arkham City is coming to it. Assassin's Creed. Wooo! Sounds good! But I have a prediction. I'm throwing it out here, for you guys. Remember, you saw it here first! (If it's true. If not, just forget this ever happened.) Mass Effect 3 will be coming to the Wii U. And, I'd hazard a guess that ME 1&2 might too.

Anyway, I've gushed over Nintendo enough. But, that's how excited I got. And we've still got more E3 to go. Expect a wrap-up from the whole gang, soon.

Until then, see ya next Punday Night!

E3 Editorial: Folly of the Major Game Companies UPDATE!

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Tue, 7 Jun 2011 15:09:00 -0400

Return of Jaysun:

To say E3 has been below my standards of expectations would be unfair. My personal life has taken a massive blow to a perception of natural enjoyment. But I can still see where the problem lies for major growth in the gaming market. And it's pretty major. I will go by each keynote for the big 3 companies and offer some brief thoughts on each.

More After The Jump Time...Click Away!

Microsoft: Hiring lame actors to pretend to have fun with your on-rails "adventure" and "sports" games is getting so tiresome that my eyes are permanently in rotation from rolling so much. Did you hire those kids for your "Disneyland Adventures" presentation from a batch of rejected actors of the local production of "Annie"? Because no kids I know so obviously are pretending to have fun. Don't show us actors. Show us real stuff. And those goofy guys, pretending to have a real amount of "huddle talk" while playing some Kinect Football atrocity. No wonder those guys spend time playing Kinect football, they seem to have the social deftness of the Elephant Man. No One Talks Like That. NOTLT. Mark that on your creative meeting before each E3 from now on. The only gem from the presentation was Tim Schafer giving an adorable anecdote about finally making a game for his child, while showing his new Sesame Street Game. The fake father and son pretending to play it certainly inspire any retailers to care massive copies of it. That Kinect Star Wars looked so wonky and unplayable that the Superman 64 devs were laughing. And how awkward was it for Ice-T to say Body Count was reuniting for a special song on Gears of War 3? Even Cliffy B, creator of the game, seemed to have taken some of the Joker's toxin before the show so he could make the best smile possible through it. Kudo Tsunoda even couldn't care. And he pretends to care about everything. They were unclear about the Halo Remake, and didn't mention there will be no online multi-player. I mean wow guys. Halo 4: I don't care, but I'm sure someone will. Who is making it? Not Bungie. Do you want someone else to make it? Does it matter? It seems like no one seems to care if the creating developers aren't continuing a franchise in it's primary console. I'm looking at you Sly Cooper, but more on that later. So Microsoft, just start being honest.
What I Liked- The home entertainment aspect of Xbox 360 was great. They realize they have what is essentially a Windows Home Theater PC in 55 million homes already. Just let us watch TV through it. And we shall. Focusing more on that will allow them to continue winning the Console Wars. Smart. DVR is great. The 3D drawing on Kinect looked like a lot of fun. The Tomb Raider looked interesting, I'll never play it, but looks interesting.
But who cold opens a presentation with 10 minutes of extremely boring Modern Warfare 3 footage. Puh-lease. Lasts years looked fun, and I don't like those Call of Duty games.

Sony: Like the desperate guy looking for a prom date. Risking everything to get someone to just get him laid. They had plenty to show, and probably "won" E3, if there is such a thing. Playstation Vita sounds horrible, yes. It's the first time Sony has tried to get creative with the naming of their gaming systems. Everything else sounds so honest and simple. And that's how we like it. Playstation, Playstation 2, Playstation 3, Playstation Portable, PSP2000, PSP3000...oh PSP Go. Yea...How'd that Work out? PSP2 would have served you better. But the handheld looks AMAZING! Touch interface looks usable. Both Uncharted games looked phenomenal. Sly Cooper NOT by Sucker Punch? Then why? Insomniac got to do Resistance AND Ratchet and Clank. Both worked out very well (Mostly the Ratchet games. I loved those). Naughty Dog decided not to develop a Jak and Daxter game for PS3 (the move Heroes don't really count). The 3rd in the PS2 platformer winner, Sly, will not be made by the creators. Sucker Punch, you know you want to. It's all over the Infamous games. Just ask for more money from Sony, they'll give it to you! Disappointed. Ken Levine showed up to just talk I guess, and say "we are working on Move functionality for Bioshock." Which is fine. And there will be a Vita Bioshock. Ok, neat...where is this stuff? Let's see it, otherwise, it's Vaporware. We don't want to just hear it, we can speculate. But have something to show. Pay attention to Apple. It just works. That being said, Bioshock Infinite looks to be an amazing experience. And we get the first Bioshock on Playstation 3 for free. Ok. It is being made specifically for the system, not a port. Good. Levine gave a great speech, and I'm happy for that. It was involving, Microsoft: Take note. This is the second year Sony has made gaming leaders come out at E3 and eat their words. Last year was Gabe Newell from Valve. Both made fun of Sony in various interviews (Newell
Wow, what did I just do there. This is a video game thing.
Anyway Sony...good job. Vita pricing is very competitive. $50 more for the 3G version? Nice. $249 and $299. Seems very reasonable to me. Given the amount you can do. Competition : 3DS- $249. iPod Touch- $229. iPad- $499. iPad 3G- $629. I think you get the picture. Sony should do well. When it gets to $189, it will be a steal. I'm ready for this more than 3DS.

Nintendo: This is what I was writing on Facebook earlier about the WiiU:

Vaporware. Same ol' story. These game companies just never learn. They even said software sells games earl on and are pushing an entire new hardware experience to the end user, and concepts to show off. Just wait until 2012, when we see all... the leaked documents and you have actual games to show, and launch a console 5 months later. It will sell out no matter what, it's a new Nintendo console. Gamecube was in short supply it's first holiday system.

I'm trying not to be a hater, and maybe I'm in a terrible mood, but it dragged to explain how awesome something was and we didn't see anything in person. Just devs saying "this is totally bithcin'! I'm making Batman for it!" "Maybe you'll get smash brothers in 4 years guys! We'll see. We haven't even started it!" Duh, you're going to make a Smash Brothers game for it, we aren't stupid.

That seems to be the gist of my overall feelings here. Nintendo just TOLD us how revolutionary it will be. We saw nothing substantial. That's what we need. If you don't have it, don't show it. I wrote an article a while back about how game companies should look at Apple for inspiration. Look at their growth, their level of consumer loyalty. We trust them when they say something is great. Hyperbole too high? Sure. It's marketing. But they show us an iPhone, and BOOM there it is, 2 months later...or less! Nintendo, you don't have to convince "core gamers" that you are still relevant. We know it. They bought a Wii for Zelda and Smash Brothers and Super Mario Galaxy. Get your 3rd party developers. That's fine. We welcome it. But stop with the "wait a year and half and you'll see!" thing. Why do you need that much tie for hype? It's a new shiny console. People will by it based on your name. Make us believe you aren't a hype machine. Make us believe in gameplay. Show us real games. No tech demos, no pre-rendered trailers. No teasing. Games. Show us. HD graphics? Sweet, I'm in. But you can't tell us hardware specs? Why? Oh, because they aren't finalized? Well fancy that. Stop the non-sense. You have now made the Wii an irrelevant machine for 18 months. What if were only 4 months? There will be a market for the Wii as a bedroom system, or a nice alternative for the budget household. But that won't last if that is all you have. What kind of discs? Dual-core? Clock speed? It may seem like unimportant facts to the uninitiated. But how about start up game companies and game makers? What is they come into millions and can make a great game in 10 months? How do they know? You guys basically were burlesque dancers in the background of an episode of NCIS: Los Angeles today. The hint of kind of teasing. We know something good is there, we just aren't allowed to see it for some ridiculous censor board. Get over it. Want a revolution? Make a marketing revolution.

What I liked: Super Mario for 3DS looks fun. Neat Luigi's Mansion 2 stuff. Kid Icarus looking like lots of fun. Skyward Sword still looking great despite being irrelevant 12 months later. Zelda gets the shaft on consoles now huh? Concerts? Whatever. Mario Kart 3DS looking good. Free games? Sure!

Basically Nintendo, stop all this crazy vaporware. Wait...Skyward Sword was it for Wii? See what I mean... Wait, you mean they announced them? Where? oh... ON THE PICTURE AT THE END AS AN AFTER THOUGHT?!?!?!? What The H guys!


From Engadget

Ok. I've done enough here. Damaging my own psyche and ranting and raving like a lunatic in a video game editorial. Like I said...bad place.

from my mInd-

Jaysun

EDIT:
See What I Mean?
Looks like we have specs of some sort.

Want More Game Stuff? Click These Links!

UPDATED! The Prices Are Alright: X's and b.O's Edition

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Thu, 2 Jun 2011 22:11:00 -0400

X-Men: First Class hopes to magnetize the box office coinage this weekend from action fans disappointed by the lastest Pirates adventure. The previous two films were...not...well...received. So hopefully this attempt can revitalize this once mighty franchise.
Our predictions:

Richard: 68 million
Michael: 110
Marshall: 75
Chris: 95
Jaysun: 72

UPDATE!

Previous Scores and Rankings:
Jaysun: 930
Marshall: 919
Richard: 887
Chris: 849
Michael: 836
$55.1 Million. Let's look at the old score board.

Richard: -26
Michael: -110
Marshall: -40
Chris: -80
Jaysun: -34

New Scores and Rankings:
Jaysun: 896
Marshall: 879
Richard: 861
Chris: 769
Michael: 726

Gap narrow between Marshall and Richard. Michael lost the same amount of points he estimated in millions. There is a special kind of irony in that. The movie opened on the same level as Inredible Hulk and Batman Begins. The two reboots that are its comparison. Next week we have Super 8, and Judy Moody and the Not Bummer Summer. The former Jaysun's most anticipated movie of the summer, the later Chris's most anticipated.

The Prices Are Alright: Post-Hangoverpocalypse update

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Thu, 2 Jun 2011 20:06:00 -0400

This is Jaysun, I'm making a quick stop to update the game status, no analysis. My personal life is in disarray, so my input will be brief. I took a break from real prediction.

Opening Scores and Rankings:

Jaysun- 979

Marshall- 971

Richard- 953

Michael- 943

Chris- 932

Hangover 2

Richard: 98 million

Michael: 60 million

Chris: 70 million

Marshall: 66 million

Kung Fu Panda 2

Richard: 88 million

Michael: 92 million

Chris: 85 million

Marshall: 45 million

This is only for the 4 day, as Memorial Day is such a big box office holiday it is taken into account.

Actuals: Hangover Part II- 103 million

Kung Fu Panda 2- 60 million

I will pull down my score so I'm not insanely ahead because this week we took a big dive.

New Scores and Rankings:
Jaysun: 930
Marshall: 919
Richard: 887
Chris: 849
Michael: 836

X-Men: First Class is the only new release next week. Maybe we get closer this time.

The Prices Are Alright: Mid Memorial Day Weekend

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Sat, 28 May 2011 15:04:00 -0400

It's been a busy week for multiple reasons but have no fear: I'm here to give you our opening weekend prediction's in Jaysun's stead. Having worked 2 full days of the Hangover already, I can tell you that it's probably going to do better than any of us were expecting but them's the breaks. Anyway...

Hangover 2
Me: 98 million
Mike: 60 million
Chris: 70 million
Marshall: 66 million

Kung Fu Panda 2
Me: 88 million
Mike: 92 million
Chris: 85 million
Marshall: 45 million

So far the Panda's disappointing but Hangover was always going to be stronger during the first few days because college is out. I don't expect a huge reversal in the days to come but I do think this is going to be the second weekend in a row sounding a death knell for the overexposure of 3D; we've got KFP in both versions and one is very obviously outdoing the other. Keep watching this space as this weekend is most assuredly going to throw the whole game into utter chaos!

Tuesday News on the run

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Tue, 24 May 2011 14:06:00 -0400

Well the news is on Tuesday this week because I was a total slacker and cruised around looking for toys on my day off. Generations Wheeljack is not going to find himself guys, ok?

So have you guys seen some of the stuff Lego's been putting out lately? Damn y'all. Just damn.

The closest we'll ever get to toys for John Christopher's Tripods Trilogy. Unless Gregor Jordan ever makes those movies. So yeah, the closest we'll ever get.

These Alien Conquest sets are just crazy. The higher end sets even have sounds! That's not even going into the craziness of the Pharaoh's Quest sets or even the really cool Pirates of the Caribbean series that just came out.

The inside of this thing is just ridiculous

On top of that, the Lego store online has some pretty sick exclusives including an entire village for the Castle theme and that amazing looking Emporium for the City sets pictured above. I'm coveting the Space Shuttle set they have on there as well; take a look in the store underneath 'Exclusives' and 'Hard to find' for more surprises like the Death Star set. [Source: Lego]

I'm a long way away from the $100 for this though

Honestly if you really cared about the Muppets, you'd have seen through this immediately. Why? BECAUSE YOU'D HAVE BEEN FOLLOWING IT FROM THE GREENLIGHT.

The trailer for The Muppets was attached to prints of Pirates of the Caribbean: On stranger Tides this weekend, but Disney's released it online for all you people who didn't make it to the theater this weekend. It was really funny to see Twitter blow up about it yesterday as everyone seems to be getting angry that you're revealing the "surprise" of the trailer by saying it's for The Muppets. Honestly, you can see a picture of Kermit in the background long before they show up and it's not like the casting of Jason Siegal and Amy Adams in the movie was some big secret. Anyway, it's a cute trailer that sells the idea to parents/adults but will likely cause kids to ask some questions where Elmo and Grover are. One of the kids at work asked me if Jim Henson was directing the movie which made me really, really sad; not for the unawareness but for the fact that I knew Henson died before the kid was even born. BLECH. [Source: Latino Review]

Please come out where I can watch you without having to convert a PAL VHS tape.

Speaking of movies, there's a few new shots from the CG Animated Asterix movie coming out over at Bleeding Cool, one of the few sites in English that seems to be covering the movie in any detail. I've got pretty high hopes for this; I've never been able to see any of the live-action Asterix films but the animated ones from before the 90's (basically stopping at Asterix and the Big Fight though please don't get me started on Asterix conquers America) were some of my favorite movies ever as a kid. Every time a friend of mine goes to Europe I always ask if they can bring me back The 12 Tasks of Asterix on Blu-ray. Anyway, this new film is being made by one of the studios that worked on Despicable Me and it's based on The Mansions of the Gods which was a favorite despite having a lot to deal with real estate humor. [Source: Bleeding Cool]

Hey look! It's the Infinity Gauntlet! I can't wait to get asked by a certain dweeb at work if the Cosmic Cube is related to it!

There's a few images from the Art of Thor book out now, including some detailed shots of the easter eggs in Odin's vault. I wanted to start picking up the books with the art of the Marvel Movies but the fact that The art of Iron Man was softcover and The Art of Iron Man 2 was hardcover was something of a deterrent. Maybe I'll start fresh from here despite the $50 MSRP. [Source: Comics Alliance]

As a followup to something we discussed on the show, Deadline has an article about how Pirates being in 3D actually might have hurt the grosses. As someone who works in a theater, I can say it's not just kids who hate wearing the glasses; I've had adults crab about that as well. Honestly, people don't seem to care about the price as much as they do the annoyance of running into 3D constantly; it's been obscenely overexposed and people are tiring of it in a big way. It's a lot harder to sell people on a movie they're already iffy on if it's in the format (trust me, I've tried) and no one seems to be learning from the atomic payload that was Mars needs Moms. Sure Gnomeo and Juliet did well but that was a freak accident resulting from a vacuum in the family market early in the year. They need to take 3D out of 5th gear as some people are starting to reject movies based solely on the fact that they have a release in the format (See most of Ebert's recent reviews). [Source: Deadline]

Well that's all I'm going to be able to get out for now; the dark hand of work beckons to me and sadly, I must obey. The LMS isn't going to map itself for Hangover Part 2 and Kung Fu Panda 2; though I don't doubt that isn't something they're working on...

The Prices Are Alright: ORCCA Box Office Results Week Three, and Top Ten for May 13-15, 2011

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Sun, 22 May 2011 19:11:00 -0400

Interesting weekend at the movies. Some fantastic holdovers, great worldwide, and disappointment domestic. Pirates was the sole new wide-release picture this weekend, as most were scared off. Let's see how this goes!

Ok, so just act drunk and they give you $50 million a movie.
I'm not lying, just look at this bracelet I bought made of
Bald Eagle's Beaks...

1. PIRATES OF THE CARIBBEAN: ON STRANGER TIDES- $90.1 million. Ouch. That's gotta hurt the domestic brand for this franchise. Though, you can't say this was unexpected (some of us had even LOWER expectation) given the lack of advertising. This movie came about relatively late, so I imagine they are testing the overall marketability of the franchise with minimal advertising and let the past do most of the talking. That may be a bad idea. No matter, worldwide more than made up for this lackluster by comparison opening. $346.4 million since Wednesday. That is the fourth largest worldwide 5-day of all time. And that is quite a feat. No matter how you shake it, this movie did less business than AT WORLD'S END domestic and worldwide. And that is WITH 3-D and Imax and inflation. So they should have looked to re-build the brand, and not keep stacking on top of it. Without that foundation, it will crumble. Look for a new strategy with the franchise if it doesn't top $700 million worldwide. $21,000 per theater average is pretty great though. Friday includes midnights of nearly $5 million, and the Friday-Saturday drop was less than 10%. Which is pretty decent. Without the midnights added, there was an INCREASE of attendance. Just for a franchise this huge, everyone expects more.

2. BRIDESMAIDS- $21 million. -20% drop. Phenomenal hold. The only comparison to THE HANGOVER this movie deserves is it's staying power. Look for this movie to come near or top $100 million dollars. Without an A-List star (almost entirely TV actors...well...actually entirely) or a built in name recognition, this movie will pass Sex in the City 2's gross, and come near to the first Sex in the City. So... all the myths about movies made for and by women being failures could start to turn. Of course, this movie could just be really good and buck a trend. On the THIRD hand, maybe movies with the female demographic in mind should strive for quality like this more often...

3. THOR- $15.8 million. -54% drop. Doing well still, though not Iron Man stability well. Thor is going to have to push really hard to break $200 million. Actually, it looks impossible by now. But it's worldwide total is still looking good. Seems this movie didn't grab, but it will beat Incredible Hulk. And that is a good thing.

4. FAST FIVE- $10.6 million. -48%. So it has finally started to wear down, the oil change is coming up, and you'll need a pit stop? Is the car stuff silly? I can't make too many jokes about cars. BUT, Fast Five looks to finally be slowing down it's cash flow. We are looking at another $15-20 million before it throws on the parking brake (I'm trying). Hello $200 million gross for Vin Diesel without trying to count Saving Private Ryan! Hi $200 million gross for Dwayne The Rock Johnson with trying to forget the Mummy Returns. Great run so far. This broke $500 million worldwide.

5. RIO- $4.8 million. -44% drop. This is the last weekend before Kung Fu Panda 2 sidekicks Rio in the balls, and laughs while writhing on the floor. Not bad, this movie did well, but worldwide is $438 million. Which is amazing. Domestic is $131 million so far.

Look Paul, that is the sun setting on your lead actor career.

6. PRIEST- $4.6 million. -69% drop. Hehe, 69 dude! This is looking to die a quick death, terrible, terrible drop. The "graphic novel" didn't register outside it's opening weekend (the weekly grosses were horrendous). Paul Bettany can't carry these low budget, religious-themed horror movies. Stop already!

7. JUMPING THE BROOM- $3.7 million. -48% drop. This is falling at the same as ...

8. SOMETHING BORROWED- $3.4 million. -50% drop. Nobody is really looking for commentary on these movies, they are about to die.

9. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS- $2.1 million. -50% drop. End of the line for the top ten. I have not seen this, but I could have told producers to keep the budget down...

10. MADEA'S BIG HAPPY FAMILY- $1.1 million. -55% drop. Madea has now been buried 200 feet below the surface of the earth. We should hope he/she does not try to claw its way out. This movie was a pretty big disappointment.

NOW for the game part!

Opening Scores and Rankings:

Marshall - 986

Jaysun- 981

Richard- 961

Michael- 954

Chris- 947

Pirates Estimates: - 90 million.

PIRATES Predictions:

Marshall- 75 million: -15 points

Jaysun- 88 million: -2

Richard- 82 million: -8

Michael- 95 million: -10

Chris- 75 million: -15

GUEST PREDICTION FROM

NEWTON GIMMICK of INFINITE HOLLYWOOD FAME!

68 Million: -22 points

New Scores and Rankings:

Jaysun- 979

Marshall- 971

Richard- 953

Michael- 943

Chris- 932

Jaysun jumps back in the lead! For now... And has fun at the top! Marshall back down a spot. Rest of the rankings are the same. Chris took a big tumble, as did Marshall. But next week, chances to redeem yourself! Kung Fu Panda 2, Hangover 2! Sequels! One will be huge, one will disappoint. Guess which!

UPDATE! Crisis On Infinite Orcca's

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Sun, 22 May 2011 19:00:00 -0400

UPDATE!! Part 2!! With The Fain!!

Did anyone find our comments about Thor suspiciously absent? Well no worries because we were saving that for safely after everyone had properly borne witness to the glory of Asgard firsthand! Now we can spoil the living daylights out of it with no fear!

Speaking of no fear, Mike is apparently doubtless as to the success of (fill in that team Mike talked about here), which leads us into a prolonged conversation on America's favorite passtime. You'll never know which opposing teams you can best throw out to pretend you know something about sports if you don't listen!

Plus you get all the fascinating backstory as to how we formed this ragtag bunch of scrappy... scrappers.

Is it new? Yes!

Is it long? Probably!

Is it composited from multiple recording sessions where we went long or talked while waiting for everyone to arrive? Maybe!

Is it entertaining? Definitely!

Don't squander my love of Shojo sports anime or I'll never forgive you! It's the most about sports that I know with confidence! Don't let me bringing up Princess Nine be for nothing!

Tribute: Randy Savage

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Fri, 20 May 2011 14:06:00 -0400

I'm going to write about Randy Savage for a minute, so if you make fun of me for enjoying the world of wrestling, skip the snark for now. Some people that know me always ask "why do you like pro wrestling?", citing my distance from the norm of fans. there are many reasons. The dramatic entanglement of a fight, heightened by feats no average person could achieve. The trash talking and betrayals, the enigmatic nature of some, the boastful exclamations of others. But really, it always has to do with identifying someone you admire and see as who you are or who you want to be.
At the impressionable age of 9, I haphazardly I flipped through the multitude of new channels available to me and caught a glimpse of an American Indian warrior at night, shouting about winning battles and then hearing a call. This was a man named Tatanka. It interested me enough recognizing this as a thing called " pro wrestling." I had seen a segment a year previous involving a guy kicking another guy through a window (later learning this to be the break up of The Rockers, and Shawn Michaels being the "kicker") , and decided to watch the rest. I saw someone I identified with shortly afterwards. His name was Bret Hart. His words before a match were simple, and he had a humbling nature, despite claiming he was the best there is, best there was, and the best there ever will be. This, even as a child, seemed like something I would do. Say I was "great", all the while not believing it and wanting people to respect the feigned confidence. But he expertly defeated an opponent. I though much of him. But then I saw something else, clips from an already completed event called Wrestlemania VII. Some fun stuff, even recognizing Sgt. Slaughter from G.I. Joe, but here as a bad guy. Then I saw segments of an emotional match and conclusion from a small but flashy individual. His name was Macho Man Randy Savage.
I begged my mother to go to a video store, as the commercial had said the event was on tape, and rent this Wrestlemania. I was dazzled by a tag team match by Bret Hart. But wrapped up in the "final" match of this Macho Man. Never before or since, has a competitor so deftly pulled so much in one match. He was easily one of the best wrestlers of all time. So much charisma, even people that hate wrestling have to respect him for his work outside of wrestling. His costumes were brilliant, his "promos" so perfect and unique. He became the standard for what people think of as a wrestler. As popular as Hulk Hogan was, Macho Man was the absolute bar. His match with the Ultimate Warrior hid how bad of a showman he was, and made both men look amazing. The unaffected amount of elbow drops, the seamless movement. And of course, the real life and fictional love of his life, Miss Elizabeth. It was a true romance all fans of wrestling care about. So genuine, so true, that even young boys getting sick by the mere mention of girl, were caught up. Ever since, the angle of romance in wrestling has been attempted, but never successful. Because it could never be as honest as those two were. It was never stale, and there was always something in the way of their love. Another wrestler, retirement, distrust, championships. It was amazing. And made me WANT to be Macho Man. I try, even now, to emulate his presence, charisma, and capacity for love. Being a man's man, but not afraid of shoeing his tenderness. He never treated Elzabeth horrible in the stories. More angry at the situations involved. No wrestler could ever have that impact, he was the very definition of unique. I even learned his was from the very places I now live, and had a great life before wrestling even.
He is gone. I feel as though if I had a flag representing my life, it would be a half mast today. I still want to be him. No fear of fashion, his outfits would attest. No fear of gravity, his feats would attest. No fear of humility, his comedy appearances would attest. No fear of showing love, as the above explanation would attest. The list of accomplishments is innumerable. Greatest match of all time is almost universally regard as his match against Ricky "the Dragon" Steamboat. The match that changed wrestling, comparable to the first time people saw The Beatles, changing music forever. The first time people saw "Star Wars," changing movie forever. The first time we saw the moon landing. I understand, it is extreme to call these similar events, it's impact on the culture at large. But to those whose lives were changed, that is how they felt. That is what I'm trying to get across. Nirvana, The Simpsons, the Theory of Relativity. Cornerstones of culture. Things we universally can see the change before and after. The apex of a certain thing. The movement to a new era. I make these outlandish comparisons to emphasize his importance in his field. Know that.
What else did he do? Slim Jim commercials, beloved by all. Spider-Man. We all remember, he was perfect. Space Ghost Coast to Coast, as Leonard Ghostal, Rad's Badass Gandfather. We all know him. We all regard his accomplishments in the highest. He had bad times, but let those wash away for now. We will remember everything great he did. His impact on me, cemented for the rest of my life. Randy Poffo, the man that changed wrestling forever.

Confessions of a Noir Addict: Review of L.A. Noire

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Fri, 20 May 2011 00:41:00 -0400

film noir - noun; a motion picture with an often grim urban setting, photographed in somber tones and permeated by a feeling of disillusionment, pessimism, and despair.

-- dictionary.com, based on the Random House Dictionary

Noir is a state of mind. It is a cinematic style. It is a literary style. It encompasses a diverse grouping of indicators, genres, and treatments. Noir is hard to define, but easy to recognize. It is L.A. Noire.

On May 17th, 2011, Team Bondi and Rockstar Games released, for the PS3 and Xbox 360, L.A. Noire. And the gaming world will, or at least should, never be the same again.

First, a little background of where I'm coming from.

I love the noir style. From films such as The Maltese Falcon, The Big Sleep, and The Third Man to The Big Lebowski, L.A. Confidental, The Black Dhalia and Kiss, Kiss, Bang, Bang, I love the films that show the seedier side of the world. So, too, do I love the books and short stories many of these movies are based from, as well as the plethora of fantastic, hardboiled crime fiction that has yet to be captured on the big screen. Ever since, as a child, I watched The Third Man with my father, I have been drawn to this cinematic schadenfreude.

Then, in 2004, I heard rumors of an adventure game encapsulating this style coming to consoles. It was being funded by Sony Computer Entertainment America. It then got pushed back into the then "next generation" of consoles. That sealed it. I vowed that, by the time this game came out, I would own a PS3. Later, February of 2010 to be exact, it was announced for the Xbox 360. Nevertheless, it was always a PS3 game, so deep down I wanted it for that system. And at 12:10 am, on May 17th, 2011, I bought the PS3 version of L.A. Noire.

Now, as many of you may know, since late April, the PlayStation Network has been down. Unfortunately, since I bought the PS3 version of the game, I can't speak to the extra missions or outfits that were given away at launch during this playthrough. They won't be accessible until, as all reports are leaning towards, May 24th. When that happens, I will play it again, shooting for 100% completion. Until then, know that this finished playthrough focused on completing the main storyline of 21 cases and collecting all 13 newspaper flashbacks (more on that later). I did not explore overmuch. But I did immerse myself in the story being told, and what a ride that was.

L.A. Noire takes place in 1947 Los Angeles, amid reassimilating GIs from WWII, the burgeoning Hollywood film industry, and the booming land development of the area. The gameplay style takes influence from open-world, sandbox type games such as Rockstar's own Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead series, and mixes adventure gaming tropes throughout. The primary protagonist is Cole Phelps, a returning veteran from the Pacific Theater of WWII, decorated with a Silver Star and reassuming his role as a beat cop in the Los Angeles Police Department. He is determined to "right the wrongs" committed during the war, and is a strict, by-the-books cop who closes cases with alarming alacrity.

Traveling through the, almost magically, faithfully recreated city, you must help Phelps investigate and solve numerous crimes; first a support for the detectives of the LAPD, then as one. You move through Traffic, Homicide, Ad Vice and Arson as the story progresses, taking on the various crimes assigned to your department.

GAMEPLAY

The controls are almost identical to other Rockstar-published games. The left analog stick controls movement, the right controls the camera. The directional pad scrolls through choices, while the face buttons are situational. Very familiar controls for familiar gameplay styles. As you interrogate, each face button serves as your reaction to the previous statement: Truth (you believe them), Doubt (you don't feel like they are telling the whole truth, but have no proof) or Lie (you have proof to back up your doubts). Streamlined, seamless and familiar.
RATING: 10/10

STORY

The writers at Team Bondi better win an award. The plot of the game starts off almost banal, your stereotypical "police procedural." It presents you with the common stereotypes of the genre, normal settings, prerequisite voice-over ... and then tips it all on its side. The character development, even early on, is mind-blowing. The cases, at first, seem common enough ... until you keep seeing the many-faceted conspiracy unfolding. As you progress through the cases, you are treated to the present day (gameplay), what happens in the shadows (in a clever "behind the headlines" style as you pick up various newspapers), and what happened in the past (WWII flashbacks between each case). The story unfolds masterfully, keeping your interest piqued while always leaving you wanting to know more. Even minor characters feel like fleshed-out humans, enough so that one can only imagine what the games design Bible must look like. By grounding it all in the reality if 1947 Los Angeles, it presents an uncanny window into that era. And it does it exceptionally.
RATING: 11/10

ACTING

You can thank a company called Depth Analysis and their MotionScan technology for this category being called "Acting" instead of "Voice Work." By using state-of-the art motion capture technology alongside 32 surrounding cameras, not only do the actors bring their voices into the game, but their very faces. Having not watched Mad Men (yet), I can't accurately judge how well Aaron Staton has been presented as the main character of Cole Phelps. But when I saw, instead of heard, two actors I am familiar with in the game, it impressed upon me how truly amazing this technology was. While investigating a murder, I began to interrogate a Person of Interest named Hugo Moller. I hadn't really been paying attention when he showed up on scene, and when I looked back to a facial close-up of the character, I was staring right at Greg Grunberg, of Heroes and Alias fame. It was eerie. The mannerisms, the small facial tics ... spot on. Later, you meet with wealthy land developer Leland Monroe, portrayed by none other than John Noble, of Fringe and The Lord of the Rings fame. And wow. It was almost like watching an episode of Fringe set in 1947 Los Angeles. The sheer number of credited cast is mind-boggling for a video game (over 300 credited in the game manual). And they were all in the game.
RATING: 10/10

MUSIC

Andrew Hale (of the band Sade) has composed a masterful score, filled with jazzy horns and somber pianos. I am, in fact, listening to the soundtrack as I write this, to keep in the mood. As amazing as the score is, complementing it is the licensed music, authentic to the era, that plays on the car radio (which unfortunately you could not change stations on) and throughout the city on public radios in shops. Not only that, but there are actual clips from The Jack Benny Program, The Charlie McCarthy Show, and The Bickersons (starring a young Don Ameche). Rounding that out are commercials and news broadcasts headed up by Lazlow, of GTA fame.
RATING: 10/10

REPLAYABILITY

Not only are there 21 main cases to solve (where you can get from 1 to 5 stars, depending on your effectiveness while solving the cases) and 13 newspapers to read for the main storyline, but there are 95 different authentic cars to drive, 50 golden film reels to discover, 30 landmarks to visit, 40 street crimes to aid in stopping/resolving, numerous weapons to fire, and a "boatload" (pun is intentional, but you'll only get it after playing the game) of DLC containing 20 police badges to help level you up quicker and extra outfits, weapons and cases. There is also "Black and White" mode to play with, placing a monochrome filter on the game for the added noir feel. And plenty of trophies/achievements for those who are into such things. There will also be added content through the Rockstar Social club. Plenty to keep you coming back for more noir. Oh, and stick around post-credits ... it's worth it.

RATING: 10/10

OVERALL

This game is easily one of my favorites of recent times. It may grow to be my favorite single game of all time, on repeated playthroughs. Only time will tell. But I will say that this should be considered a frontrunner for any "Game of the Year" discussions. Between solid, tried-and-true gameplay interspersed with unique adventure game mechanics and a revolutionary new motion capture technique, not only with this game turn heads at film festivals (such as the Tribeca Film Festival, where it was shown as a 60 minute film) but also gaming awards worldwide.

RATING: 10.5/10

Hopefully Team Bondi and Rockstar will grace us with plenty more "Noire" in the future, but for now ... do yourself a favor. Go out and get a copy of L.A. Noire. Don't get left in the dark. (Subtle pun there, as noir = black ... heh.)

See ya next Punday! -- Michael

*All images are PSP sized wallpapers from Rockstar's official L.A. Noire site.

UPDATE! The Price Arrrrrr Alright: Pirates Edition. Box Office Results for May 20-22, 2011.

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Thu, 19 May 2011 19:01:00 -0400

Since we won't be recording before the weekend, here is a written edition of our box office prediction game. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides. Don't expect a repeat of this once powerful franchise. But some power... On to our extreme guessing!

Marshall: 75 million
Richard: 82 million
Michael: 95 million
Chris: 75 million
Jaysun: 88 million

Let's how far off we are!

Pirates is looking like it may open at 89million given it's opening day of 35million (including midnights) and similar trends of weekends. Worldwide is doing more business than the previous films, so that could be enough for 2 more.

Kristen Wiig has some amazing legs. I mean her film Bridesmaids! Come on now! Only dipping 25 percent on Friday to Friday grosses, and may look for only a 15% drop for the whole weekend to 22 million. That's quite incredible. That "Hangover for women" tag it was saddled with finally is making sense...for box office that is.

By Priest 3D...may only do 4 million. Thor's not doing bad, may hit 17 million.

More tomorrow!

3 more things I'm dying to have on Blu-ray even though I have no time to watch anything

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Wed, 18 May 2011 15:59:00 -0400

Did you really think I was only going to do 5 picks for a list like this? I hope not because otherwise I have no clue what I'd be doing in order to silence the seething madness which takes over whenever I'm not working myself to death.

Justify my grief by viewing the first part of this list!

Anyway, here's some more stuff I want to see because it's the best way for me to focus all of that vicious self-persecution into something vaguely positive

6.) The Rocketeer (1991) Walt Disney Pictures

I'm still not prepared to confront how this movie is 20 years old

I'm just amazed that this hasn't been announced by now as all the timing is right for a great media tie-in with Captain America: you've got the same director, similar subject matter and Disney even owns the Marvel characters (along with part of the distribution for Cap). It's practically a license to print money and an easier fit than a lot of other promotions I've seen in recent memory.

So what's great about this movie that isn't an amazing promotional opportunity? I probably don't have to tell you guys that! Joe Johnston's adaptation of the late Dave Steven's character stands out as a superlative early example of comic books as film. The whole movie is like a checklist of every pop culture thing the internet loves, excusing zombies and goofy cat pictures. Plus it's not terrible for both society and your mental state the way Sucker Punch is!

Oh wait. Not liking Sucker Punch is my fault. Guess I'll have to remember that when someone puts together a hodgepodge of things I'm supposed to enjoy, my subjective opinion of an artistic work is irrelevant; it was designed from the ground up to mechanically embody every aspect of entertainment that's supposed to appeal to me and for that reason I should adore it, ignoring all the uncomfortable aspects it may be stereotyping me with.

Tangential rant over.

This movie, along with Terminator 2, is one of the movies from when I was really young that I remember extremely well because of how I saw it. My Mom actually took me and my Brother to see this during a weekday matinee while my Dad was at work; this probably wasn't the first time I'd been to a matinee, but I was thrilled to notice that the theater was not swamped the way it would often be on weekends when we normally came. Also, my Mom going out of her way to take us to a movie was pretty rare so the memories stick in my mind years later. In fact, I'm still not entirely positive my Dad ever ended up seeing it though its doubtless he heard about since me and my Brother must have rented the NES game 30 times that summer. Such great music in that game despite it being even harder than Kemco's Batman, one of the two NES cartridges we actually owned.

So Rocketeer never really got a great DVD release, having special features limited to a trailer. As nice as it was to be able to see it in widescreen again that's pretty lacking for a movie that had a 'making of' TV special I remember pretty clearly. This wasn't the monster hit that Disney wanted it to be back in the day but that doesn't mean they can't make crazy bank off of it now with all the anticipation for Cap's movie. They go hand in hand and this already has a pretty big cult following. Awareness of this character is so high and talk isn't cheap Disney; pull together a spectacular blu-ray for any release of Captain America and you'll be looking at some nice profit. There's a reason that the releases from IDW of Dave Stevens' work have been pretty popular with fans and the press; that complete deluxe edition hardcover is absolutely to die for. Cliff's even got some new adventures coming your way with Rocketeer Adventures, an anthology series with work by top tier talent like Kurt Busiek and Mike Allred. It's out now for those interested...

People know what's up

7.) UHF (1989) Released by Orion Pictures, Rights held by MGM with home video releases being distributed by 20th Century Fox or possibly Sony

We miss you Orion pictures

Isn't it fun looking at the whirlwind of distribution deals that have made up MGM and their catalog over the years? Its like legal hopscotch because I still can't properly figure out who has the rights to make a Blu-ray of the only film which can claim the illustrious quality of starring Weird Al.

Back in the time before Comedy Central reran nothing but those goofy direct-to-video National Lampoon movies, they used to show this classic with a frequency to rival that of USA and their adoration of Tremors. As you can imagine, with so much of the early 1990's spent by me waiting in the Doctor's Lounge for my Dad to come back and help with my math homework, I saw this movie hundreds of times. The tale of George fighting against the corrupt R.J. Fletcher is the pinnacle of 80's comedy nostalgia even if people are unaware the movie exists (for now). Aren't the 80's always a big thing with the internet? Of course they are, otherwise custom T-shirt stores would have nothing to mash-up for an easy sell!

Is it for everyone? I have no clue. But I do know it's for me. I remember when the original MGM DVD came out, me and Jaysun went specially down to Best Buy on our day off to get it. I think they only had 3 copies and we had to get help to find them but it was worth it. Of all the discs put out by MGM at a budget, this was one of the best; it had commentary, deleted scenes, live menus, the works. Were they 'film school in a box' the way David Fincher releases are? No, but they gave you pretty much everything you could hope for from a movie that went head to head with Batman back in 1989. The test screening of UHF is well known to be one of the most well-received ever so that faith was justified and now we have a chance to see it repeated. Al's going to be game for any fun new thing you want to try so you know you'll have something new to put on there. Heck, why not go all legal like and make it a double pack with a collection of all his music videos?

There's a demand for this title out there and I don't doubt that whoever holds the rights could make a pretty penny off of it. Especially if they found some more of the deleted scenes or had a printable script option... C'mon Fox/Sony, don't make us drink from the firehose!

8.) Princess Mononoke (1997) Toho Co., Ltd and domestically licensed by Disney/Miramax

Maybe they can finally do some decent localized boxart for it too; the DVD looked ok...

Princess Mononoke has an interesting history in the US. Initially brought over by Miramax, it ended up being one of the first movies released as part of the Disney Tokuma deal made in 1996. After a theatrical release, it almost came to DVD with just English audio; fan protest convinced Miramax to put subtitles and original Japanese audio on the disc but not much else.

The way the deal has evolved over time has stipulated that Disney can't put anything out in the US that isn't already on Blu-ray in Japan so the release of this is likely going to be glacial. Japan is going in pseudo-chronological order and we're behind even that since Castle in the Sky has yet to be announced. I'm hoping Disney takes advantage of the whole library even though really only people like me are going to be buying stuff like Whisper of the Heart.

Why yes, I am still frustrated that we don't have anything resembling a release of Only Yesterday.

Anyway, that's a tangent.

I picked Mononoke because Miramax's original DVD was really lackluster as far as features go; all Ghibli DVD's had 2nd discs with the entire film in storyboard form, something I greatly enjoyed back in the age of real free time (namely the summer between graduating high school and entering college). The domestic release lacked even that, but in light of it being really early in the DVD life cycle, we understood. Besides, they can make up for it now by putting the storyboard version on the Blu-ray as well as the 6 hour and 20 minute long making of documentary that's out there. I think that would make up for it pretty nicely.

Also, this is arguably my favorite Ghibli movie. It's a dead heat with Castle in the Sky but it's easier to get people to scream at me over this one for some reason and we all know I love getting into arguments about stuff I care about. Don't you want to fuel the fires of my passion?

I really hope that Ghibli gets to Mononoke sooner than later, despite their seeming adherence to releases based on chronological order; the only joy I get out of that is seeing all the people have to wait for the over appreciated Howl's Moving Castle to come out last since Ponyo already made it. Do me a solid guys and get to working on the domestic released this film has always deserved as I'm sick of waiting for it.

There you have it guys. Because my thoughts always seem to be a work in progress, I'll probably be adding to this list in the future. In the meantime, feel free to tell me how awesome (or dumb) I am for liking UHF (or disliking Howl's Moving Castle) on Twitter, leave a comment here or even buy some fancy stuff from one of our sponsors!

Monday News Cheap Thrills

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Mon, 16 May 2011 19:22:00 -0400

[Source: NASA]

I've had a pretty busy day already, what with getting up to watch Endeavour launch for the last time and helping with some errands (as well as sneak a peek at the new Transformers 3 and Captain America toys); as a result, I've only been able to go through some (mostly) movie news so you're gonna have to deal.

The first trailer for the Fright Night remake is out and it's got a surprising amount of emphasis on the horror but not the comedy. Strange to me, in light of how I think of the old movie as being more funny than I do scary but I guess we won't really know until it hits in August, bravely battling it out for screens with Spy Kids 4 and Conan the Barbarian during a weekend I can only think of as being 3D-MAGEDDON(TM)! You get a good look at everybody excusing David Tennant as Peter Vincent; the focus is mostly on Anton Yelchin and Collin Farrel as the new Jerry Dandridge (or as my brother used to call him, Disco Dracula) [Source: Deadline.com]

In exciting poster news for movies I deeply hope do not turn out awful despite some questionable production choices, the first one-sheets for The Muppets and The Adventures of Tintin: the Secret of the Unicorn have appeared, part of the theater businesses continual attempt to lure me into hanging around forever. The former is ok I guess; I'm not blown away with evocative imagery but it does show the characters well which will hopefully get kids asking their parents about them. I find it funny that the only picture anyone's got of it has that lens flare as people are mistaking it as part of the poster; I already have some on the way to work so I'm amazed that no one else has a better image yet since we usually get stuff last (if at all). As for Tintin, I'm already highly covetous of both versions though I admittedly prefer the international version, pictured below. The US is getting really screwed over as the international Thor posters were a damn sight better than the domestic final, something I will never let go. The domestic version is here though ignore Harry's commentary as he's an idiot. I'm really excited to see anything from Tintin despite disliking the majority of it's cast (yeah you heard that right) and being iffy on how the characters have translated from those pictures in Empire last year. Still, everyone's talking about the Tintin posters on most of the sites I've seen with varying levels of accuracy/excitement. A special credit goes to Nordling at AICN for actually admitting he knows nothing about the source material. I appreciate your honesty! [Source: Ain't it Cool News]

Cool... sure wish I got a shot at one Paramount

Speaking of cool stuff that totally relates to the movies that I never get to see despite working at a theater, here's a look at one of the SHIELD Field Agent Test Kits that Marvel and Acura were using to promote Thor. Sure, it comes as part of a story about how it was mistaken for a bomb but that's a little cathartic for me since I'll never have one. [Source: Comics Alliance]

Takara announced what the 10th Masterpiece Transformer was going to be: a new mold of Optimus Prime, trailer included this time and meant to better fit the scale of MP Rodimus and Starscream. Where that leaves MP Megatron and Grimlock, I'm not sure; if they want to redo Megs though I'm definitely not going to protest as mine has the tarnishing issue on top of how he's the weakest of the Masterpiece TFs. In the meantime, I'm hoping Hasbro gets their act together and puts out the MP Rodimus and Thundercracker, all features intact; not looking forward to springing $200 on the new Rodimus 2.0 that was just released. Anyway, the irony of how this comes out after the original MP-01 Prime mold was highly touted as being retired is not lost on anyone. One thing's for sure though: I'll be glad to finally have an Optimus with a trailer! I may even import him so I can have my highly illegal long smokestacks... [Source: Seibertron.com]

Ruminating on ridiculous US toy regulations aside, I'm done for now; I have to catch up on the sadly canceled The Chicago Code before trying to squeeze some enjoyment from my precious, precious day off. Don't worry though: I'm sure some jackass will send me into a rage at work tomorrow for your guys future enjoyment on the show.

UPDATED! The Prices Are Alright: ORCCA Box Office Results Week Two, and Top Ten for May 13-15, 2011

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Sun, 15 May 2011 13:32:00 -0400

So begins another week of 20/20 hindsight. Starting last week, we began a new game with rules in the link provided. Now, come on down...to the next paragraph to see who is winning. Marshall started late, and in error, I said he would have a +5 handicap for starting late. He should have a -5, as he is starting more fresh than we are. But, I will instead start him at 1000 because of my error, and will have an asterisk. UPDATE: Marshall will start 15 points below the rest, taking automatic penalty for not making a guess on last week's round. First the Top Ten, then our scores.

1. THOR- $34.7 million. -47.2% drop. We see a decent drop for week two. Considering drop for most action movies is usually sizable , this is a great number for the God of Thunder. Cumulative domestic stands at $115 million, and has a similar depreciation to the first Iron Man. The movie is doing pretty well, much better than The Incredible Hulk, so Marvel/Paramount/Disney should be pleased. I expect $180-190 final. Though, if it has a similar box office life to Iron Man, the total would be projected at $220 million. Though, Iron Man had more appeal to older audiences than Thor can provide.

2. BRIDESMAIDS- $26.2 million. NEW. Great opening weekend (better final!) for an all female lead cast, and being an original property. The Apatow name helps, but this would have hit without that marketing push. Bridesmaids has appeal to young male AND female audiences, and has an ambitious attitude. Congratulations to Kristen Wiig for this, she deserves all the success she can muster. Marketing was top notch, and reviews are scorching for this. Very good Per Theater Average of over $8,000. Pink was a bold marketing choice, as it can easily scare off males. This opening show that did not happen. Most of Hollywood was expecting a mid-teens launch. Universal believed in their film, and it hit a little more than they hoped (around 21 million). Expect decent legs for this, as it is all alone in appeal this summer.

3. FAST FIVE- $20.4 million. -37% drop. Amazing hold for one of the oddities in American Franchise growth. This was not unexpected by me, but this is truly surprising many, many people. A final tally of over $200 million is nearly a lock. Maybe it will hit right at $200 million. Could make it the highest grossing movie for all the stars not named Tyrese Gibson. This is a defining moment for Universal, who has cranked out bombs and money losers for so very long now.

4. PRIEST- $14.9 million. NEW. Well, the divergent estimates may take this much lower than this number. But it rose on Saturday, from its Friday gross. This usually means a movie will have great legs over the summer, meaning it will drop low amounts each week. Highly unusual. Most horror movies, action movies, and 3-D movies experience big drop from day one to day two. This is all three, but defied all trends. Maybe that is the key? Maybe all movies should be horror-action-3D spectacles "based on a graphic novel." What a world that would be...very depressing...but Sony Pictures/Columbia could make money this way!

5. RIO- $8.2 million. -2.7% drop. Wow, amazing, amazing hold. Virtually the same as last week. Good for Fox, they really need this to make money. I can't say I can see a final number from this, as this is an oddity for a drop. I'll say maybe $155 total. Kung-Fu Panda 2 will be the end of this movie.

6. JUMPING THE BROOM- $7 million. -53.6% drop. This and Something Borrowed opened pretty similar and are dropping pretty similar. After it's surprising opening, Broom is dropping pretty much in line with most movies. Nothing to see here. Move on.

7. SOMETHING BORROWED- $6.8 million. -50.7% drop. See above. Funny that there are 3 wedding themed (and titled) movies. Fared better from week to week drops than Broom.

8. WATER FOR ELEPHANTS- $4.2 million. -30.8% drop. Still doing pretty decently. Robert Pattinson can't draw, so it is time to stop trying. Witherspoon is nearing the point that she cannot, as this has made it on her back. $60 million will be the most it can reach.

9. MADEA'S BIG HAPPY FAMILY- $2.2 million. -47% drop. Tyler Perry is taking time to star in the next Alex Cross film, not as a director. This is a good idea for him. Maybe getting into something new will help his longevity. If Madea movies are starting to fall, try something else. That was his default.

10. SOUL SURFER- $1.8 million. -20.8% drop. Still hanging in there, though this will be its final appearance in the Top Ten. This will probably have a great video and television run. Good for this movie.

There is the Top Ten for this week, next week comes the once mighty Jack Sparrow to swindle the top spot. It will be interesting to see how much the public can forgive At World's End, and if they believe in the franchise. Monday will be the day for updates and adjusted scores, so check back then.

2 Biggest Winners for the Week: Wedding movies, Fox.

2 Biggest Losers for the Week: Madea, Robert Pattinson.

My agent said young girls LOVE period films.

OK....here..we..GO!

Opening Points:

Jaysun- 985
Richard- 975
Chris- 975
Michael- 962

Marshal- 985

Bridesmaids: 26 million

Jaysun- 24 million: -2 points

Richard- 32 million: -12

Chris- 37 million: -22

Michael- 23 million: -3

Marshall- 22 million: -4

Priest: 15 million

Jaysun- 13 million: -2

Richard- 16 million: -2

Chris- 18 million: -6

Michael- 10 million: -5

Marshall- 15 million: +5

New Scores and Rankings:

Marshall - 986

Jaysun- 981

Richard- 961

Michael- 954

Chris- 947

Jaysun and Richard hold steady for now. Michael pops up a spot and Chris takes a big dip, thanks to overestimating Bridesmaids. I am looking at adjusting Marshall's score to be more fair for the rest of us, and so he doesn't have an asterisk next to his name this summer. Because asterisks are a mark of SHAME! UPDATE: Marshall takes the lead with his new penalty starting score.

Check for us on Twitter for more updates, and check out Michael and Richard's entries to the blogosphere from this week.

Episode #50: I Can't Believe It's Not An Anniversary Special! (AKA SECRET ORIGINS OF THE ORCCACAST!)

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Fri, 13 May 2011 23:36:00 -0400

With the release of Thor behind us, the summer has officially started and we can get back to a regular episode. What's that you say? Our 50th episode? Well that is kind of a big deal but after the spectacular summer spectacular 2, we thought it might be a good time for a little reflection about what brought us to do the show in the first place; it also sounds like a perfect time to announce our future plans for the show so you'll be behind everyone else if you don't listen! C'moooooooon! Would I be this desperate to fill space if there wasn't some awesome stuff in the episode I didn't want to spoil?

My History with Paronomasia, pt. 1: The Spider Bite

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Thu, 12 May 2011 12:17:00 -0400

Hi, I'm Michael, and I am afflicted with paronomasia. Some call it a disease that needs to be stomped out. I consider it a condition; some find it interesting, others are repulsed by it. Look it up, and make your own decisions on how you feel about it. Here, a link: Paronomasia.

:-D

So, to begin again. If you are reading this blog, you (hopefully) listen to the show. And, you've heard my puns. Some of you love them, some of you hate them. But you all notice them. And, I'm gonna keep at it. So, you might as well learn my history with puns. I've not always been a punster. Oh, I'd probably used them most of my life, but never knew what they were, or the conscious act of creating them. But three writers made me understand the art form of the pun. This series of posts will talk about the books of these authors, my relationship with their books, and their influence on my punful nature.

Spider Robinson (image from the author's website) is an American-born Canadian science-fiction author. He has won the John W. Campbell Award for Best New Writer (1974), three Hugo awards (1977, 1978, and 1983), a Nebula Award (1977) and the Robert A. Heinlein Award for Lifetime Achievement (2008). So he's not just a chump. I came across his writings through a Robert A. Heinlein book, in which he did a cover blurb for a new printing. So, being a massive bibliophile, I picked up one of his books. Thus did I discover "The Callahan Chronicals."

Now, a little background. The Callahan Chronicals isn't a single book, it's a collection of three. And each book isn't even a single story, it's a collection of short stories. But they all center around Callahan's Place, a bar located somewhere in New York. The bar is tended my a jolly Irishman named Mike Callahan ... who has a bit of a secret. And the bar isn't your standard fare. Imagine Cheers mixed with the Mos Eisley Cantina.

People gravitate to there, who need to be there. Usually, they aren't your normal bar patrons, though, One is a herald to an intergalactic race of planet eaters. One is an alien shapeshifter whose people have guided humanity to act as cattle. He took the guise of an Austrian named Adolph Hitler (he wasn't asked to stay). There is a talking dog and his mute human. It's a ... motley crew.

One of the traditions of Callahan's is a contest called Punday Night. The winner has his entire tab erased, so tradition holds that heavy drinking is necessary (and, of course, alcohol makes the punning more bearable). And these puns, both good and bad, began my sordid affair with paronomasia. Some examples, you say? Sure! The following have been collected from numerous Callahan books, not just the three in The Callahan Chronicals. Enjoy (or beware).

-- Far away in the tropical waters of the Caribbean, there are two prawns, one named Justin and the other named Christian. The prawns are constantly being threatened by sharks.

One day Justin says to Christian, "I wish I was a shark, then I wouldn't have any worries about being eaten." A mysterious cod then appears, and says, "Your wish is granted."

Lo and behold, Justin turns into a shark. Horrified, Christian immediately swims away, afraid of being eaten by his old friend. In time, Justin the shark finds himself becoming bored and lonely. All his old friends swim away whenever he comes close to them, afraid of his menacing appearance.

One day, Justin sees the mysterious cod again and begs to be changed back into a prawn. His wish is granted. Justin swims back to his old friends and buys them all a cocktail. He searches in vain for Christian, and is told that his old pal is at home, distraught that his best friend has gone over to the enemy and become a shark.

So Justin sets off for Christian's house. He opens the coral gate and, banging on the door, calls, "It's me. It's Justin, your old friend. Come out and see me again."

Christian replies, "No way, man. You'll eat me. You're a shark, the enemy, and I'll not be tricked."

Justin cries back, "No I'm not. That was the old me. I've changed. I've found cod. I'm a prawn again, Christian."

-- The symphony orchestra was performing Beethoven's Ninth. In the piece, there's a long passage, about 20 minutes, during which the bass violinists have nothing to do.

Rather than sit around that whole time looking stupid, some bassists decided to sneak offstage and go to the tavern next door for a quick one.

After slamming several beers in quick succession, one of them looked at his watch and said, "Hey! We need to get back!"

"No need to panic," said a fellow bassist. "I thought we might need some extra time, so I tied the last few pages of the conductor's score together with string. It'll take him a few minutes to get it untangled."

A few moments later they staggered back to the concert hall and took their places in the orchestra. About this time, a member of the audience noticed the conductor seemed a bit edgy and said as much to her companion.

"Well, of course," said her companion. "Don't you see? It's the bottom of the Ninth, the score is tied, and the bassists are loaded."

-- A woman has twins, and gives them up for adoption. One of them is adopted by a family in Egypt and is named "Amal." The other goes to a family in Spain, they name him "Juan."

Years later, Juan sends a picture of himself to his mom. Upon receiving the picture, she tells her husband that she wishes she also had a picture of Amal.

Her husband responds, "But they are twins - if you've seen Juan, you've seen Amal!"

-- A frog goes into a bank and approaches the teller. The frog sees from the name plate that the teller's name is Paddy Whack. So the frog says, "Mr. Whack, I'd like a loan to buy a boat."

Paddy Whack looks at the frog in disbelief and asks how much he wants to borrow. The frog says 30,000 dollars. The teller asks his name and the frog says his name is Kermit Jagger and that he knows the bank's manager.

Paddy explains that 30,000 dollars is a lot of money, that the frog must secure some collateral against the loan and asks if he has any collateral. The frog says, "Sure. I have this" and the frog produces a tiny pink elephant, about half an inch tall, bright pink and perfectly formed.

Confused, Paddy explains that he must consult with the manager and disappears into a back office. Whack finds the manager and says, "There's a frog out front named "Kermit Jagger" who says he know you and wants to borrow 30 grand. And he wants to use this as collateral." Whack holds up the tiny pink elephant. "I mean, what is this?"

The bank manager replies, "It's a knick-knack, Paddy Whack! Give the frog a loan! His old man's a Rolling Stone!"

-- There were three Medieval kingdoms on the shores of a lake. There was an island in the middle of the lake, which the kingdoms had been fighting over for years. Finally, the three kings decided that they would send their knights out to do battle, and the winner would take the island.

The night before the battle, the knights and their squires pitched camp and readied themselves for the fight.
The first kingdom had 12 knights, and each knight had 5 squires, all of whom were busily polishing armor, brushing horses, and cooking food.
The second kingdom had 20 knights, and each knight had 10 squires. Everyone at that camp was also busy preparing for battle.
At the camp of the third kingdom, there was only one knight, with his squire. This squire took a large pot and hung it from a looped rope in a tall tree. He busied himself preparing the meal, while the knight polished his own armor.
When the hour of the battle came, the three knights sent their squires out to fight (this was too trivial a matter for the knights to join in). The battle raged, and when the dust cleared, the only person left was the lone squire from the third kingdom, having defeated the squires from the other two kingdoms.
This just proved that the squire of the high pot and noose is equal to the sum of the squires of the other two sides.

And so on, and so forth. So, not only are puns funny, but they can be smart, too.

So that's how I got bit by the Spider. And you can too!

Search for Spider Robinson on Amazon and focus on the Callahan books. There are quite a few of them. In fact, just to show you how nice a guy I am, I'll give you the quick rundown. Callahan and Company: The Compleat Chronicles of the Crosstime Saloon

The Callahan Chronicals (Collecting Callahan's Crosstime Saloon, Time Traverlers Strictly Cash, and Callahan's Secret)
Callahan's Lady (Think Callahan's Bar, except a brothel)
Lady Slings the Booze
The Callahan Touch
Callahan's Legacy
Callahan's Key
Callahan's Con

If you like humanistic science fiction, I can't recommend these books enough to you. They may be a bit hard to find, as some have gone in and out of print through the years, but it's worth it.

And who knows, you might begin to find me funny!

See ya next Punday!

Reel Madness super special extra deluxe bonus round: Speed Racer

orccacast@gmail.com (Jason Lynch, Richard Hooper, Robert, Michael Blanton) — Wed, 11 May 2011 18:16:00 -0400

Alright guys, I'll cop to it: this isn't what I was originally going to post today. Time got ahead of me this weekend with all the hoopla over Thor and the nightmare that the midnight shows presented to me. You may or may not hear about it in the episode we record tonight, but I'm sure it's a story you'll get at some point. Anyway, the other day, I was looking for a new little notebook and happened upon an old one where I used to record my hours at my old theater where we had a crooked manager that would adjust everyone's clock-ins and outs so she could make labor without sacrificing manpower. A folded up page with what follows fell out, written in the bright green ink from the pen I always used at podium there; I spent LOT of time on podium there since all the ushers I was in charge of hated it. What I was going for with this, I'm not sure. I was probably trying to convince people that the movie isn't the anti-capitalism conspiracy theory brought to life that some reviews claimed it was; either way, you've heard us talk about it before but some of the stuff here hugely amused me where I was looking back over it. It's not as casual as I normally sound when writing for here so it may sound a little high falutin'. I hope you enjoy, because if I'm going to get overwhelmed by work, I'd prefer my dodging responsibility turn out like this more often.

I gave all of our Speed Racer posters away; I still feel like a schmuck all this time later

Speed Racer presents us a world so visually vibrant that it becomes almost overwhelming during the course of the initial viewing. Speed’s world is literally a cartoon brought to life, with garish electric colors and surreal decorations, the visual onslaught helping the audience step into the world of its characters. Almost every scene has an intense visual aspect from the scenes of Speed in kindergarten, imagining himself as a race car driver all the way to the ‘ghost’ of the Mach 4 our hero sees when trying to break his brother’s race record. Not everything is totally realistic looking but that’s appropriate for a movie that conveys such a distinctly heightened reality. Everything in this world is hyperbole, an idea sold by practically everything in the movie; the intense camerawork in racing the Mach 5, the broad color pallette,the performances, all of them sell us on a world so incredibly apart from our own reality we can't help but be entranced by it. When Pops Racer is revealed to have been a Greco-Roman wrestling Champ just in time to mete out punishment on a group of attacking ninjas, we don’t feel cheated for the coincidence; we’re delighted that the foil to the villains is such a great punch line, revealed by the close-up of Pops’ championship ring.

The characters are embodied as archetypes by the actors from the distilled sweetness of Speed’s girlfriend Trixie, to the stoic resourcefulness of his father Pops. Speed is purely heroic and good, a shining counterpart to the mysterious Racer X, who is secretly his lost brother Rex. The accident that Rex faked in order to join an international spy agency tore the Racer family apart, a choice he made after the corrupt Royalton targeted his family for their clean adherence to sportsmanship. As Racer X, he gets a second chance to bond with his lost brother as well as protect him from the vile plots of Royalton. Their trials in defying the evil conglomerate show them to be not just champions of their sport but champions of the goodness the movie’s villains so deeply despise. By the time of the final race, rigged with traps by the evil Royalton, the films visual signatures have been locked into place for over an hour and a half. Yet, the Wachowski Bros. have more cards to deal with a breathtaking finish that threatens sheer visual overload, symbolic of how Speed himself must go beyond all limits he has known in the past to claim a victory not just for himself, his family or his sport, but for all the good known to humanity.

WHERE ARE THE TRACKS COMING FROM?

So there you go guys. Mostly unchanged from when it was originally written 3 years ago, which seems like an eternity now I hate to say. I did italicize the end where it had not been before, just to emphasize the tone of the article. Bein' all fancy while still trying to embody a goofy thematic concept is a double edged sword to be sure. Yeah it's short but that may be to it's advantage; Speed Racer really is a bizarre juxtaposition of ADD imagery spread out over a pretty big run time, a pair of conflicting elements that can make it a tough sell. I wasn't expecting to convert anyone that hated the movie (in fact, I still hesitate to recommend it to people) but was hoping to push anyone forward that had been on the fence about it.

Anyway, I'll be back with something more substantial in the near future. In the meantime, check out the Dominion: Dinosaurs Vs. Aliens bit Jaysun did yesterday. It's longer and filled with what's likely an equal amount of hyperbolic intensity.