Werid Al's #8videos8days - Part 1

July 18, 2014 Jason Murphy

You may or may not know this but we're smack dab in the middle of "#8videos8days". Weird Al Yankovic's release of 8 new videos; one per day, for 8 days...duh.

Here's a fun fact: Weird Al has been releasing albums since 1983! His longest break was 5 years between 2006 and 2011.

Hes the Mickey Rourke of music. He was popular, then he wasn't, then he was, then he wasn't again. He doesn't seem to care because he just keeps going. . With the rise of all things nerdy lately, he's back at it....and becoming popular once again.

So here's #4videos1day then #4morevideos4dayslater, This isn't the 8LIST afterall

"HANDY"

"FOIL"

"WORD CRIMES"

"TACKY"

4 reasons to see 'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes'

July 12, 2014 Jason Murphy

'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' finally hit theaters this weekend and we have 4 reasons you should finish that grilled cheese sandwich (because nobody should waste a grilled cheese sandwich), put on some clothes and go see it

It's been ten years since the events of 'Rise'. The Human race has succumb to the the virus unleashed in the last film. Earth's only human survivors, genetically immune to the virus, struggle to survive in a post apocalyptic society. Meanwhile, a group of genetically altered apes, led by 'Caesar', have built a community in the forests outside San Francisco. They have thrived based on one rule: "Ape no kill Ape". The human race takes measures to ensure their survival by attempting to re-activate an old hydro electric power plant deep in Ape territory. The excursion leads to a human/ape encounter that brings forth a fragile peace. Short-lived, this peace turns to the brink of a Human- Ape war.

REBOOT OR REMAKE?

If you haven't seen any of the old 'Apes' movies you probably won't know this, but not only are the last two installments "reboots" of the franchise, but they are basically remakes of two Ape films. 'Rise' follows the same path and similar story arc as 1972's "Conquest of the Plant of the Apes" while 'Dawn' harks back to 1973's 'Battle for the Planet of the Apes'. 'Conquest' focuses on the birth of Caesar (technically he's born in 'Escape from the Planet of the Apes... 'Ape's' "Star Trek: The Voyage Home"-esque entry ), his training and eventual enslavement. He leads a revolt which starts a 'new' Planet of the Apes. Sound familiar?

'Battle' sees the world (a decade after the events of 'Conquest') wiped out by a nuclear event. Caesar, now with wife and child, leads a community of apes and seeks peace with the remaining humans while other members of Caesar's clan have different ideas... These two installments are basically remakes of the last two 'Ape' movies of the 70's and I think that's just terrific. They could have written two brand new movies, but to actually remake these to make fan's of the original films happy? YES PLEASE. Granted, I wasn't around when all the original film's were released, I have seen them all though. Spread out over time on Saturday afternoon T.V. matinee's used to baby sit me. Were they great? ......No, not really. But that's what makes these reboots terrific. They took two mediocre movies, repackaged them, gave them a paint job and made them even better.

CGI

If your a Star Wars fan, you know what CGI did to the prequels. I'll play devil's advocate here and say it: "Why is CGI bad for Star Wars and good for Apes?". Both film franchises began with practical effects, but Star Wars fans are now clamoring for those same practical effects to remain consistent in Episode VII after what they saw for CGI in the prequels. On the flip side we have the 'Ape" franchise. 2001's 'Planet of the Apes' did the opposite and remained true to the franchises beginnings by using practical effects and make-up...and look where that got 'em! Sucker punched by critics and fans. I guess the old adage is true.. "you can pick your friends, and you can pick your nose, but you can't pick your friend's nose"....shit, that's not right.. Oh! "You can please some of the people most of the time, and most of the people some of the time, ....... aaah screw it, you know what I mean. Where CGI dissapointed in the Star Wars prequels in excels 'leaps and bounds' in the 'Apes' series. 'Rise' and 'Dawn' both incorporate the same visual effects, more so in 'Dawn' with its battered wasteland backdrops and Forest villages. But the real draw is the Apes. They looked amazing in the first one and look just as good if not better in the 2nd.

Andy Serkis

Best known for his portrayal of 'Gollum' in Peter Jackson's 'Lord of the Ring's' trilogy and 'The Hobbit' films, Serkis is the go to guy for motion capture these days. He's no stranger to playing apes either. Serkis did the motion capture work for 2005's 'King Kong'. You hopefully saw the amazing job he did as 'Caesar' in 'Rise of the Planet of the Apes' and he continues to impress in 'Dawn'. What most movie goers don't know is that even though the Apes are CGI in the last two movies, Caesar has been fully portrayed by Serkis. This means the way they move, sit, smile, frown, express, yell, laugh, play, even take a dump is all done by Serkis. Hes not just a guy in a suit with balls on his face. Videographers and special effects artists put their balls on Serkis's face for a reason. Their balls capture every single nuance that Serkis emotes. These are then rendered over in post production with CGI ape parts, but the expressions are all still Serkis's. He brings these creatures to life more than the CGI does.

KOBA

If you saw 'Rise' you'll remember Koba, he was the asshole with the cloudy eye (see above). He is the main antagonist of 'Dawn'. If you've seen 'Battle" then think "Aldo". I really won't get into details about Koba since it might spoil the movie but "WOW" does this ape not disappoint. a BEAUTIFULLY written and acted character. I left the AMC theater (shameless plug) thinking that if anyone should see this movie, it should be to experience this ape on screen.

Bottom line.. Dawn is a great movie. If you're a fan of Apes it's a must see, if you're not it's highly recommended for you to become a fan.

Did you see Dawn of the Planet of the Apes? tell us what you think

The4LIST's 4 Greatest Doctor Who Villains

July 10, 2014 Jason Murphy

What's 'Doctor Who' without villains? Basically just and episode of 'Sherlock Holmes' but starring Doc Brown, not really solving anything. That's why were gonna delve right into our top 4 Doctor Who jerks.

4. THE BEAST

uuuuuummmmmmm.. HE'S FRIGGEN SATAN. What's scarier than SATAN. First appearing in Series 2's 'The Impossible Planet' and continuing in 'The Satan Pit', "The Beast" terrified Doctor Who, Rose Tyler and fans across the damn globe. I don't know about you, but I grew up Catholic....so one of the greatest tools my parents (and church) used to scare the crap out of me into 'not' doing bad stuff or turning out to be an asshole, WAS SATAN!!! Call him what you want; Satan, Lucifer, Beelzebub, the Prince of Darkness, the Antichrist.. He's scary as shit. Maybe it was the accidental viewing of 'The Exorcist' when I was 7, I don't know, but Satan and demons scare the living crap out of me. If this was a 'Most Terrifying Villains' list, he'd be on top. Good job making me piss my bed. For that you make a damn good Villain.

3. THE WEEPING ANGELS

The Weeping Angels are down right creepy. Just ask the Ponds.( It could just be my 'Post Pond Depression' talking) For any "Doctor Who" newbie reading this- the Weeping Angels are a species that used 'quantum locking' to hunt their prey. "What the crap is 'quantum locking"? Ever play "red light, green light"? Same deal, but no scabby kid knees... why did I always have scabby knees and elbows as a kid? I fell a lot I guess..weird, right? I did hit a lot of sick jumps on my BMX though. You made them out of cinder blocks and flimsy planks that you'd find in the woods next to empty Schlitz beer cans from 1981 and an old waterlogged copy of 'Playboy' where the pages all glob together and you really can't make out any pictures, but you KNOW it's an old Playboy. Did you have pegs? I had pegs....front AND back......... wait, what was I talking about?.. Oh yeah..... so "red light, green light'. A Weeping Angel could only move when they weren't being viewed. Once viewed they would petrify into statue form. This also related to angels viewing other angels, so the Weeping Angel would often cover it's face with it's hands, thus appearing as if it was weeping... now that THAT'S out of the way. Weeping Angels are freaky, Weeping Angels are creepy, Weeping Angels are one of the Doctor's most menacing adversaries. NUMBER 3!

2. THE DALEKS

Created by the Davros, The Daleks are easily one of the Doctors most ferocious enemies, and obviously a fan favorite... Being so popular I don't even think anything I write about them will do them justice. What could I even say without upsetting someone? THAT'S how hugely popular the Daleks are. Seriously...I'll just get yelled at in the comments.... I don't want to get yelled at in the comments. Im gonna go text myself so I can hear my Dalek ringtone now......don't yell at me in the comments.

1. THE MASTER

We gotta give #1 to The Master. The Ying to the Doctor's yang. The frick to his frack. The peanut butter to his Fluff (no, not jelly, jelly is gross). The Joker to his Batman! The Master is a Time Lord, just like the Doctor, but he's just a downright asshole. Assholes always make the best villains.

Originally a childhood classmate of The Doctor, both hail from Gallifrey and both are Time Lords. It's said the Master went mad after looking into the 'Untempered Schism' (or 'time vortex') during a Time Lord initiation. This apparently can make you a dick....er, go mad. While the Doctor himself is slightly mad, he still has the need to save mankind and the Universe(you know, cuz he's not a dick), while the Master wants only to conquer it (you know, cuz he is a dick). He's the epitome of an Archnemesis.

Portrayed by 6 separate actors, opposed to The Doctor's (soon to be)12. The Master has taken many forms, including Julia Robert's brother! But my personal favorite flavor was The Master "extra crispy".

Who are your top 4? Comment below

4 Movies to Still Look Forward to this Summer

July 8, 2014 Ryan Tremblays

This hasn’t exactly been a great summer movie season. Frankly it’s been rather disappointing. Sure, there’s been some movies I really enjoyed (X-Men, Edge of Tomorrow), but most of the big blockbusters have been lacking punch. Overall, it seems like studios took this summer off, not releasing blockbusters at the usual breakneck pace, but there are still yet a few movies of interest on the way.

While most of the really enjoyable movies I’ve seen this summer were surprisingly independent films like “Chef” and “Begin Again”. I’m still a sucker for a blockbuster so I’m excited to see these films.

Note: This article assumes “Dawn of the Planet of the Apes” is already out. Also check out my reviews after these movies come out at www.hishermovies.com

Lucy

July 25, 2014

A Scarlett Johansson movie where she looks hot and kicks ass. How much is the ticket? Seriously, Johansson has raised her stock with me after taking the Black Widow character to a whole new level in Captain America 2 and the Avengers.

When that character first showed up, I didn’t really think “wow, I can’t believe they brought the Black Widow into the Marvel Universe”, but Johansson has grabbed the role and made it relevant. Sure, some people out there are going to say “Of course you feel that way, she’s gorgeous”, but while I agree with you, the key is that she’s also a good actress. She’s always been a good actress that also happens to be beautiful (Lost in Translation, Girl with a Pearl Earring, Match Point, etc.). Obviously, that’s the key to a lot of these successful science fiction movies starring strong heroine leads. The studios just haven’t been casting the hottest woman they can find, they’ve been casting actresses that can actually act.

So now here comes Johansson’s latest and I’m excited about it. Sure, the premise is very similar to “Limitless”, but this movie mixes in some action and Scarlett Johansson so sign me up.

Guardians of the Galaxy

August 1, 2014

I’m a Marvel fan boy for sure so the fact that I’m excited isn’t surprising. However, when this movie was announced, I wasn’t exactly dancing in the streets. “Guardians of the Galaxy”, really? That’s the next big Marvel movie. I don’t really even know anything about them, sure I bought a couple of Guardian books in my day, but I never actually read them.

It all changed when I saw the first kick ass trailer at Comic Con. What a home run the trailer was, action packed and funny, it had me excited to see this movie and thinking once again, Marvel knows what they are doing or at least they certainly know how to make a trailer. Has Marvel failed me, sure… I’m looking at you Iron Man 3, but overall they have really made entertaining movies or at least fooled me into thinking they will be good… I’m looking at you Iron Man 3.

Plus after “Captain America: The Winter Soldier” and “Thor: Dark World”, I’m extra excited about the next Marvel movie. In my opinion, those two movies were better than the original, so that has completely renewed my faith after their last miss… I’m looking at you Iron Man 3.

The Giver

August 15, 2014

I have no idea what this movie is about. I know it’s a science fiction movie, based off a classic novel or at least I’m told it’s based off a classic novel. My wife insists I should have read it in school, but I don’t remember that being on the reading list. That's probably because my wife is younger than me so I have a feeling I'm setting myself up for her to make an old joke.

After seeing the trailer the other day, I’m completely intrigued. The movie looks like an interesting science fiction movie in the vein of “Hunger Games” or “Divergent” or dare I say “Minority Report” (Going a little further back in the archives). Certainly seems like a good time to make that type of movie considering how well “Hunger Games” and “Divergent” did at the box office.

Plus, the movie has Merryl Streep in it, how bad can it be!

Sin City: A Dame to Kill For

August 22, 2014

This better be good! I want to leave it at that, but I’ll go on. I’m a fan of “Sin City”. When the movie came out it was totally different. It was like no movie I’d ever seen and I really enjoyed it.

When there was talk about making a sequel, I was intrigued, but then the years passed and nothing came along. Eventually, I had resigned myself to the fact that “Sin City” would be a stand alone classic much like “300” (Whoops).

Finally they decide to make a sequel years after anyone had longed for them to make one. The movie better not disappoint. I mean they waited so long that Mickey Rourke's comeback has come and gone and now he’s looking for another comeback. Hopefully for his sake the movie is good. The director, Robert Rodriguez looks like he's taken his time to produce a worthy sequel. He's certainly loaded the film with quality actors. Perhaps I won't be disappointed afterall!

Top 4 Star Warsy things....... this week

July 7, 2014 Jason Murphy

With Episode VII production rumors hitting the web left and right, you may have to get used to these...

We thought you'd want a heads up on all the "Star Warsy" things going on around the net. Here's the Top 4 that we geek'd out to this week.

4. HARRISON FORD'S INJURY SETS PRODUCTION BACK 2 WEEKS

If you don't recall (and if you don't then why are you even reading this?) Harrison Ford fractured his leg in June when a hydraulic door on the Millennium Falcon malfunctioned and fell on his leg.

No surprise here.., however, it's the first time Disney has made any statements about halting production. In June, Disney was quoted as saying that there should be no breaks in production, but we all saw the writing on the wall. I guess the good news is the halt in production won't take place until August ! Production will go strong until then and should be completed this Fall. Then you have to wait over a year for post production ... wait WHAT?!

3. DISNEY ANNOUNCES TWO NEW CAST MEMBERS

Sunday, on the heels of the production break announcement, Disney announced two new cast members for Episode VII. American actress Crystal Clarke and British Actor Pip Anderson. Who exactly they will portray is unknown... HECK, we don't know who anyone is really playing yet, except the returning cast. However, it was released that these two actors were selected from Disney's "open casting call" seven months ago. REMEMBER THAT!!!?..... The casting call that EVERY STAR WARS FAN wanted to be a part of!. (I had headshots done. Never heard back though. oh well.) Anyway, producers considered over 35,000 actors who came out to onsite casting calls and over 30,000 online applications (..cough). They released the following statement:

"The Star Wars universe has always been about discovering and nurturing young talent and in casting Episode VII we wanted to remain absolutely faithful to this tradition," "We are delighted that so many traveled to see us at the open casting calls and that we have been able to make Crystal and Pip a part of the film."

Clarke's first role will not hit theaters until next year, when she will appear with Pierce Bronson and William Hurt in "The Moon and Sun". Anderson has been known in the U.K. for his Parkour. (next Ray Park anyone?)

2. KEVIN SMITH VISITS PINEWOOD STUDIOS

Kevin Smith got a personal invite by J.J Abrams to visit the London set of Episode VII recently and had some things to say about it....

Smith spoke during an appearance at the Neuchatel International Film Festival in Switzerland and gushed about what he saw.

"So we go to the set, and they're actually shooting – and this is what I can't tell you what they were shooting – but what I saw I absolutely loved," said Smith "It was tactile; it wasn't a series of fucking green and blue screens in which later on digital characters would be added. It was there; it was happening."

Of course Smith had to sign a non disclosure agreement so we won't get any specifics.

"I saw uniforms; I saw artillery that I haven't seen since I was a kid," he continued. "I saw them shooting an actual sequence in a set that is real – I walked across the set; there were explosions – and it looked like a shot right out of a fucking Star Wars movie,"

Smith continued- Abrams is "building a tacticle world, a world you can touch. And he's replicating it with all the love of somebody that has the world's greatest collection of Star Wars figures."

"It's like Field of Dreams," he said. "And if J.J. builds it, we’re all going to come hard because it's amazing. It looks fantastic. So anyone out there wondering if he's going to pull it off: He's pulling it off. He showed me cut scenes; he showed me sequences, images, pictures. I cried, and I hugged that guy. And I’m sure as I was crying and hugging on him that he was thinking 'time is money' because they're making a movie. But he got it. He was very flattered. And I was like, 'Honestly dude, you’re doing it. You’re making my childhood again. You’re doing our Star Wars.' What I saw blew me away."

JEALOUS MUCH??.. You should be..... of course Smith has had to sign a lot of non-disclosure agreements lately though, so you got that going for you. Frees up your writing hand.