Video Game Girl

Google has announced a plans to put out a new Chrome OS for netbooks sometime next year.

Chinese industrial designer Ye Yao has envisions robots cleaning our oceans. The WatCleaner would be able to differentiate between fish and garbage, and have the ability to detect and search out oil spills for easy clean-up.

I’ve purposefully never seen the live-action theatrical release of Super Maro Bros., and now thanks to the A.V. Club’s detailed review I never have to.

And lastly, if you’re searching for a b-day gift for alphamonkey you should look no further than the Tauntaun Sleeping Bag. Take a close look at the detailed inside lining. Nice.

Today, Cohen unleashes Brüno, a film stylistically identical to Borat, with the only major difference being its concentration on homosexuals and homophobia instead of Arabs and other foreigners. But just like its predecessor, Brüno is outrageous, hilarious and effective.

If you’ve seen Borat, you probably know exactly what kind of movie Brüno is. Cohen takes the effeminant, sex-crazed stereotype that’s been applied to gay men for decades, and multiplies it by ten. This is made clear in the opening minutes of the film, in which the German fashion journalist Brüno has ridiculous sex with his pygmy boyfriend over and over again. Involved in the acts are an anally cradled bottle of champagne and an exercise bike/dildo combonation.

Although Cohen is undeniably hilarious in his zeal and dedication to blowing every gay stereotype out of the water, the focus of the film shifts from his antics to the reactions of the real-life people his character interacts with.

It might not surprise you to read this, but it turns out that a lot of America is homophobic, sometimes violently so - take note in the penultimate scene when the main players are protected from the public by a ten-foot-tall fence and barbed wire.

Cohen and his directer, Larry Charles, make some shocking finds with the camera. One scene shows a U.S. Congressman with a younger, more tolerant base of supporters insulting the Brüno character, damning him for being queer. Another shows Brüno on a talk show, after gaining applause and affection from a television show audience, actually being booed by that same audience when he reveals that he’s gay.

But I’d be lying if I said some scenes in the movie aren’t in there for nothing more than comedic effect - like when Brüno goes to a military boot camp and is only harassed by sergeants just as much as he would have been if he were normal and straight.

The film does make some mistakes - like in one scene where Brüno goes hunting with three southern, straight men. Although the identity of a southern man might conjure images of homophobia, these men - though thoroughly uncomfortable around Brüno’s different behavior - were clearly not going to say or do anything mean to Brüno just because he was gay. You can tell by the look in their eyes that they’re trying to be on their best behavior, even though Cohen is doing everything within his abilites to provoke a negative reaction from his subjects. Finally, when Cohen tries to get into one of the guys’ tents naked, they have enough and ask Cohen and his crew to leave.

It is a funny scene, but Cohen is asking us to laugh at and look down on these men for being uncomfortable, which I don’t think is that awful of a thing to be, especially when Cohen is consciously doing anything he can think of to make them want to tear him apart.

I took a gay friend to the movie, and he made a good point when he wished that Brüno could have just been gay, instead of hilariously gay. You can’t shun a person for not liking a loud, obnoxious, annoying and selfish gay man; you can if they don’t like a person just and only because they’re gay. Brüno might be funny, but I wouldn’t blame anyone for having little patience when having to deal with him in person.

It messes with Cohen’s thesis, but it doesn’t invalidate it. Though I might make complaints with some of the finer points of the film, it does expose homophobia in our culture that could never be seen in a fictional film. And, though his sense of humor might not be for everyone, it’s hard to deny that Cohen is a master of his craft, fearlessly pushing every button and pushing it over the line.

J.D. makes a triumphant return to Scene-Stealers in this review of Sacha Baron Cohen’s button-pushing reality-based prank satire Brüno. In the same vein as “Borat,” the surprise comedy smash from 2006, Brüno follows a strange foreigner to U.S. soil. Larry Charles directed this rude, obnoxious, and terribly offensive comedy. Is Bruno as funny as Borat? Does the same formulas strike lightning twice? Is it too familiar? How much farther does Bruno go than Borat did? Find out now. Also, find out why Cohen won’t do Brüno or “Borat” again.

The 80s was a fairly shitty decade for cinema, but one thing that it got right was the Teenage Comedy. So when I learned that I Love You, Beth Cooper was going to be in the vein of this genre, I got excited. When I found out it was written by a Simpsons alum, and had the accomplished-if-not-great director Chris Columbus behind the helm, I felt like this was about as sure-fire a success as this Summer would see.

But it turns out, that in a Summer with its fair share of junk comedies, I Love You, Beth Cooper might be the most frustrating. I complained about Year One a few weeks ago; but at least that was directed like a comedy - the direction behind Beth Cooper is unsure of itself to say the least.

The movie details the travails of a less-than-cool Valedictorian, Denis on the day of his high school Graduation. Delivering his speech in the opening ten minutes of the movie, he comes out and admits to an enormous crush he’s secretly harbored for four years on the lead cheerleader, who you’ve probably guessed by now is named Beth Cooper. Embarrassing to be sure, but it catches Beth’s attention; and she actually shows up at Denis’ graduation party. One insane obstacle leads to another (like a military douchebag tossing a microwave into a wall, and other over-the-top threats to our leading man’s well-being,) and they end up hanging out with each other until the morning light.

The script finds an entertaining blend of high school hystrionics and relatible issues we all remember from our teenage years. And, more often than not, it conjures up likable characters.

But the problem here is that Columbus doesn’t know what kind of movie he’s making. At the critics’ screening I attended, it was almost unanimous that the film felt like it “it had the life sucked out of it.” I’ll chalk this up to a few factors - seemed almost devoid of music or original score, something that a traditional, feel-good comedy has no reason not to be full of. Also, the bulky editing doesn’t know how to treat a comedy, with long pauses after jokes anticipating audience laughter that doesn’t ever show up. The end result destroys any comedic timing that the performers might have given their lines. Just because the movie’s about awkward teenagers doesn’t mean the movie itself should be awkward.

It adds up to another disappointment in a Summer full of them. To make a painfully obvious pun, I didn’t love you, Beth Cooper.

Amazing Spider-Man Annual #36 - A Ben Reilly story? Seems I’m not the only one who still has a little love for the character! Peter gets attacked by some schmuck calling himself the Raptor who mistakes him for the guy who burned down his home and killed his family (say it ain’t so Ben, say it ain’t so). For an annual, which are known to sometimes be horrifically bad, this one’s not too shabby (even if Peter is a tad too dickish in the early scenes). And, sadly, it’s probably the closest I’m likely to get to a Scarlet Spider story anytime soon… or is it?

Batman #888 - I’m really digging this new story arc by Judd Winick. It’s not that I dislike Morrison’s run on Batman and Robin, but so far I’m this title is giving me a little more of what I want. Again, some great play between Dick and Alfred regarding his dislike of the costume which seems like it has the possibility to become a running gag. Fun! In a Batman comic! Man, it’s been awhile. There’s also another good scene between our new Bats and Damian. You can see the beginnings of a very interesting dynamic that, if Bruce Wayne stays away long enough, might bear something pretty damn good. And we finally get some A-list villains with scenes with the Penguin and Two-Face, who alone seems to suspect the true identity of our new Batman.

Green Lantern #43 - So, um, yeah… Black Hand.

Buffy the Vampire Slayer Season 8 #26 - Okay, this one’s a week old but I didn’t get to it last week, and it seems the series is finally getting back on track as we inch closer to the finale of the season. Here we get a demon horde army, tanks, catapults, slayers, witches, the Scoobies, Buffy, Faith, Warren and Andrew, goat-men, a new secret base, and a submarine. And as cool as all that is, it’s not the real reason for picking this one up. Oz is back, baby! I always liked the character, but seeing him return makes me realize just how much I missed him. If you can still find a copy of this at your local comic shop make sure to pick it up.

Red Robin #2 - Okay, I came down a little hard on Batman and Robin #2 last week for giving us a transition story which did little more than set-up things to come. This issue does the exact same thing, but is still a good story in, and of, itself. And that makes a big difference. Lots going on here including the League of Assassins, a harsh flashback to Tim’s less than tearful goodbye to Spoiler, and an ominous ending which gives us a glimmer of some Bat-goodness yet to come. There’s also a clever moment describing Tim’s reaction to Bruce Wayne’s Bat-voice which, aside from being funny, tells you more about Batman in a couple sentences than many writers have been able to do in several issues. It wasn’t that long ago I was tired of Tim Drake (sorry, still can’t bring myself to call him Tim Wayne) as a character, and I sure didn’t like the whiny direction his character seemed to take after Damian showed up, but now DC has found a way to get me 100% on-board with his new direction. This one’s definitely worth a look.

It ain’t what you think.

A brave and unflinching look at the horrors of disco addiction! If only this had been around in my youth. Maybe then I wouldn’t have dropped thousands of dollars trying to achieve perfect Barry Gibb hair.

Hint: Spend you cash in ramp height, acceleration, and wind resistance early to earn quick cash for your first glider, and then let it fly!

By the way, did anyone else think Flash Gordon when you listened to this? Oh, Brian May.

Star Wars - Buckethead

Courtesy of aknacer’s Photostream