Me and Orson Welles Premiere

Tonight Zac Efron, Richard Linklater, and Christian McKay thrilled Austinites of all ages at the historical Paramount Theatre. The trio was walking the red carpet at the premiere of Linklater's new film "Me and Orson Welles."

Fans lined up in front of the theatre waiting to catch a glimpse of heart throb Efron as he posed for pictures and signed autographs. Linklater and McKay spent their time on the carpet answering questions and talking to friends.

"People say welcome back to Austin, and I say I never left" said Linklater. " I shot this U.K. but I'm back the day after wrap."

The film itself follows 17-year-old Richard Samuels, Efron, as meets Orson Welles, McKay, as he is cast in Welles' 1937 production of Julius Cesar. "Me and Orson Welles" also stars Claire Danes and will be released nation wide on December 11th.

Late Night with Jimmy Fallon Love

Almost everyone I've talked to loves to hate on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon but I'm not sure why. My girlfriend and I have been watching the show regularly since it it debuted in March and we've loved it. Almost everything about it in fact. One of our favorite things to watch over the summer was 7th Floor West. Fallon's take on The Hills. It is magical. It follows Fallon as he starts his new job as host of Late Night. If you haven't given Fallon a change I highly recommend you do.

Keanu Watch: The Matrix Revolutions

This weekend I continued my search for Keanu Reeve's acting abilities whilst with some old friends from high school. The movie? The Matrix Revolutions. The verdict? Still not a good actor. Keanu Watch continues.

The Matrix was my first real exposure to Keanu Reeve's and back in 6th grade when I saw it I thought it was the best, and I may have even thought Keanu was the best but as time has passed the film has become less and less memorable. The sequels however where never memorable. In fact I don't think I ever even saw the third installment untill this Saturday.

I don't even think I can get into the story line as it's long, confusing, poorly developed, and to be frank I don't really fully understand what all went down in this final chapter. The directors did however figure something out with this film. Less Keanu=more good. For most of the second half of this movie Keanu said nothing. And another chunk of the movie Keanu was stuck in some innerstellar computerized train station or something. Meanwhile the better actors pushed the story, or whatever you want to call the events that happen in the movie, forward.

As usual his faced stayed in the same position. His lines rarely strayed from his "I'm reading this as I say it out loud" style. Basically the movie was pretty bad, and Keanu was even worse.

Waterworld: Day 4

This post is part of an ongoing project where I attempt to watch all of Waterworld in 5 minute chunks.

Alright Costner is still at the bar and he was just served a tiny cup of water. The ugly wrestler looking dude walks up and mubles a little bit. Costner looks around and sees he is surrounded. The wrestler compliments his boots...which is a little strange if you ask me. Then a little girl with cornrows walks up. She's got a sick tatt on her back, I bet that has some kind of crazy significance to rest of the story! The creepy wrestler is now asking Cosnter about taking baths, this interaction is getting pretty uncomfortable. Costner asks about a tomato plant at the bar and the tender tries to steal all his money. Then she says it'll cost half his chips. He buys it and is now walking to his boat. With the bartender/shop keeper.

Ohhhhhh now a group of old people led by a Morgan Freeman looking man is approaching Costner. I keep accidental typing Swayze instead of Costner, which I assume is my subconscious telling me this would be WAY better with the late great Mr. Patrick Swayze as the lead. Now the group of village elders is asking for Costners seed. They want him to knock up a young girl that lives in the village in exchange for supplies. One of the elders whistled when Costner declined the offer. Somebody attacks him and OH DEAR GOD COSTNER'S GOT GILLS! AND I think he's about to drown a dude. Or stab him under water. There is a lot of stabbing going on right now. A riot has started and Costner is stuck in a net.

The sheriff is back! And he saved Costner. Finally a voice of reason. As the sheriff forces the villagers to release our hero we see a man turn a knob and lights turn on in the island village as it becomes night.

Love/Hate: Watching Modern Family on Hulu

Love: Modern Family.
In 3 short episodes Ed O'Neil has won me over. I never liked O'Neil as Al Bundy in Married with Children, but his portrayal of Jay Pritchett on ABC's Modern Family is incredible. The show itself if incredible. It feels like the creators took a little bit of Arrested Deveopment and gave it a whole lot of heart. The show follows three seperate couples that are all related and tells their stories. It may sound pretty standard but the show really excells at what it is trying to do. It is an funny, emotional story about a family living in today's society.Hate: Watching shows on Hulu
Yes, it is free. Yes, it is easy. But man sometimes I just hate watching stuff on Hulu. It seems like every other time I try and watch something on the popular streaming tv website I find that I spend about as much time watching my video buffer as I do watching my shows. It's not that I have a bad internet connection, I can stream, download, play, and dilly dally online at great speeds but when I get onto Hulu sometimes it just disappears. It's a shame too because Hulu provides a great service the way it is right now.

The Adult Swim Takeover

Co-Written by Carly Hallman

In eight short years, Cartoon Network's Adult Swim has evolved from a twice-weekly late-night break from children's programming and into a powerful media empire in its own right. Adult Swim, which now airs every night between 9 p.m. and 5 a.m. Central Time, has spawned a host of offshoots, live events, and imitators.

Merchandise
If a talking rabbit and a pants-wearing sea sponge can have their own derivative t-shirts and toys, why can’t a street-wise, trash-talkin’ wad of meat? Like any good media empire, Adult Swim has begun the process of turning everything magical into something purchasable. Adultswim.com offers fans a large variety of “to-be-expected” merchandise and apparel, as well as a few cleverer items-- the website is currently offering fans a chance to fill their own DVD with 110 minutes of their favorite Adult Swim show episodes. The party, and the buck, doesn’t stop online, though. Josh Feldman, VP of ad sales and marketing for Adult Swim, said “[We have an] obligation to stay true to the network's brand when creating marketing partnerships.” So, what corporations has Feldman deemed worthy? Mall-staple Hot Topic hawks t-shirts, plush toys, and other assorted knick-knacks, and Adult Swim partnered with Midway Games to release 2007’s Aqua Teen Hunger Force Zombie Ninja Pro-Am for PlayStation 2.

Ratings
Since its first night on air, Adult Swim has rated well according to Nielson Media Group. But in 2007, when Nielson began to include college-aged viewers in their surveys, Adult Swim’s ratings skyrocketed. Currently, Adult Swim is one of the most popular late-night destinations for channel-surfing adults aged 18-34. The station continues to break ratings records for both men and women in said age group.

Live Shows/Appearances
Rock stars do tours. Best-selling authors do tours. Politicians do tours. Now, thanks to Adult Swim, weirdos, misfits, and fictional characters do tours, too. In 2008, resident Adult Swim oddballs Tim and Eric performed in festivals and clubs across the country on a sold-out 14-city American tour, and in 2009, embarked on a second tour. T&E describe their live act as a “fast-paced, live variety show complete with short films, parodies, pranks and musical numbers.” Others on Adult Swim’s payroll are hopping on the bandwagon. Aqua Teen Hunger Force creators and voice actors, Dana Snyder and Dave Willis, recently appeared at Austin’s Alamo Drafthouse for two nights of short films, stand-up comedy and audience-participation activities involving kazoos and “Squidbillies” DVD giveaways.

Movies
In 2007, Adult Swim released their first movie “Aqua Teen Hunger Force Colon Movie Film for Theaters” which was based on the animated comedy “Aqua Teen Hunger Force.” And while the film, which told a twisted version of the Aqua Teens origins, was critically unsuccessful, it still managed to gross around $5.5 million (not bad for a $750,000 budget). Adult Swim currently has plans for a sequel, tentatively titled “Death Fighter,” that is set to release in 2011.

Imitators
Other networks, after seeing how successful Adult Swim has been with their programming, have tried to achieve similar success with shows that bear striking resemblance, in style and sense-of-humor, to those on Adult Swim. Both “Tripping the Rift” and “Drawn Together” are adult-themed animated shows that arrived on the scene just after Adult Swim started seeing big rating numbers. Neither “Tripping” nor “Drawn Together” has performed quite as well as their Adult Swim counterparts, but thanks in large part to Adult Swim paving the cartoon “road less traveled,” both have found decent-sized audiences.

Zac Efron's Twilight Induced Break

Just read a funny little article about Zac Efron and his gratitude to teen-heart-throb-of-the-moment Robert Pattinson for taking the spotlight momentarily.

Teens, moms, and tweens are currently all feasting on pictures, interviews, movies, and magazines that have Pattinson's face plastered on them right now because of this weekends release of The Twilight Sage: New Moon. This gives Efron a chance to take a breath. Here is a link to the full article.

I typically try not to think too much about the life of a teen heart throb as my oppurunity to be one has long since passed me by. But on the off chance I do think about it things like this rarely cross my mind. If I was in Efron's shoes would I be thankful or jealous? Can't really say. More power to him though for embracing the break.

Efron's newest flick Me And Orson Welles comes out this Wednesday.

Waterworld: Day 3

This post is part of an ongoing project where I attempt to watch all of Waterworld in 5 minute chunks.

The boat continues to sail and eventually makes its way to a giant floating fortress.
Costner has to show his wares in order to get in. They still won't let him so he shows off his big jar of dirt. Astonishment! The gates open to reveal an awe inspiring city atop the water. Maybe it isn't awe inspiring...but whoever was in charge of composing music for this movie thought it was. Costner looks around and sees some people scavenging the dead corpse of a hammer head shark. Then a giant tree that is some how alive on a man made island? I'm glad that I know very little about science of this would be a tough one to believe.

Someone is chanting. And I think there is a funeral. Now Costner is docking is boat. He wows the local hoodlums with a beat up rear view mirror. Some Mickey Rourke lookin dude seems to be the sheriff of this here town. Tell Costner he's got one hour. It is so difficult to watch this and not think about how directly it rips off the world of Mad Max.

Now we're at the local merchant's shop and Costner is trying to trade his dirt for money. Hmmmm kinda like trying to make people pay to watch this movie. The guy tastes the dirt, you know to make sure it's dirt. 3.2 Kilos! That is a lot of dirt! 62 chits for all that dirt. Costner asks for twice that AND GETS IT! Now a evil looking guy is bribing some homeless guy for information with water. The guy looks like a 90's era pro wrestler. Costner walks up and asks some lady where the store is and she tells his he's looking at it. The camera comically pans down all the empty shelves.


Old News: Predators Cast

I don't how this slipped past my radar but according to /film Adrian Brody has been cast as the lead in the Robert Rodriguez produced Predator reboot Predators. The article also reports that Topher Grace might also be involved. Last I remember the only confirmed cast member was Danny Trejo. Still no announcment on whether Carl Weathers will be reprising his role.

80's Rocker Time Machine

Here is a quick glimpse of my past life as a burnt out 80's rocker.

Movie Review: King Corn

Documentaries are tricky business. On one hand they can be an entertaining exploration of something that most viewers won't really have knowledge on (think "King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters" the Donkey Kong documentary that came out a couple years ago) but on the other hand they can be a boring waste of an hour and half where a monotone narrator tries to make you feel bad about something that is happening in the world. King Corn falls somewhere in the middle of those two extremes.

The film follows two college friends as they move to Iowa to grow an acres worth of corn. Along the way they learn all about how dependent this country, and the world, is on the production of corn. The filmmakers never directly condemn the mass production of corn but we are shown enough footage to get the point. King Corn shows us what it thinks without pounding into our head over and over again.

To top it all off the movie has got a pretty good sense of humor too. Unless it is about something that I personally have a huge interest in I try and avoid documentaries, in fact I wasn't all too excited when my girlfriend suggested this one but King Corn was as entertaining as it was educational.

Whedon's Dollhouse Canceled

Why is it that every time one of my favorite shows gets canceled that Fox is at the helm? They aren't terrible shows. First it was Futurama, which is o.k. I guess, at least they managed to go 5 seasons without getting the cord pulled. Next was Firefly. Then they hit me with a big one. Arrested Development, which is as far as I'm concerned the funniest program that has ever and will ever be on T.V. I thought it was over, but news broke today the Fox has canceled Joss Whedon's science fiction show Dollhouse.

Dollhouse took awhile for me to really get into, but once it started to pick up I was in it. The acting was great, the story incredible, and the pace perfect but still Fox couldn't find the right viewers. Seems like that is always the problem. Maybe Fox just doesn't put enough effort into properly marketing their programing.

Unfortunately that is something I can't change and with that I leave you a short video of David Cross' opinion on the matter. (Video includes some profanity)

Waterworld: Day 2

This post is part of an ongoing project where I watch 5 minutes of Waterworld a day until I finish it.

Day 2: We are starting with some action today. Costner jumps up and is arming his mounted harpoon gun. He looks mad. There is a man in another boat...wearing nearly nothing. They start communicatiing in a language that I'm not familar with. I think they're bartering. This naked dude is bad news. Costner and I can both tell. Costner is trying to make a deal, but he looks weary. Apparently there is a supply station eight days east of where they are. Costner says "Nothings free in Waterworld." That quote should probably be on the movie poster, or in the trailer or something.

Camera cuts to some gross lookin gentlemen that are sitting on some Mad Max style jet skis. They look like trouble. Haven't shaved or bathed in a long while. The naked guy calls them smokers and then starts trying to escape. He admits he stole the limes as he sails away. Costner swings over to his tree to double check he then sets his sails up. Now the boat looks cool! The Mad Max lookin guys are astonished and they have guns! They are heading twords Costners shipping in a race for some supplies that are floating in the ocean. Costner grabs the supplies and turns the boat around to try and get his limes back. The naked guys sees him coming and thinks "Uh Oh!" Costner's boat comes up fast and takes out the naked man's sail. Then the jet ski guys MURDER tha naked guy with they're future guns. We see a lot of dramatic shots of Costner's boat sailing through the night and then he arrives in front of a floating fortress.

Waterworld: Day 1

Today while looking through the movies I could watch on Netflix's streaming service I saw a little jewel. And by jewel I mean of course mean the 175 million dollar turd know only as Waterworld. I myself have never made it all the way through the 136 minute stinker but I've always wanted to try. No I'm a busy guy, and I don't have 2 hours and 15 minutes just laying around in my week to give up to watching a terrible movie...but a do have 5 minutes a day. So for the next few week I'll be give Kevin Costner 5 minutes a day and reporting on it here along side my regular posts. Here is the first 5 minutes of Waterworld and my thoughts as I watch it.

Day 1: The classic Universal logo appears on screen...but ohhh no! All the land is getting covered by water. Hmmmm I guess that's what they mean by "Waterworld." An announcer says something apocalyptic and we see the ocean. Camera comes in a boat lookin thing and then it gets right to the good stuff. This movie is not wasting any time, Costner is peeing into a bucket, filtering it, and then drinking it! He also gives some of it to his tiny little lime tree. Uh oh, something is happening. No we see the interior of the boat. Costner just put some pebbles into a gadget and dove into the water. We're seeing a lot of different gadgets now. Useless stuff like a wind powered harmonica and a bike chair. The pebbles that Costner dropped are now causing some kinda Rube Goldberg like reaction and someone is stealing his ripe limes! Costner has arisen from the water with lots of new junk including some stylish new ski boots and then notices a boat floating next to his. Times up, more tomorrow.

The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus Poster

Just saw this poster for Terry Gilliam's The Imaginarium of Dr. Parnassus at /film and all I can say is finally a new Verne Troyer flick....I guess there's that whol Heath Ledger thing too.

Game Review: Brütal Legend


When I think of Heavy Metal I don't think of any specific song or band, but instead my mind is taken to a mystical and magical land filled with demons, dragons, warriors and vikings. Tim Schafer's Brütal Legend creates that world and lets gamers explore it with a little help from Jack Black.

The game has you controlling legendary heavy metal roadie Eddie Riggs, voiced by Black, as he travels a fantasy world of heavy metal and teams up with a small group of rebels in an attempt to end the tyrannical rule of a demon warlord. In doing so the game has you chopping up enemies with your enchanted battle axe, whaling on the guitar to summon lightning and fire, commanding armies of headbangers and speeding through the terrain in your custom hot rod.

Brütal Legend is a blast to play, mostly because of the hilarious story and the brilliantly casted characters. Most of the main characters you encounter are voiced by metal legends like Ozzy Osborne and Lemmy Killmister or talented Hollywood actors like Black and Tim Curry. The characters and event that unfold are so perfect that you'll have trouble putting down your controller after playing though a couple of missions.

The game starts out as a gore filled hack and slash but eventually transforms into a real time strategy where you are controlling a big army while fighting along side it. The transformation feels strange at first, but over the course of the game it clicks and starts to be really fun. The transformation makes it so that the game never gets to repetitive.

If you have ever loved heavy metal than you must play Brütal Legend. It's as simple as that. Double Fine studio has created a love letter to heavy metal fans in the form of Brütal Legend. If metal isn't your thing then I'd have a hard time telling you to buy the game, but for those of us who've shouted at the devil Brütal Legend needs to be played.

Keanu Watch: Sweet November

Keanu Watch is back and better then ever...and by better I mean terrible. This morning I turned on my TV and guess what was waiting for me on HBO. Sweet November, the 2001 Keanu Reeves/Charlize Theron tear fest.

This time Keanu plays a spacey business man dedicated to his job whose life changes after a chance encounter with a quirky Theron. Theron asks Keanu to be her "November" and he goes with it. What being some one's "November" means? We don't know and neither does Keanu, but of course we'll find out. Things happen. Blah Blah Blah. They fall in love. Blah Blah Blah. Keanu realizes the Theron has been with a different man each month for a long while. Blah Blah Blah. Turns out she cancer. Blah Blah Blah. He proposes. She says no. Blah Blah Blah. He's the only person she ever wanted to say yes to when they proposed but she wants him to have a good memory of her. She leaves and goes to her family to die. He sits in a park. Predictable? Yes. Done before? Pretty much. Boring? Yes.

The acting, if you can believe it, is worse then the plot. Keanu acts with his usual flair. His delivery is terrible. His character simple, and very boring. Anytime he isn't speaking his face reverts back to it's natural semi-constipated expression. Theron played her character too closely resembled her Mr. F character from Arrested Development which made me constantly question whether or not she was just trying to quirky or if she wasn't all there.

The movie sucked. Plain and simple. Thanks for another stinker Keanu.

Babies are scary

This Halloween was the first since I came to Austin that I've not spent my night watching the crazies out of 6th, but instead spent the night in Georgetown at a frat party. This is really uncharacteristic of me as I'm not really much of a frat party kind of guy but my girlfriend's room mate invited us to her boyfriend's frat party so we decided to check it out.

I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a blast. The party was fun, the people where great, and there where plenty of awesome costumes. Of course with the good comes the bad and there where plenty of bad costumes to speak of, and with the good and bad also come the scary. Something very interesting happened last night, I saw a costume that I was legitimately afraid of.

There was a guy at the party dressed as a baby. The guy looked older than me and had some dirty looking facial hair. He was wearing a blue long sleeved onesie and a baby hat. Something deep down inside of me churned as I looked at him. Something about the image deeply disturbed me. The more I thought about it them more creepy it got until finally I had to look away. It was a really strange moment. Never before had I felt the way that I did but for those few minutes I was creeped out, afraid, and unbelievably uncomfortable.

So if anyone wants to really get under my skin just throw on a baby costume and show up at my door.