Thank Gif it's Friday!

Because it's always Friday somewhere, right?

Source.

Thursday Threesome: Three Favourite Musical Moments in Movies!

It’s time for a Thursday Threesome again, and today it is I who has the honour of writing passionately about three random, trivial things from my pop culture past! I have spun our mighty custom-made wheel and settled on the subject of my favourite Musical Moments in Movies! However, please don’t be so foolhardy to think that I am implying that these are necessarily the very best songs. Oh no, foolish reader, I’m talking about those perfect moments where both the sound and visuals suddenly blend together in a memorable and meaningful way. It’s synergy, folks!

Sing along with me... after the jump!

The Veronica Mars Movie Project

Readers! Marshmallows! Lovers of good television!

In case you don't know, the biggest film Kickstarter of all time is going down at the moment and is in its final stages. It's raised a whopping 5 Million Dollars and has broken a lot of records. If it gains another 10,000 backers before the end, it will also break the record for the most Kickstarter backers in history.

What's it about? You guessed it, the long awaited and dreamed Veronica Mars movie. This show lasted three seasons and then was cancelled and neither its cast, creator or its fans can let it go.

This is history in the making, we are finally proving that the Internet and fans can be a source of funding and support.

If you are interested and want to check it out then click this link: http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/559914737/the-veronica-mars-movie-project?ref=live
Totally worth it for the Kickstarter video, but there are also some great backer rewards including t-shirts, stickers, DVDs, tickets to exclusive parties and voice mail messages recorded by the stars.

I for one am excited and am thinking that soon I'll be doing a re-watch and review of this awesome series for you all.

49 Hours to go if you want to be part of something amazing.

What are you waiting for!?

Book Review: Plague Town by Dana Fredsi

There's a blurb on the back of Plague Town that describes the book as a cross between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and The Walking Dead. Never has a blurb been more appropriate.

Plague Town is the story of Ashley Parker as she learns about her role during the zombie apocalypse. These zombies are the slow, plodding kind, very stereotypical, and Ashley is...special. Not necessarily in the way you might be thinking (the Buffy comparison is not 100% apt here), but she has a very important position in the puzzle.

The book is interesting in how it handles the reveal. If you're in this for a lot of zombie killing action, you're going to be disappointed. If you think training for the zombie apocalypse is the only thing keeping your traditional zombie movie from being awesome, you're going to love this book - I personally thought this aspect of it dragged. Regardless of how the book succeeds and fails, however, there's a key reveal at the end that is unlike anything I've read in the genre before, and elevates the book beyond pulpy mass-market escapism into something a little more daring.

While I'm not especially high on this book overall, I feel like it has a lot of potential as a trilogy with what looks to be a clear endpoint. I'll dive into the second volume for sure. You can check out the first two books over at Titan.

Batman - Li'l Gotham

Hey folks!  Just wanted to plug the first in-print release of the hit digital comic L'il Gotham!

If you're a little tired of the ultra-violent, peel-off-your-face, little kids dying horribly, corpses sewn together dark dark world of the New 52 Batman and are pining for a simpler age, OR if you just want to read a universe where Damian "Robin" Wayne is still alive and well, this MAY be the comic for you!  Granted, the plots are very kid-friendly, but it's beautifully drawn and I'm a sucker for water-colour.  Curious?  Join me after the jump for a peek inside!

Stryder's Favourite Comics - 4/3/2013

It's WTF!?! month at DC Comics!  Or at least it was until they decided that the marketing campaign was too edgy...they still kept the concept however, giving every comic this month a fold-out cover to reveal a WTF moment!  Of course, then they put them all on the 'net so it's not a surprise anymore...so let's take a look at the WHOLE covers for this week's new comics!

Action Comics #19 - "These people--ALL people--Are under my protection." 

It's a whole new Action Comics this month with an empasis on ACTION!  Set "One Year Ago" Clark Kent is in war-torn Qurac along with Lois Lane (working on a story of her own!) and looking for illegal, smuggled weapons.  Clark doesn't have to wait long before his contact points him towards some cargo ships (and ruins his best shot with Lois...sigh) and then it's up, up and away!  The illegal weapons?  Massive sci-fi war machines that burst out of their vessels and immediately go on the attack!!  Definitely a job for Superman!

Also this issue, we get to visit with Lex Luthor, as he consults with the "preeminent psychoanalyst of our age" in circumstances that literally made me laugh out loud!  Lex just gained +5 as a villain and I can't wait to see how his plans play out!

Oh, as for the Jimmy Olsen thing?  Go buy the book!

Great and fun issue all-around by writer Andy Diggle and artist Tony S. Daniel!  I was nervous after the amazing run by Morrison and Morales that just concluded, but now I can't wait for the next issue!  I just hope they can get a good permanent writer, as I understand that Diggle is extremely temporary...

Detective Comics, Green Arrow, Earth 2 and more after the JUMP!!

Game of Thrones Episode 3.02 - Book Comparison

Game of Thrones certainly needs to change aspects of George R. R. Martin's epic Song of Ice and Fire to ensure that it works as a television series. This has thus far meant giving people the cliff note version. A lot of my enjoyment of the series actually comes from the details and the characterisation. The hidden gems that are back referenced and buried.

As we move into the third season of the show, based on the first part of the third book, a lover of the books quickly becomes aware that there is just WAY TOO MUCH STUFF that needs to be covered, and there are tremblings that it won't be done well. I'm most worried that changes made in the series will affect the last books in the saga, even though there are rumours that George R. R. Martin has told the show runners what the end of the story is so that they can avoid ruining anything. But also, I wonder why, despite the fact that the show is great, people do not read the books. The books are rich in detail and in other mysteries that go so far beyond what is capable in a show, and one comprising only 10 episodes a season... or in this case, a book.

Join me under the jump as I look at some of the changes made in episode 3.01 and 3.02, and how they might turn out.

F**k Yeah Game of Thrones Recaps! Episode Two: Dark Wings, Dark Words!

After last week’s light and languid series return, this week’s Game of Thrones plays catch up with all the characters we missed. Yes, with approximately a thousand main characters - and new ones arriving all the time - it now takes this blood-and-boobs fantasy epic two solid hours just to give us a glimpse of everyone we know. It also requires a guide book to follow. That’s where I step in. I may not have read the books, or remember all the names, but by god am I going to recap the shit out of this episode for the good of the common woman/man.

If you want me to sketchily explain it to you... join me after the jump!

The Book Was Better Podcast: Teaser for Episode 40!

The Book Was Better is the podcast where we read, discuss and make dumb jokes about the reliably terrible novelizations of your favourite films!

In today's teaser mini episode I discuss all the hard stats and data compiled by BWB friends Tim and Lizzy, including detailed breakdowns of our sweariest episodes ever! Which ones had the most vinges and flapdoodles? There's only one sure way to find out! Plus, I reveal my incredibly awesome surprise special guest host. And if you're a younger listener, we may be be about to completely destroy your childhood!

You can grab it from the official site, or why not subscribe to us on iTunes like a civilised person?

16-Bit Lincoln Playing Cards on Kickstarter!

This week's featured Kickstarter is a personal project that I am involved with. It's a high quality Bicycle playing card deck based off of my card game, Pixel Lincoln!

Bicycle cards are known worldwide as some of the nicest, classiest cards you can find and we went ahead and negated all of that with 16-bit pixel art and images of Lincoln flinging weapons made of meat. To take it a step even further, we took the standard sticker that seals the deck and made it our Puking Turtle (which was originally designed by Luke Milton). The face cards feature Lincoln and Booth's faces in extreme close up detail, and the deck includes a bonus of 4 jokers to mix things up a little.

We also added a few bonuses for fans of Pixel Lincoln: The Deckbuilding Game as well as those who like to make their own games.

If you are a fan of retro gaming, the 16th president or our Pixel Lincoln insanity, check out the deck on Kickstarter. One week left and 30% to go! Thanks!!

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/springboard/pixel-lincoln-bicycle-playing-cards

(also, if you haven't noticed, we added a Kickstarter banner link to the side of the site. Each featured Kickstarter can be tracked and accessed right there ---->)

Doctor Who: The Rings of Akhaten

It's that time of the week again folks; when we wait for the new episode of Doctor Who and then lovingly flail and deconstruct.

This weeks episode is typical of the New!Who era. The second episode introducing a new companion often focuses on the attributes of said companion that make them exceptional. Make them chosen. Basically, it's usually a big love-in for the companion, focusing less on the Doctor and more on the human capabilities of this new woman and how brave and wonderful she is.

Other trends seem to indicate that the first episode will be about The Doctor and Companion on equal footing, about their dynamic and how they formulate a relationship. The third episode is usually a display of the Doctor, his intelligence and his fury, and some ethical mishap or question that he might debate with the new companion or impose on some new beastie.

So how did The Rings of Akhaten stack up when compared to other second episode companion introductions.

Let's take a look under the cut.

El Professore Movie Reviews: The Gong Show Movie

1980
Director: Chuck Barris
Starring: Chuck Barris, Robin Altman
* * 1/2

Oh Chuckie-baby, what the hell were you thinking? Apparently, Barris had career suicide on his mind when he wrote and directed this Gong Show behind-the-scenes vanity project which was unleashed upon an unsuspecting world in 1980, near the end of his beloved show's run. It signaled the end, alright...

Full review after the jump.