The Mystic Cosmic Patrol is back for more high-flying sci-fi rigmarole in Time Crisis.
Leo discerns the secret to infinite energy, bending space-time, and even… time travel. While the rest of the gang couldn’t give a care, future Leo comes back to… well, we don’t really know why. But evil time bats follow him through the space-time rift and the Patrol is all that’s stands between humanity and chrono-chaos.
Secrets are revealed, dresses are stolen, and the great tempura corn dog battle is waged to save the time stream. Join the MCP on part one of their latest adventure. Hit Funny or Die for part 2.
This review was written by Rachel Jensen for Big Shiny Robot you can find her on Twitter @supermochella
I AM ROAD COMIC (2 out of 10) Directed By Jordan Brady; Not Rated; Running Time 68 Minutes; Streaming on Netflix May 1, 2016.
There was some hype and word of mouth buzz in the announcement that Jordan Brady’s follow up to his 2010 documentary “I am Comic” was going to be streaming on Netflix. However, I found it a little disconcerting that once it hit, despite my algorithmic love for stand-up comedy and documentaries, it was only being recommended as the preemptive 1 star in whether or not I’d like it. Ha! Joke’s on you, Netflix, I liked it two whole stars, but even that was a little bit of a stretch.
This is the most unfunny documentary you will ever see on the magnificent art of stand-up comedy.
Basically, this is the most unfunny documentary you will ever see on the magnificent art of stand-up comedy. You would probably be wise to only watch this if you are deeply interested in comedy and its inner-workings, or if you’re just really jaded about life in general and need to find a mind-numbing way to kill just a little over an hour. Don’t have an egg timer or stop watch, and need to cook something for just over that one-hour mark? You can turn this on instead, and at least you have something to look at other than an egg timer. The reality of comedy is actually pretty brutal and unfunny, and deep down we all as comedy consumers probably recognize that. We just don’t need to see our favorite comedians go off script and talk about how unglamorous it is to be a traveling act.
The interesting moments are cobbled together in a way that probably doesn’t do the film much justice. You’ll learn that comedy is written, will honed, and practiced meticulously rather than made up on the go. Comedians like TJ Miller, Maria Bamford, and Pete Holmes are charming and interesting, if only in a kind of awkward way. They have some funny tidbits to add and say, but this is proof that nearly every comedian out there isn’t always “on”. The subject matter discussed by a wide variety of established and up-and-coming comedians does hit home in a really honest way.
Once you strip away the ‘illusion’ that comedy is not nearly as glamorous as other forms of mild-celebrity, life advice and thought provoking subjects are discussed. The downfall is, with the exception of one or two very eloquent moments, they are almost all only touched on, and then quickly abandoned. The participants talk about the pain of dating, or likewise the crippling loneliness of being in a new town or in a new dive bar or club every weekend. They are all completely broke, penny-pinching, and attempting to balance some sort of normal life. Many of these comedians were fresh on the scene in the big 90s resurgence of the entertainment form; so it’s almost even more depressing to see your stand-up idols still pounding the road where they are stealing free breakfast from hotels they aren’t even checked into just to save a buck. No wonder self-destruction and drug use seem to be prevalent, and often deadly in their narratives.
No wonder self-destruction and drug use seem to be prevalent, and often deadly in their narratives.
The whole documentary follows around the filmmaker, Brady, and his buddy Wayne Federman as they go on the road for a weekend gig at a little dive bar. The back drop is this bar, Jack Didley’s and the fact that it is under fire for their bouncers nearly killing a guy prior to the comedy show. Clips and sound bytes are heard from the news reports, candle light vigils, and friends hoping he’ll come out of his coma. And that IS IT. Nothing but a short blurb at the end as a slight aside- spoiler alert: He’s still alive. I think the aim was to contrast the brutality of the nightlife world, with the silliness of comedy. It literally just made me paranoid to ever piss of a bouncer, or go to this particular bar in Eugene, Oregon. The inter-cuts simply seem like a way to fill up dead time.
The comedians are fun to see talk candidly, including Jen Kirkman, Nikki Glaser (before her Comedy Central stint), Doug Benson, and Marc Maron. Maron tells a really heart-wrenching story in one of the only memorable parts, where he recounts a comedian he went on the road with before his untimely death due to drug use. Then again, Marc Maron is used to this kind of storytelling, so he can make it more interesting when it’s unscripted and in the moment.
All in all, there’s a really good reason that this narrow of a subject has never been turned into a feature length documentary before: It’s depressing as all hell. Watching people desperately try to survive a road gig takes some of the ‘oomph’ out of the fact that these talented people are doing what they can to live their dream and follow their passions. They earn so little for these gigs, and the schedule is more demanding than one would think. You can hear the loneliness and sacrifice in their stories, just for those moments where the jokes really land on stage. Not only does it take all of the glamor out of life on the road, it takes almost all of the funny out of the comedians as well. Watch if you want to be distracted from much more depressing things, like ISIS, but don’t expect an hour of side splitting inside entertainment. Comedy is brutal, sometimes I just want to watch cat videos on YouTube instead.
‘Out of ConTXT’ Game Previewed at Salt Lake Comic Con
One of the highlights of any convention is finding something new and cool. This time at Salt Lake Comic Con, I discovered a brand new party game, made by some awesome people.
Out of ConTXT takes the premise of Cards Against Humanity, and amps it up – instead of using a hand of cards to best (or worst) answer a subject, you use what’s on your phone: text messages, photos, songs, etc. Just check out the video interview I did with Jason Wild, one of the game’s makers.
Made by Quick Wits Comedy, a Utah-based improv comedy troupe, Out of ConTXT comes in three sets so far: a base set; After Dark, which is a bit more adult; and a Geek Deck, which is more geeky themed, and started as a SLCC exclusive. You can also see more cards online on the Out of ConTXT facebook page and more info at the Quick Wits Games site.
I haven’t gotten to play a full game with friends yet, but I did try it out for a few rounds with some pals at SLCC and we had a blast, and it definitely led to “tell us why that message ended up on your phone!” conversations. So if you’re tired of getting the same old clunker cards when you play Cards Against Humanity, it’s time to whip out your phone and play a new game.
The game is still in its infancy (ie beta test) so get in on it at the ground floor! It’s pretty awesome.
Like many of you (at least I hope it’s not just me) I spend a decent amount of time scrolling through the available wares on Netflix looking for something I haven’t seen before between marathon watching “Scrubs” for the sixteenth time. There are usually two or three titles that start to stick out as they whiz by and more often than not, I’m eventually overcome with curiosity and click play. It’s not uncommon that I’ll get fifteen minutes into something and turn it off, realizing the error of my ways, and going back to relive old times with Turk and J.D. Every once in a while though, I hit that fifteen minute mark and think, I can give this another fifteen. Which turns into another, and another, and soon it’s over and I’m smiling for reasons I’m not quite sure of. This is the story of “Wolf Cop.”
“WolfCop” (6 out of 10) – Written and directed by Lowell Dean; Starring Leo Fafard, Amy Matysio, Jonathan Cherry, Sarah Lind, and Jess Moss; Run time: 79 minutes; Released June 6, 2014.
Netflix is full to overflowing with shitty horror movies with little to offer. I originally dismissed “WolfCop” based on a suspicion that it was just another awful horror that would feel right at home in one of those ten-flick compilation discs you find in the five dollar bin at Wal-Mart. But after a couple of weeks of burning curiosity and the constant chorus of “come on!” from the other “adult” in my house, I caved. Not to mention that the movie calls itself “WolfCop.” Not since “Snakes on a Plane” has a title called to me so fervently, whispering sweet promises of tongue in cheek action and ridiculous scenarios.
“WolfCop” delivered on its promise, mostly by giving us just shy of an hour and a half of a werewolf in a police uniform doing policy werewolfy things. It doesn’t lie about what it is, it’s front and center, and its shitty horror movie peers could learn a thing or two. Get your act together “Dead Snow 2!”
reptilian shape shifters, rival gangs, corrupt politicians, and lycanthropian justice, this movie has everything.
We’re introduced to Lou Garou, a small town officer of the law who’s more interested in tracking down hooch than justice. But after being called to the scene of suspected occult activity, he finds himself smack in the middle of some bronze age shenanigans. He wakes the next morning none the worse for wear except of course for the pentagram carved crudely into his chest. Lou does what any self deprecating lay-about would do. He buttons his shirt and stumbles out into the world.
Lou quickly realizes that, hey, maybe those psychos in the woods really were up to something. I mean, I can’t be sure but I feel funny, my senses are keen, I’m alert and curious, and- oh damn it I need a new shirt.
Garou points his newly acquired skills and motivation at investigating the underground goings on of his small town and winds up getting embroiled in a mass conspiracy involving reptilian shape shifters, rival gangs, corrupt politicians, and lycanthropian justice, this movie has everything. all while chasing down just one more glass of hair of the dog. Ha ha ha… heh.
It’s the perfect recipe for a forgettable horror-comedy but somehow it works. “WolfCop” never takes itself too seriously and that allows the audience to just go along for the ride. I don’t think we’ll see it bringing in any prestigious awards any time soon but it’s certainly worth gathering a few of your friends, a few more beers than the group of you could responsibly drink (put your keys in the freezer, don’t be an idiot), and playing a drinking game along with Garou. Maybe drink when he drinks, or any time they make a wolf pun, you just might get enough booze in your system to fight off a shape shifting reptilian cult of your own.
Despite being Canadian, the movie doesn’t apologize, and it shouldn’t have to. Someone dreamed up this wacky misadventure and had the wherewithal and the unabashed gumption to make it happen. My hat’s off to you “WolfCop.” You just keep right on howling at the moon you lunatics.
Lowell Dean and “WolfCop” will return in a sequel, I hope this time he’s a Mountie.
John Oliver is quickly becoming my favorite pop culture/current events commentator. Also, he was one of the best things in a better than expected final season of Community.
In this clip, from his new HBO series “Last Week Tonight”, he interviews the very famous Stephen Hawking. Him of A Brief History Of Time. One of the greatest thinkers, probably ever.
Oliver doesn’t back off and asks the really hard questions, such as: “Are you saying that Robots are going to destroy humanity?” and “What number am I thinking?”
Hawking is game and gives as good as he takes.
Catch “Last Week Tonight” every Sunday evening on HBO.
THE GRAND BUDAPEST HOTEL (7 out of 10) – Written and directed by Wes Anderson; starring Ralph Fiennes, Jude Law, Tony Revolori, Saoirse Ronan and F. Murray Abraham; rated PG-13; in general release; running time: 100 minutes.
As with every new Wes Anderson movie, the release of “The Grand Budapest Hotel” has been accompanied by an expected, hipster-ish level of backlash and negativity, as well as an almost embarrassingly effusive brand of hyperbolic praise.
A goofy, visually stunning comedy/murder mystery that perhaps deserves none of those things, it’s been called Anderson’s “best movie in years” – an inaccurate description that conveniently forgets both “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (2009) and “Moonrise Kingdom” (2012) were both quite good, and that the two, well-reviewed would be arguable career highlights for many a filmmaker.
It’s also been criticized for its perceived coldness and lack of warmth, its sometimes meandering plot and a cartoonish grotesqueness that recalls material from one of the Coen brothers’ dark comedies more than it does most of Anderson’s earlier cinematic output.
Both of those things probably make “Grand Budapest Hotel” worse than it actually is. While more flawed than you’d probably like, it’s still typically Anderson in several respects, including its semi-literary qualities, quotable lines of dialogue, several laugh-out-loud funny gags, its gorgeous production design and at least one very strong performance.
That performance, not too surprisingly, comes courtesy of the always watchable Ralph Fiennes, who stars as M. Gustave, the manager and concierge of the Grand Budapest Hotel. Set high in the mountains of a fictional, Eastern European country, the hotel often plays host to Europe’s wealthiest and most notable.
(While the film does skip around a bit, in terms of time period, the setting for this main section is between the two World Wars.)
Getting back to the charismatic, eager-to-please Gustave, he’s also a bit of a lothario who woos (and sometimes beds) his older clients, including the aging countess Madame D. (a nearly unrecognizable Tilda Swinton). But when she turns up dead, Gustave is the recipient of news of both the good and bad variety.
The countess’s lawyer, Deputy Kovacs (Jeff Goldblum), reveals the contents of her will, which provides at least one treasure/reward to Gustave — much to the dismay of her greedy, ruthless relatives, including Dmitri (Adrien Brody), who’s more than willing to pin the blame for her death on her much-younger lover, who doesn’t have a real alibi.
Despite his pleas of innocence, Gustave is imprisoned, though he plans his escape with help from Zero Moustafa (Tony Revolori), the hotel’s new lobby boy who quickly becomes his best, most trusted friend and protégé.
As with several of Anderson’s cinematic stories (“The Royal Tenenbaums” comes to mind), there are layers within layers to this one. F. Murray Abraham plays an older but not necessarily wiser version of Zero, who recounts his tale to a curious author and guest at the now-shabbier hotel. (Jude Law plays the younger version of that character. Tom Wilkinson, in turn, plays his older counterpart, who narrates, at least initially.)
And, as in keeping with an Anderson tradition, there are some big names and recognizable faces in small roles. (Among the more notable ones: Swinton and Wilkinson, as well as Mathieu Amalric, Bob Balaban, Willem Dafoe Harvey Keitel, Bill Murray, Edward Norton, Jason Schwartzman and Owen Wilson.)
However, these guest bits actually prove to be a distraction, and a couple of characters don’t really get all the screen time they deserve – especially Saoirse Ronan, in her role as Zero’s beloved Agatha, an innovative pastry chef who proves crucial to Gustave’s prison-escape plan.
Fiennes proves to be the film’s strongest asset, and his scenes with promising newcomer Revolori are the obvious highlights. And both Abraham and Wilkinson are good choices as narrators, as their dry, deliberate line delivery styles make you forget how much exposition is in the script.
Speaking of which, the script has some coarser material, including more strong profanity and language, than you’d expect from the usually classier Anderson. And he can’t help focusing on a semi-pornographic piece of art that’s there for a cheap laugh. He’s better than that.
Jeff Michael Vice can also be heard reviewing films, television programs, comics, books, music and other things as part of The Geek Show Podcast (www.thegeekshowpodcast.com), and can be seen reviewing films as part of Xfinity’s Big Movie Mouth-Off (www.facebook.com/BigMovieMouthOff).
Considering the fact that anyone doing a halfway decent Gollum impression is guaranteed to make me laugh, this might just be one of the best things I’ve seen on the internet. It’s starting to go viral, so this is your chance to say you saw it first!
Is it just me or has Axel Braun basically just found a way to make fan films with sex for a living?
Superman Vs. Spider-Man XXX barely makes sense, but when you’re not respecting the property holders and making “parodies” you can make anything work.
Here’s the press release:
The safe-for-work teaser for what is surely the porn parody event of the year shows tantalizing glimpses of Ryan Driller and Xander Corvus reprising their award-winning roles as the Man of Steel and Spidey, along with Eric Masterson and James Bartholet as arch-villains Lex Luthor and Doc Ock, and of course a slew of female superstars such as Capri Anderson, Andy San Dimas, Alexis Texas, Lily LaBeau, Kagney Linn Karter, Jenna Presley, and Jazy Berlin in a star-making turn as Black Cat.
“Back in 1976 this was the first DC/Marvel crossover event,” says Braun, an avid comic book collector. “It was a pretty epic moment in my childhood, and I’ve always had a strong emotional attachment to it, so I just couldn’t resist putting my own XXX parody spin on it…and I had plenty of fun doing it.”
“Axel somehow keeps topping himself,” says Steven Hirsch, Vivid’s CEO and co-founder. “His attention to detail is unparalleled, and the passion he puts in all his projects resonates very loudly with the fans. I have to say this is one of the best adult superhero parodies we’ve ever released.”
Braun recently earned his fourth consecutive 5-A critical rating from AVN.com within the year for The Dark Knight XXX: A Porn Parody. His earlier films with Vivid to receive the highest rating were Star Wars XXX: A Porn Parody; Avengers XXX: A Porn Parody and Spider-Man XXX: A Porn Parody, which won 2012 AVN Awards in the Best Parody-Drama, and Best Cinematography categories. Braun also won the Director of the Year-Body of Work award for the second year in a row.
DISCLAIMER: “Superman VS Spider-Man XXX: an Axel Braun parody” IS A PARODY MOVIE. This movie is not sponsored, endorsed by, or affiliated with any entity owning the rights to the characters parodied therein or the work being parodied.
I haven’t been a regular weekly viewer of the Simpsons since Fox axed Futurama, but that doesn’t mean I don’t enjoy it still on occasion. This clip is a tease for the 24th season and is as sharp and hilarious in its commentary as I remember the show to be.
It’s ironic that a company that produces Fox News also produces such harsh criticism of the establishment it wants so hard to defend and protect.
I’m not usually a fan of mash-ups, but this one was well done, original, and great.
I’m a big fan of The Powerpuff Girls and I obviously like Star Wars. I’d love to see something like this go into production officially. Star Wars aimed at girls seems like a no-brainer, right? We’ll just have to settle for an unofficial production, since these guys are premiering a full episode of this at Celebration VI.
If they get the girls hooked with cartoons, maybe we’ll get more kick-ass female characters across the board, right?
You can get more information on the filmmakers at their website.
