One of my fondest memories is traveling 40 miles to a theatre that was selected to play the trailer for The Phantom Menace before Meet Joe Black. This was in the days where downloading a good looking trailer the size of a postage stamp took all night, so that 40 minute drive up to the capitol city was no skin off my nose.

They played the trailer before and after Meet Joe Black and the group of people I went with spent the entire time during the film discussing Star Wars and how mind blowing the trailer was. (“>You can watch it here. Say whatever you want about The Phantom Menace (quietly, please) this trailer was incredible.)

I know some people were disappointed, both in the trailer and the film, but for me it delivered with flying colors. It continues to do so, as well.

Another film I couldn’t care less about will be premiering the trailer for the 3D version of The Phantom Menace and I’ll be there to see it. It doesn’t hurt that my kids want to see it, but I’ve spent since Aliens Vs. Predator doing my best to avoid the crap Paul W.S. Anderson directs. In any case, there it is. The Three Musketeers hits theatres October 21st.

We also have this new poster for the film and it highlights all the things we love about the film. And with Darth Maul returning from the dead on The Clone Wars soon after the February release date of this re-release, it makes a lot of sense to get him out in the open.

MARK DAGO; “Kill Screen” (Earthburn Records)
WHO’S RESPONSIBLE? Mark Dago (lyrics, words and vocals)

As crazy as it sounds, there occasionally exist things that make even this Prince of Dorks feel insufficiently nerdy. Well, almost.

Take, for example, “Mark Dago Presents: Kill Screen,” a hip-hop/nerdcore mini-album that is touted on its cover as being “For
use with stereophonic technology.”

For those who might be unfamiliar with Dago, he’s a Utah-based musician/rapper who has performed in Rotten Musicians and the Numbs. “>And he’s even free-styled onstage with Chuck D. and Public Enemy. So what I’m saying is he’s legit.

His latest solo work explores his preoccupation with video games (especially the old, “8-bit” versions) and other forms of gaming. And it uses available video game music and sonic re-creations as the musical backing (if you’re a veteran gamer, you’ll recognize at least a few sound bites).

Luckily, it’s not nearly as insufferably “inside” or nearly as cutesy as you’d expect such material to be. Dago’s credible, convincing raps and rhymes make “Kill Screen” more than palatable … they make it very enjoyable. Just try to resist the pulsating “Megamanic.” I dare you.

Although it is largely a solo work, there are contributions from some of Dago’s usual collaborators, such as Rotten Musicians mate Daniel “Fisch” Fischer, who produced “Kill Screen” and contributes vocals to “The Low End of Doom.” (The nine songs were recorded by Salt Lake City music legend Andy Patterson, who’s smart enough to know that Dago’s vocals need to be pushed up in the “mix.”)

By the way, while “hard copies” of the CD are on sale locally, at such stores as Uprok, you can also download “Kill Screen” for free at Mark’s Bandcamp site. But you really should give Dago some monetary love. It’s only right.

Jerk-bot is the robotic nom de plume of Utah-based movie and music reviewer/writer Jeff Michael Vice, who invites you to enjoy his other endeavors, for Xfinity’s Big Movie Mouth-Off review program, MSN’s Parallel Universe and MSN Movies, Now IN Salt Lake magazine, X-96′s Radio From Hell, Geek Show Podcast and the Mediocre Show.

Editors note:

You can check out Mark Dago and Fisch performing tracks from Kill Screen on Park City TV below:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yD3T5Yp865E

Green Lantern, starring Ryan Reynolds, Blake Lively, Mark Strong, and Peter Sarsgaard is making its way to Blu-ray this Friday, October 14.

I originally reviewed this Martin Campbell-directed film when it hit theaters back in June, and you can read that fairly lengthy review here. Here’s a brief excerpt:

Perhaps where this film suffers the most is a rushed, and undeveloped story and a gross under-use of some potentially interesting characters. The film really jumps right in to bestowing the power ring to Hal Jordan who is shortly after inheriting a power ring from the dying alien, Abin Sur, is whisked away to the Green Lantern base-planet of Oa. Here we are introduced to three Green Lanterns we will see shockingly little of after they attempt to train Hal Jordan in the ways of being a member of the Green Lantern Corps. After becoming frustrated and beaten down by his would-be trainers Kilowog and Thaal Sinestro, Hal simply gives up and returns home. Yes, after less than one day spent traveling to Oa, learning about the Green Lanterns, and getting frustrated because he can’t immediately wield his ring as well as some the the Corps’ best members, Hal Jordan returns to Earth and gives up. Running parallel to Hal’s story, we have Hector Hammond, a scientist and son of a U.S. Senator, become exposed to some remnants of the yellow, physical manifistation of the power of Fear, Parallax, when he is summoned to study the body of the deceased Abin Sur. This of course putshim on track to becoming the film’s main – but relatively weak – antagonist. The film whisks along at a steady pace as it desperately attempts to set up some romance between Hal Jordan and Carol Ferris and present scenarios on Earth that forces Jordan to don his ring and become a hero – including a crashing helicopter and an increasingly crazy Hector Hammond drunk from the power and influence of Parallax. It’s not long before our hero prevails in a relatively anti-clamactic showdown with Parallax and he is accepted by the Green Lanterns as a formidable member.

Needless to say, I was not really impressed with this film the first time around, and my opinion has not changed much after a second viewing on Blu-ray. I of course watched the extended version of the film which added around ten minutes of extra material. These extra scenes do help the film out a bit by adding some back story the theatrical version merely hinted at. Most – if not all – of the extra material is at the beginning of the film where we see more of young Hal Jordan interacting with his parents, being a bit of a rebel and skipping class to watch his father fly. At the airfield Hal runs into a young Carol Ferris and Hector Hammond which I appreciated. In the theatrical version of the film it’s implied that these three have a history together, but implying is all the film does; it’s nice to see these relationships expanded on a little and makes the interactions of these characters later on in the film make more sense. These added scenes don’t necessarily make this a “better” film overall, but definitely improve it by providing some back story. Of course, visually the film is quite stunning on Blu-ray, but it does little in the way of hiding the fact it suffers from a rushed, bumbling script and poor character development.

There are a handful of deleted scenes included, but nothing terribly substantial. There’s an odd scene in which Hector Hammond uses his new found powers to levitate a hamster running in a wheel, a scene of Hal and Sinestro visiting a Green Lantern cemetery, and some other minor moments that were left on the cutting room floor. Perhaps the deleted scene that stood out the most was one in which Hal protects his nephew as Parallax attacks the city. It would have been nice to see Hal’s close relationship with his nephew expanded on in the film instead of having him essentially disappear about fifteen minutes in, never to be seen again. With this scene at least we see that this character wasn’t completely forgotten.

Some fairly interesting featurettes are included that cover the creation of the alien Green Lanterns, how Hector Hammond’s disfigured look was achieved, Ryan Reynolds’ “transformation” into Hal Jordan, and how the CG Green Lantern costumes were created among other things. Fans of the Green Lantern comic book universe will probably most enjoy the “The Universe According to Green Lantern” featurette in which Hal Jordan’s comic book history is explored in quite a bit of depth by DC writers, artists, etc.

Green Lantern is by no means an awful film, but when you have other superhero films like Captain America: The First Avenger, Thor, and X-Men: First Class setting such a high bar this year it just doesn’t compare. It’s a good looking film, but the script just doesn’t hold up. For those of you on the fence about seeing this movie that passed on it while it was in theaters, I do think it’s worth a viewing on Blu-ray but perhaps as a rental.

You can pick up Green Lantern over at Amazon.

GONK reviews this week’s batch of Star Wars comics: the finale to The Old Republic: The Lost Suns (#5), and the continuing Vong plot in Invasion: Revelations #4.

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Ticelli Bot is back with a second look at PS3’s Afrika – released by Rhino Studio’s in 2008 in Japan and 2009 in the U.S.

Afrika is Rhino Studio’s first attempt at creating a game on the PS3. Unfortunately, reviews have been mostly unfavorable as it just doesn’t appeal to most audiences. Most people I talk to about it just assume that it’s just insanely boring. Actually, I’d be willing to bet that most gamers today who would even turn it on wouldn’t last 15 minutes before switching it out for Call of Duty or Grand Theft Auto. The reason, I believe, is that modern gamers need that constant barrage of stimulation to the senses and this game is presented at a much slower pace. However, I have always been a huge supporter of new ideas because the thought of another cookie-cutter FPS makes me gag. I will admit that my first impressions of Afrika were…

…well, a bit off. Don’t get me wrong, I was really excited to play this title, but I was a bit skeptical. I mean, back in the day (and by that I mean 1999), Pokemon Snap rocked my world, but Afrika? I’m no longer going to be taking photos of my favorite Pokemon spewing supernatural powers, instead I’m going to go out to a savannah and snap photos of antelope, flamingos and beetles. Woo. Eventually, when I finally did get to play the game, I was pleasantly surprised. The first couple parts of the game are spent riding around with a chauffeur as he shows you a couple of the landscapes. He lets you out of the jeep every now and then so you can get used to the free roam mechanics. (If you get the chance, take a photo of the driver, it’s worth it.)

I was both amazed and disappointed by the graphics. The animals are beautifully animated with realistic motions and impressive interactions with the environment around them. Also, the camera and camera equipment, at least in the upgrade shop, are quite intricately detailed. Even when you are taking photos and adjusting the camera settings, such as the Aperture or Shutter Speed, it’s quite realistic as to how this affects your photos. Unfortunately however, the environment detail is where the graphics fell kinda flat, much like the environment itself. The ground is mostly a nondescript mixture of greens and browns, and some poorly rendered bushes and trees amongst the wasteland. There are a couple nice environments you get to visit but for the most part it’s just more of the same. I guarantee that the bushes in this game will most definitely be your biggest pain in the ass. I would like to invite you to just take a look at these methodical..conniving..underhanded…bushes:

Countless times have I been driving over the crest of a hill just to find a bush on the other side. You’re thinking, “No big deal,” right? This wouldn’t be a problem, if not for the bushes being made out of wrought iron! My very first time seeing one of these bushes I thought, “Hmm, this jeep going at 30-40mph and therefore, should just crash right through these puny bushes,” but boy was I wrong. No matter how fast you are going, when you crash into the bush, you are brought to a complete stop. Then, you have to wait for you character to feel like putting the jeep in reverse. You sit there for a solid 5 seconds or so before the driver finally puts the jeep in reverse…and those are some tedious 5 seconds after the 80th or so time you run into a damn bush.

I digress.
The gameplay works well enough, but definitely could have been touched up to run a little more smoothly. Walking around, driving, crouching and climbing up trees can become a little tiring. There was multiple times where my character decided to run in circles while I was trying to make him run away from a pissed off baboon. Damn monkeys made me lose my film so many times. That’s right, if you get charged by a rhino, mauled by a hippo, or even trampled by elephants, your character gets away unscathed but you lose all your film. You aren’t hurt, your camera stays in perfect shape, but the film that was inside the camera is destroyed. What the hell.

Next are the missions. They are presented to your character via in-game email and are the driving force of the game. The missions are always photograph animal “X” doing action “Y” and it doesn’t ever get too difficult. Doing missions gives you more money to upgrade your camera and buy more equipment. The missions also allow you to open up more areas and teach you new techniques in photography.

For me, there is just something satisfying about capturing the perfect shot of a giraffe eating leaves after being hidden in a tree for several minutes or setting up a trap camera to get pictures of unsuspecting meerkats. My favorite part though has to be the special event missions. The very first one, you are trying to take a photo of a cheetah hunting an antelope racing over the desert at 60mph. These events take some time to unlock though and aren’t what you’ll be doing most of the time.

All in all, I think Rhino Studio’s had an awesome idea, created amazing animals and camera mechanics…then half-assed everything else. I haven’t even mentioned that there aren’t any voice actors in this game and everything is presented in text. This is almost unheard of in today’s console generation. If nothing else, I supported a company trying a new idea and I don’t regret buying it.

I give Afrika on the PS3…

3/5 Indestructible Bushes

I’m not even sure where to start with this one. “Mercy Mission” is a fairy tale like romp starring Artoo and Threepio as a sort of Alice and Dinah (or Dorothy and Toto) who find themselves on a mission to help a planet plagued by earthquakes and end up down a metaphorical rabbit hole, trying to solve the Caterpillar like riddles that will save both races of people caught in the destruction of the quakes.

This episode was a bizarre and delightful fantasy.

It had all of the hallmarks of a classic storybook tale, with Threepio and Artoo as the children trapped in the world no one else knows about or believes in.

The imagery of the episode was decidedly fantastical and it took an entirely humorous bent on an episode. And to be honest, I find breather episodes like this refreshing. The Clone Wars hasn’t much tapped its full potential for these entertaining and whimsical episodes and I’m glad their cutting loose. And there was plenty of great film references here. Aside from the obvious Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz comparisons, this episode had flourishes of Return of the Jedi with the banter between Threepio and the ewok-like creatures who seem to worship him.

One of my favorite moments is when they’re given a riddle by the caterpillar like girl at the end of the labyrinth and are forced to solve it in order to get back to the surface and save the day. Did it seem as obvious to anyone else that the puzzle they were given was reminiscent of The Fifth Element?

Overall, this episode was a breather episode (that was produced for Season 3) that offered little in the way of continuing story lines but was a lot of fun for the kids. Both of my kids adored this episode. It was funny for them and they were just at rapt attention the entire time. It was fun watching with them.

Based on the preview for the upcoming episodes, it looks like we’re getting more adventures of Artoo and Threepio. If nothing else, The Clone Wars crew is showing how it’s done. That Droids show doesn’t have anything on them. Could this be the three episode Droids arc? Who knows.

What I do know is that these whimsical episodes don’t bother me. In fact, I will still go so far as to say that Bombad Jedi might be on my top 5 favorite episodes of the series.

Some might balk at episodes like this, but I would argue that they’re a welcome distraction. They can’t be expected to give us one-note war episodes week after week after week. The wide expanse of the Star Wars universe and the equally expansive nature of the form of an animated television show demands variation and artistic license. It’s great to see them giving it to us.

And one note about the beautiful animation in this episode, particularly during the underground sequences, my 8 year old daughter was so convinced by the tree-like people, she honestly thought they were puppets and kept asking if they were real puppets. To my mind, that seems like high praise for the show.

We’ll be back next week with the episode “Nomad Droids”. You can watch a clip of it on StarWars.Com, but it looks like equal parts Gulliver’s Travels, Willow, and Spies Like Us.

I can’t wait.

The Walking Dead: The Rise of the Governor is the latest of multi-platform installments in the ever-expanding saga of The Walking Dead. It’s a prose novel set in the early days of the zombie outbreak and follows Phillip Blake, his daughter Penny, and his brother Brian. They have a couple of friends with them that they lose along the way and they end up leading into the situation before we meet “The Governor” in the comics in Walking Dead #27.

I’ll be honest, I had a hard time with the beginning of this book only to find myself enjoying it by the middle. The end lost me again, though.

I was rubbed the wrong way first by the writing style. The book is written in 3rd person present tense and it just feels…off. It doesn’t read easily and doesn’t have a whole lot of suspense or finesse to it. I don’t get the impression Kirkman had a hand in the actual writing of this book, more just the story. I’ve known Robert Kirkman to be a better writer than this.

The other thing I was bored with was that the first third of the book plays out like every zombie movie I’ve ever seen and the thing that’s always made The Walking Dead stand out was that it didn’t feel like your average, every day zombie story. Like this one.

Phillip Blake, whom we know as the Governor, is on his way to Atlanta with his daughter and brother and they encounter all of the standard zombie fare. It’s not until they find another group of survivors (a pair of adult women and their father who travelled state fairs as a family musical act) and try to co-exist. The Walking Dead is always at its best when it’s exploring the compelling psychology of survivors and this middle part of the book was by far and away the standout for me.

But I read the book wanting to know how someone could become as vicious and sociopathic as The Governor and how that person would come to power and I really didn’t get that out of this book. The book ends abruptly with a rug-pull in the last couple of chapters that are as ham-fisted and preposterous as an M. Night Shyamalan film and almost feels twice as stupid. The character who eventually turns into the Governor shows nothing in his character whatsoever that he’ll become the person we love to hate in the comics series. It felt cheap and pointless and far below the quality Kirkman has proven himself capable of. (Which is really why I’m not sure he really wrote this book.)

The authors actually do a good job with developing the character’s psychology and then seem to throw it all out the window in the last ten chapters of the book in an attempt to fit it into the comic book continuity.

I really, really wanted to like this book. I’m in LOVE with this series. I read the comic and watch the show religiously.

This should have been a home run instead of a foul ball.

The book comes out Tuesday, October 11th. If you’re a fan of The Walking Dead, you’ll want to check it out for yourself, don’t take my opinion for it. You can order it from Amazon and have it the day of release. Check for it at your local comic book stores, too.

I didn’t realize that if you ask most animators to pick a film that is the pinnacle of your art, the most frequent response would be Dumbo.

I haven’t seen this film in twenty or more years and I couldn’t even fathom why it could be their favorite animated film of all time, especially with movies like Alice in Wonderland, Lady and the Tramp, and Sleeping Beauty to pick from.

The Blu-ray of Dumbo arrived and I was dying of curiosity to watch it and see what the film could offer and I was shocked.

Dumbo is a fine film and the animation is fantastic, sure, but I was shocked by the economy and efficiency of storytelling. Dumbo came out in 1941 when animated features (and even color and sound movies) were in their infancy. Learning to tell a story with these new tools wasn’t easy for some, but for Disney it seemed to come naturally.

But this film clocks in at 65 minutes and is so straightforward, touching, funny, and surreal that it’s amazing so much was packed into to so little time. Though, on its surface, Dumbo might seem as a mish-mash of musical numbers and comedy bits to string the narrative together, it’s a brilliant bit of storytelling. You all generally know the story, right? Dumbo is born, he’s different, he has no talents, but he learns that, with the aid of a magic feather, he can fly because of his big ears. He has to learn to believe in himself and fly on his own when he loses the feather. To communicate that story in a manner as efficient as they did is really a marvel.

But all of the things I remembered about the film that haunted me from my childhood, particularly the Dali-esque ‘Pink Elephants on Parade’ sequence, all fit so neatly into the movie in a way I didn’t quite understand as a child but as a writer today it blew my mind. There are so many visual flourishes that help tie the story and the longing and the motion together that it’s just…staggering… As you’re watching it, think about all that goes into something as simple as Dumbo holding Timothy’s tail with his trunk… It’s… it means sooooo much in the context of the film and… wow. This film really blew me away all over again.

And the fact that the film, like all of my favorite films, can blend humour, drama, tears, joy, laughter, and surrealism in a way that isn’t distracting or lopsided is impressive.

It’s a lesson storytellers would do well to learn.

As far as the Blu-ray itself, like all Disney Blu-rays, it looks absolutely gorgeous and has special features that document the making of the film and the appreciation that’s grown out of it.

I would have never guessed that Dumbo was a must-own Disney film, but now, with my adult eyes, I can see it for the brilliance that it is. Get it. It’s worth revisiting.

The Strange Talent of Luther Strode #1

This follows the basic origin story of a geek becoming a total badass. It’s the first in a 6 part series and it’s got decent artwork and an interesting story. The one thing I will say about this issue is it’s incredibly violent, over the top violent. Blood, guts and gore galore, at least it is whenever a fight occurs. If the art were a bit better it might feel justified but at the moment it feels more like they want to gross the audience out then tell a cool story. I’ll keep reading but at the moment I wouldn’t recommend a buy.

When does this come out: Oct. 5th
Cost: 2.99
Will I read on: Yes
Will I buy it: I don’t think so

The Last of the Greats #1

The Last of the Greats is an intriguing read, it’s basically about a group of supermen who are preparing the world for an alien apocalypse. These supermen have the power to distinguish human’s true intentions and so they’ll willingly kill people with impure intentions. The first issue however ends in a way which doesn’t really look like the series could go in many different directions. It feels like I could predict everything that was going to happen from here on out. At the moment I don’t recommend this one but in the future that might change.

When does this come out: Oct. 5th
Will I read on: Yes
Will I buy it: Doubtful

Xenoholics #1

This was a surprise to me, the front cover isn’t at all the kind of art that is in the book, it’s a bit more jokey comic book art. The book follows a group of Xenoholics, in other words a Alcoholics Anonymous for Alien Abductees. The story has a funny edge to it and it does actually show aliens so we know they’re not completely crazy. It also takes the whole crop circle thing to a new level. I quite fancied this book and I’m looking forward to seeing where it’s going. I’d recommend people take a look at this one in store and see if you want to add it to your hold.

When does this come out: Oct. 19
Cost: 3.50
Will I read on: Yes
Will I buy it: Likely

Heart #1

Apparently Blair Butler who is a stand up comic and star on G4TV is the writer on this comic about a young MMA fighter. I’m a fan of MMA and so reading a comic about MMA was really quite interesting. I’ve had desire to train with MMA fighters but I just never want to be punched in the face so I wouldn’t really do too well. This story was actually pretty good but I’m afraid people won’t get it unless they’re actually into MMA. I liked it so if it continues to be good I may end up getting the trade.

When does this come out: Nov. 2nd
Cost: 2.99
Will I read on: Yes
Will I buy it: Not yet

“Ticelli Bot” is here to bring us his review of  Tom Morello’s Orchid.

Many of you probably know that Tom Morello is a guitarist for the bands Rage Against the Machine and Audioslave. Some of you might even know that he, along with Serj Tankian of System of a Down, founded a non-profit political activist organization known as the Axis of Justice.

What you might not know, however, is that Mr. Morello is now writing comic books. Yes, comics. Morello has teamed up with Dark Horse Comics to bring us Orchid, a post-apocalyptic story that we have seen a hundred times before…or is it?

The focus here is very much on a class hierarchy and how the people act, or don’t act, within it. The rich and powerful live in fortresses up on high land, away from the danger of mutated creatures andthe scum of the lower class citizens. These “Bridge People,” however, have to live in poverty as slaves to the upper class or be killed. The story also focuses on a mask that is told to have some sort of power should a saint (Jim Carrey?) wear it, otherwise it kills the wearer. This mask is a continual point of contest between the classes as it is a sign of hope for the Bridge People and I can only assume that the wealthy want to try to use its power to further their iron-fisted rein over the poor. Some very interesting characters are introduced as well. One who flips off his oppressors as he is falling backwards off a broken piece of roadway into a ravine, and another who became a prostitute to be able to feed her family (she is the title character of the series).

I think that this whole post-apocalyptic thing has been done to death, however, the world and characters we are introduced to here have found a way to be unique in a wasteland of “blah.” I found myself enjoying the story much more than I originally thought I would and I am eager to read what Morello does with what has been established. Interestingly, there seems to have been some inspiration from author Tom Wolfe in Morello’s writing. He has created a character seemingly named after him and used many common themes also seen in Wolfe’s work, so it’s hard not to see similarities. Drawn by Scott Hepburn, animation designer for Marvel, DC, White Wolf, Udon and Nelvana as well as creator of the web series The Port. Hepburn does a great job of placing us in a world that is beautiful and tragic. I recommend that people go out and give this one a try when it comes out next week on October 12.

Check out Dark Horse’s website for more info:

“From the mind of musician Tom Morello (Rage Against the Machine, Audioslave, The Nightwatchman) with art by Scott Hepburn (Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic), Orchid is the tale of a teenage prostitute who learns that she is more than the role society has imposed upon her.

When the seas rose, genetic codes were smashed. Human settlements are ringed by a dense wilderness from which ferocious new animal species prey on the helpless. The high ground belongs to the rich and powerful that overlook swampland shantytowns from their fortress-like cities. Iron-fisted rule ensures order and allows the wealthy to harvest the poor as slaves. Welcome to the world of Orchid.

• Each issue to be promoted with a new song by Tom Morello from Rage Against the Machine!

• Featuring a variant cover by the best known and influential street artist Shepard Fairey!”

Ticelli Bot majors in Computer Science and Communications and spends his non-school time watching and making movies, hiking, playing video games, and reading comics.