Monday, June 27, 2011

Kevin's Korner - 6.27.2011

Welcome to another Kevin’s Korner, your source for all kinds of geeky stuff. I am your geek leader, Kevin Hopp, and I have some fun stuff, like a story about a weird Doctor Who fan, the new Harry Potter website, a first look at Bilbo Baggins; along with an interesting debate on geeks lately; a great trailer of the week and so much more. Thanks for being in my Korner!

I’m in the news business, and business is a boomin’ …

Did Ebert cross the line? – I couldn’t avoid this story. 411mania had the story on earlier last week, that famed movie critic Roger Ebert tweeted after hearing about Ryan Dunn’s auto fatality that also killed his passenger that “friends don’t let Jackass’s drive drunk.” The tweet seemed to anger a lot of people, and jokes about “jaw flapping” ensued. There were others who argued that he was right, saying the guy was drunk (it was later confirmed over double the legal limit) and he killed someone, which means no sympathy. There have been arguments everywhere online about this. Ebert later sort of apologized, but the war rages on. In my opinion, he was right, but it was shitty timing. Show some respect to the family who didn’t hurt anyone, and wait until the guy is properly mourned before a preach session from your horse is done. Is he right? Absolutely, the guy drove drunk and killed someone, but it was incredibly insensitive to people who lost someone important to them.

Captain Kirk Arm Wrestles Captain Kirk – Somewhere, every trekkie or “trekker” as some prefer to be called, are either screaming about which one is better, or totally wetting themselves in delight. The photo shows Chris Pine and William Shatner, who both played Captain James T. Kirk. The later of which, just announced he would not make an appearance in Star Trek 2. And, just so you know, my money is on the Shat.



Companion Panties? This guy has 94 of them – I couldn’t make this up if I tried, but a fan of Doctor Who started collecting companion panties. He has branched out to include any woman that contributed to the nearly 50 year run of the show. Just in case you were wondering, he does have Billie Piper’s (Rose) panties too. I think I’ll just stick to my replica sonic screwdriver, thanks.

Speaking of Doctor Who – Check out this amazing picture of merging some of the more interesting characters with that of Charlie Brown Christmas. They are two of my favorite things, so I couldn’t resist showing it off.



Fox got the can from Spielberg – Megan Fox has had some huge speculation over her shit-canning from the Transformers trilogy. Everyone thought director Michael Bay got pissed that she criticized him and fired her, when it was actually producer Steven Spielberg, who has been pretty quiet over his involvement, which resulted in the starlet’s termination. Apparently, he didn’t like the comment that compared director Bay with Hitler. It can’t be good to piss off Spielberg if you want to get ahead in Hollywood.

IPhone users could get disabled at concerts, maybe theaters next? – If you own an IPhone like I do, this story may make you a little concerned. Apple applied for a patent awhile ago, with details just being released that would allow someone to disable your camera. The idea is that concert runners really don’t want your videos online, and with an infrared beam, they could disable the video/picture function on your phone. I think it’s ridiculous, and silly, and I would be pissed, but it got me thinking; what if they could do the same thing with movie theaters? It may make things easier, I suppose if there is a way for theaters to disable your camera or other functions on your phone. What do you guys think? Huge invasion of privacy, or a chance for peace?

Bilbo Baggins…impressed? – Finally, we get an image of Bilbo Baggins from the upcoming The Hobbit. I’m not a huge fan of the trilogy, but does this get you excited for the movie?



Miss America is a Star Wars geek – Miss USA let it slip a few days ago that she was a Star Wars geek, among being other things. This had apparently upset many self-proclaimed geeks for some, really stupid reason, saying there was no way a beauty queen could love Star Wars. She was put to the test for Access Hollywood (video HERE), and while the questions were extremely easy, she thought the same, and had plenty of confidence with the answers.

My question is what’s the big deal? If she says she’s a Star Wars geek, friggin’ take her at her word. She wants world peace, damn it! I don’t know why the thought of Miss USA claiming she loves Star Wars would be upsetting to some. I, for one, think having a geek representative that is so famous and hot is a good thing. Would you prefer the stereotypical fat, smelly, immature kid with thick glasses that talks kinda like Urkel? No, of course not, go for Miss USA!

So, Pottermore is an online forum/store? – Harry Potter fans having been anxiously awaiting the announcement of Pottermore, and what exactly it would be. This week, we got our answer, sort of. The good news is, it isn’t a phone, like some were claiming, and it isn’t really an MMORPG. It sounds like, according to the video from author, J.K. Rowling, that it’s an online experience, designed to get people to get out there and read the books…again. It’s also going to be the only place you will be able to buy e-book versions of the 7 books. It just seems really underwhelming, if you ask me. I am all for encouraging kids to read, but my understanding seems more like a Harry Potter themed Amazon. Anyway, the website officially opens in October.




Finally, Checkov gets a star – It was announced this week that Star Trek alum Walter Koenig would get a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. It’s about time, right? I mean, after nailing that Russian accent, he went on and did…well, he did….ok, he really only did Star Trek related stuff, but still, he’s earned a spot in pop culture lore, and that’s pretty awesome. Still, all I can think about is that episode of Futurama where Koenig talks about after Star Trek, he became a real human being, with keys and everything.

Cars 2 to be Pixar's first “rotten” movie – According to Rotten Tomatoes, it appears Cars 2 will be Pixar's first “rotten” movie according to the rating site. The film currently sits at “33% fresh,” showing most critics don’t really care for the film. It’s surprising, considering Pixar’s track record of smash hits that resonate well with film critics. While the Tomatoe-ometer should be taken with a certain grain of salt, and everyone’s opinion is different, the film does look to be more commercial and less fun than previous films.

Apollo 18 gets a new trailer, the audience gets ill – The new Apollo 18 trailer hit the web this week, and while it looks kind of creepy, it looks like Blair Witch Project in space; which, by the way, is exactly what I thought the second movie should’ve been about (it’s a natural progression). It may be an unfair comparison, but the shaky cam style of shooting became synonymous with the movie after it became a legend, going from a small budget to making tons of money, surpassed only by Paranormal Activity, which used the same technique. But, are audiences tired of the technique?

I suppose the box office would say no, given the success of movies like Cloverfield, The Last Exorcism and the second Paranormal Activity, but it seems any movie that uses that style is automatically put into an almost “cheap scare” category. While I loved Cloverfield and liked both Paranormal Activity movies, it doesn’t seem this has too much new to offer. Would you go see this movie?

Muppets announce tribute album track list – Any fan of the Korner has obviously figured out I am a fan of the Muppets. I’m not apologizing. Tell me I’m 12 years old all you want, I like the Muppets. Well, apparently, there’s a tribute album coming out August 23rd with some great artists covering some famous songs. I can’t wait to hear Haley Williams and Weezer cover “A Rainbow Connection.” Check out the rest of the list.

OK Go – 'Muppet Show Theme'
Weezer and Hayley Williams – 'Rainbow Connection'
The Fray – 'Mahna Mahna'
Alkaline Trio – 'Moving Right Along'
My Morning Jacket – 'Our World'
Amy Lee – 'Halfway Down The Stairs'
Sondre Lerche – 'Mr Bassman'
The Airborne Toxic Event – 'Wishing Song'
Brandon Saller and Billy Martin – 'Night Life'
Andrew Bird – 'Bein' Green'
Matt Nathanson – 'Hope That Something Better Comes Along'
Rachael Yamagata – 'I'm Going To Go Back There Someday'

Out on DVD Today –
Or, will Vanessa Hudgens ever be in anything successful besides High School Musical?

Sucker Punch
Beastly
Season of the Witch
Barney's Version
The Warrior's Way


Box Office Breakdown – Cars 2 wins…ish.
Cars 2 debuted in first place with $68 million, which is pretty good, but quite a bit less than expected. Bad Teacher came in second, but the big story is Green Lantern, which had a huge 66% drop from last week to land in third. Either people are listening to the critics’ par or sub par reviews, or they really just don’t like the trailer. Either way, it’s pretty ugly. And, yet, there’s news that WB is going forward with a sequel. Figure that one out!

What did you see this weekend?

1. Cars 2 - $68 million ($68 million total)
2. Bad Teacher - $31 million ($31 million total)
3. Green Lantern - $18.4 million ($89.3 million total)
4. Super 8 - $12.1 million ($95.2 million total)
5. Mr. Popper's Penguins - $10.3 million ($39.4 million total)
6. X-Men: First Class - $6.6 million ($132.8 million total)
7. The Hangover Part II - $5.9 million ($283.9 million total)
8. Bridesmaids - $5.4 million ($146.7 million total)
9. Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides - $4.7 million ($229.1 million total)
10. Midnight in Paris - $4.5 million ($28.6 million total)


Trailer of the Week: Captain America
I haven’t been super excited about Captain America until now. This trailer makes me think this movie could be more than just an attempt to bring some nostalgia to Captain America readers; it could be something pretty good. What do you movie goers think?


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