Fishing in the Discount Bin - Star Trek Into Darkness

This is it, gang.  This is what we've been counting down to Fishing in the Discount Bin for the past 11 weeks.  Back in the spring of 2013, I got it in my head to watch every Star Trek movie before Into Darkness hit theatres.  In the time between watching the films and posting these entries to the blog, Star Trek Into Darkness has come and gone from the theatres.  So let's jump ahead in my notes to September 16, 2013 when I first re-watched Star Trek Into Darkness on Blu-Ray.

Netflix Nonsenes - Young Sherlock Holmes

Welcome to Netflix Nonsense, the new column here at the blog where I ramble about something I just watched on Netflix.  Hey!  Did you know that movies on Netflix have expiry dates?  Something I didn't know until I was browsing through my list and saw a couple that pop up with the warning "Ends on March 1."  So I figured I'd better watch these before my time was up.  The first on the list was the 1985 Amblin flick Young Sherlock Holmes. 

Sunday is Targ Day!

Sorry there was no podcast last week.  It was the Family Day Weekend, so I decided to just goof off on the long weekend instead of, you know, getting work done.  But I am back now and itching to rant into a tape recorder and post it to the Internet for your enjoyment!  In Episode 7.04: Just Stuff I Like, you'll hear:

• Ranting about Star Wars: The Clone Wars, Star Wars Rebels, and my general views on Star Wars in animation.
• Offering up my thoughts on the Guardians of the Galaxy trailer.  My previous blog entry ranting about it can be found right here. 
• And did you hear that the Indiana Jones exhibit is coming to the Telus World of Science?  Let me tell you about it!

All this, and more, on today's episode of U62: The Targ!


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Oh, and remember how last week I was bemoaning that my website was down and I couldn't post my review of The Lego Movie in my old-fashioned, hand-written HTML?  Well, with my website back up, it's now uploaded, and you can find that here.  

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Star Trek

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I watch one of the many movies I own and blog about it, because I don't have much of a life.  Speaking of not  having a life, I'm a trekkie, and back when Star Trek Into Darkness was coming out, I decided to watch every Star Trek movie in anticipation.  Which brings us to almost-the-end, the 2009 reboot, known simply as Star Trek.  This entry is dated in my notes at May 11, 2013.

Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer

Marvel's Phase II of films is in full swing, and we've finally got our first trailer for the curveball of the group, Guardians of the Galaxy.  This comic is so unknown in the mainstream that, when it was announced, even the most die hard Marvel zombies said, "Wow.  That's an obscure one to turn into a film."

But you know what?  It makes sense.  Marvel's kind of been out to prove that you can drop superheroes into any genre of film.  Captain America was a World War II epic, and they're already telling us that Captain America: The Winter Soldier is a political thriller.  Iron Man has sci-fi wrapped up, and Thor covers fantasy.  One genre they haven't tackled yet that superheroes constantly pop up in is space opera.

Their leader is Star Lord, aka Peter Quill, our lovable rogue, half-human and half-alien.  Chris Pratt plays him, star of Parks and Recreation and currently kicking butt on the big screen as the voice of Emmet, the hero of The Lego Movie.

We also have warrior woman Gamora, the daughter of galactic supervillain Thanos.  She's the green-skinned one in the picture.  Gamora is played by Zoe Saldana, probably best known as the new Uhura in the Star Trek reboot.

Everybody seems to be going nuts for the walking, talking raccoon.  When I posted the trailer to Facebook last night, one comment I got was "I do not know this property at all, but I'm won over by the raccoon."  Rocket Raccoon is the team's expert marksman, and his voice is done by Bradley Cooper. 

The shirtless guy with the red and grey skin is Drax the Destroyer.  His family was killed by Thanos, and now he roams the galaxy seeking vengeance.  Drax is played by WWE superstar Dave Batista. 

And rounding out the group is Groot, the big walking, talking tree, who provides the group's muscle.  Groot is played by Vin Diesel, who'll be doing Groot's voice and did some performance capture for the character. 

The plot appears to be standard outer space adventure stuff.  Our heroes come into possession of a mystical object that's coveted by the bad guys, so they have to keep it from falling into the wrong hands and save the galaxy.  "The Wrong Hands" include Ronan the Accuser, played by Lee Pace (whom I'll always remember as the Piemaker on Pushing Daisies) and space mercenary Nebula, played by my current #1 celebrity crush and former Doctor Who star Karen Gillan, who had to shave her lovely crimson locks to play the bald Nebula.  And there's also the Collector, played by Benicio Del Toro.  (That was the guy at the end credits of Thor: The Dark World, if you stuck around.) 

And rounding out the cast we have Glen Close and John C. Riley as high-ranking members of the Nova Corp, the intergalactic police force watching the whole proceedings.  Holy moly, that's a huge ensemble.

Managing this galaxy of stars is writer/director James Gunn, who brought us such recent cult classics as Slither and Super. 

Now that you know the players, let's look at the trailer!




Well, what can be said?  It definitely looks unique.  Hooked on a Feeling provides an unusual music choice, and I think that's the whole key to this thing:  unusual.  When it comes to the superhero epics we've had lately, this one is definitely daring to be different.  Can't wait.

Guardians of the Galaxy comes out on August 1. 

The Lego Movie Review

So it's been frustrating me for the past few days that my website, www.chaosinabox.com, is down.  That's where I upload my movie reviews, using the time-honoured, hand-coded HTML that I've been practicing since 1998.  But then I remember that that's why I started this blog in the first place.  This is how I maintain my online presence when my website is acting up.  So then, so I can get this out of my system, time for my review of....

 

The Lego Movie

Directed by Christopher Miller and Phil Lord

Starring the voices of Chris Pratt, Will Ferrell, Elizabeth Banks, Will Arnett, Nick Offerman, Alison Brie, Charlie Day, Liam Neeson, and Morgan Freeman. 

Backstory:  It seem that ever since I picked up the hobby of action figure collecting and reading up on the toy world that I've been reading some kind of news and rumours about a Lego movie or TV series.  And while there have been a few straight-to-DVD offerings and a couple of cartoons, nothing really caught my eye.  I mean, I had Lego when I was a kid, but I don't have overwhelming nostalgia for it like I do for Transformers or Masters of the Universe.  Lego was mostly my brother's thing, as he could build these magnificent jets and helicopters, and I could only build bigger blocks.  So when The Lego Movie finally came along, I was willing to skip it, but then, much like Frozen, as I saw the overwhelmingly positive reviews start stacking up, I figured I should give it a shot.  Is it really as awesome as the world is saying?  

Plot:  Set in a magnificent Legotropolis, we meet a humble Lego construction worker named Emmet.  Emmet's only goal in life is to fit in.  He follows the instructions to the letter, gleefully going along with society, hoping to fit in and win some friends.  The only problem is, he fits in too well, making a wholly unremarkable person that no one notices.  But then, late one night on the job site, he gets a mysterious piece stuck to his back.  This soon draws him into a secret war.  There's a rebellion afoot, consisting of the few remaining "Master Builders," who seek to throw out the instructions and build whatever they want.  They're fighting against President Business, who's about to unleash a secret weapon to end the Master Builders and destroy the world as they know it.  Turns out Emmet is "The Special," and the piece is the "Piece of Resistance" that can destroy President Business's weapon.  It's up to Emmet and his new allies:  kick-ass female warrior WyldStyle, her boyfriend Batman, the sickly sweet Princess Unikitty, the cyborg pirate Metalbeard, and the wise man Vitruvius to take down President Business and save the world!

What I Liked:  This movie is incredibly funny.  As I'm sure you can tell, it's a fairly basic "Hero's Journey" plot, but it's aware enough of it to mock it throughout.  But not in the bitter, sarcastic Shrek way.  Emmet is so likeable but so dumb, you can't help but wonder how he could be the Special.  Batman gets re-envisioned as a dark, moody Goth kid.  It's nice to see 1980s Space Lego featured so prominently, as that's what I gravitated towards when I was a kid.  The voice acting is great.  Freeman is especially funny as Vitruvius.  There is a pretty neat twist 2/3rds of the way through, which is probably the best twist you can make in a movie based on toys.  

What I Didn't Like:  Well, because it is a fairly basic "Hero's Journey," there's really not much in the way of surprises in the film.

Final Verdict:  Incredibly fun and funny movie.  I highly recommend it.

3.5 Nibs

Bonding Over the Music of the Transformers

It's been a while since I looked at the online catalogues for obscure film scores.  I was gazing at the site for Intrada, once again mulling over whether to buy their score for the Disney classic Condorman.




As I once again started going through their catalogue, checking out the other listings, my heart skipped a beat when I saw their latest offering.

The score for The Transformers: The Movie, as composed by Vince DiCola.




After I added those two CDs to my shopping cart and they were safely in the mail, I knew I had to inform one other about the score for The Transformers: The Movie...my best friend.

"Dude, one of my obscure film score sites has just released the complete score for Transformers," I texted him.

"How is this different from the one we have?" he texted back.

See, BotCon, the official, international Transformers convention, once released the complete score for Transformers: The Movie as a convention exclusive.  My best friend paid too much money for a copy off eBay, and then burned me a copy.  The score originally being released as a BotCon exclusive is covered in Intrada's catalogue description, then goes on to elaborate that this is the score's "first widely available release" and that it was newly mastered.

"I'm sold!" he texted back.  "I'm a sucker for a new mastering."  One of the many reasons why I like my best friend.  He understands how things like "new mastering" and "new digital transfer" are important.

But it was very important I share this news with my best friend because it was the music of The Transformers: The Movie that brought us together, or at least made me proclaim him to be my best friend.  I'm pretty sure I've blogged this story before, but I may as well blog it again.

The Transformers: The Movie came out just as I was discovering music.  With my own cassette player, and my growing love of movies, I began discovering these things called "soundtrack albums," which is all the music from the movie.  So when 10-year old me first saw The Transformers: The Movie, I logically deduced that it must have a soundtrack album, and that it must be mine.

And thus began my quest to obtain a copy of the soundtrack for The Transformers: The Movie.  Every time we went to a record store, I'd head straight to the soundtrack section and start looking under "T".  But I'd always come up empty handed.  But still, I persisted.  Through the rest of elementary school, through junior high, up through college, I'd scour every music store I came across for a copy of the soundtrack for The Transformers: The Movie.  This had become a sacred quest, and the album was my holy grail.

And it was in college where I finally met my best friend.  I was Mr. Awesome, doing my totally awesome radio show, and he was Mr. Awesome, as editor of the school paper.  In a bit of cross-promotional brilliance, I had the idea to start writing an opinion column for the paper in order to promote my radio show.  The Internet was just starting to come into its own, so rather than e-mail my submissions, I usually put my column on a 3.5" disc and dropped it off at the newspaper office.  Seeing some of the images of comic book heroes that he had decorated the newspaper office with, we started talking comic books.  The conversations grew longer, and before long, we'd spend whole evenings hanging out in the newspaper office talking about life, the universe, and everything.

"Everything" for us being cartoons of the 1980s.

When he was editor of the paper, he used to end each issue with two lists:  "Stuff I Hated This Month" and "Stuff That Got Me Through the Month."  As I was perusing the list of stuff that got him through the month, one entry made me heart skip a beat.  He wrote....

"My Transformers: The Movie soundtrack."

I sprinted up to the newspaper office.  "You have it?" I shouted.  "How?  Where?  Tell me!"  I then shared my tale of how obtaining a copy had become my holy quest.

He told me that he actually had two copies:  one on CD, and one on cassette.  And he told me he got them in a method I had never known of before.  He said that most stores do this thing called "special ordering," where if you as the clerk nicely, they'll order an item in for you to buy.  And he got his copies by special ordering them.

So, the next day, with some free time, I went on down to Tune Town, which was the mom and pop music store that used to be in downtown Camrose.  (I'm assuming it's not there anymore, as most mom and pop music stores aren't.)  I approached the clerk and asked if it would be possible for me to special order a copy of The Transformers: The Movie soundtrack.  Tune Town wasn't quite computerized yet, so he had to go leafing through the catalogues he gets from music companies.  "Yes, I can!" he told me.  "And you're in luck.  It's about to go out-of-print."  So I placed my order, I think I had to pay a deposit, and now all I had to do was sit back and wait.

But I didn't know if I could wait.  The end of the semester was coming.  What if it came in before I had to move home for the summer?  That's when I got a call from my best friend.  "Hey, come on up to the newspaper office.  I have something for you."

I went on up to the newspaper office, and he had a present for me.  He made me a copy of The Transformers: The Movie on cassette.  He dubbed the cassette because, this being the mid-1990s, CD-burners weren't commonplace yet.  But that's not all.  In order to break in the newspaper's new colour scanner, he made a copy of the liner notes to complete it.

I was able to play The Transformers: The Movie soundtrack on my radio show that week, and it was glorious.  That's one of the things I miss the most about college radio:  getting a new album and thinking "Man, I can't wait to play this on my show!"  My CD arrived from Tune Town about a week later, and I played it nonstop on my show for the rest of the semester, while I was studying for finals, and just about everywhere else.

With the arrival of the complete uncut score to go along with it, I finally decided to make my iPhone my primary MP3 player, as that's what I seem to mostly be using these days.  I had to chuckle when I copied the soundtrack album for The Transformers: The Movie into my iPhone.  My most coveted album for so long, and now I have a copy in my pocket where ever I go.

And it's all thanks to my best friend.

Long Weekend Excursions

So sorry there's no podcast this week.  It's the long weekend!  I'm trying to take the long weekend off.  And as such, I'm doing as little as possible.  Except for, of course, the odd excursion into the city.  I mean, it's the long weekend.  I've got to get out and do something, right?

But of course, before hitting the road, had to make sure the car was road-worthy.  I seem to have developed a slow leak in my front tires, as they always seem to be running low.  That's not as frustrating as filling up the tires.  I don't know why, but every gas stations seems to have put it's air hose in the prime "I'm just running into the store for 5 minutes" parking spot.  I go to the gas station around the corner from my apartment, I see there's no one in front of the air hose, but as soon as I turn on my signal light to turn into the gas station, another guy comes along, zips in front of me, and parks in front of the air hose "to just pop into the store for 5 minutes."  Oh, well.  I needed to gas up the car anyway, so luckily the guy had got whatever he needed and moved on by the time I finished gassing up.

As I've blogged before, I tend not to feel guilty about spending too much money in the city if I buy something I actually need.  And guess what?  I was in need of new underwear.  Once the garments were procured, I also picked up a bathroom scale.  See, I got this app to help you lose weight, and before I could start using it, I had to put in my starting weight, and I couldn't start using until I knew how much I weight.  Yeah, I'm going to attempt to lose weight.  Not trying to make a big deal about it, so that way there'll be no one to mock me if I give up.  But then by taking the time to mention it in this blog, I'm already making a bit of a deal about it.  So, yeah.  Be nice.

And from there, to West Edmonton Mall!  First stop, to HMV, because there were some Blu-Rays I wanted to buy because I think I have a problem and I just can't stop buying Blu-Rays.  For a while now, I've had my eye on picking up the Tom Hanks classic That Thing You Do!.  As I explained to some friends, in the entertainment industry, you eventually reach a point where you're famous enough that you're given a blank cheque to do whatever you want.  When Hanks got his first blank cheque in the mid-1990s, he used it a fun, bouncy comedy about the rise and fall of a band and their one-hit wonder in the summer of 1964.  It's not groundbreaking by any means, but it's just a fun film.  Not to mention, one heck of a great soundtrack.




As I was about to move on, I skimmed the discount bin and also saw Sleepy Hollow.  When I first started on my DVD library many years ago, I said I would get every Tim Burton film, mainly because he was one of the first directors I discovered when I started learning about how movies are made.  He's been one of my favourites ever since.  The only ones I still need were Sleepy Hollow, Mars Attacks!, and Dark Shadows.  So I decided to cross Sleepy Hollow off the list.  One of Tim Burton's more forgotten films, it was a gritty re-imagining of the classic tale.  This time out, Ichabod Crane is an NYPD detective in 1799, mocked by his peers for the new scientific methods he uses in his investigations.  In order to get rid of him, his superiors send him upstate to the town of Sleepy Hollow to investigate a series of mysterious decapitations.  The locals say they were carried out by a "Headless Horseman," and Crane soon learns there are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in his philosophies.

Again, it's just a fun little film.  A nice fantasy/thriller/mystery.  And it had a little extra cred among Star Wars fans when it was released in the fall of 1999, because the Headless Horseman was played by Ray "Darth Maul" Park.  Darth Maul, Headless Horseman, Snake Eyes in the G.I. Joe movies...I wonder if Park ever feels typecast as the silent badass?

Purchases in hand, it was time for lunch.  Lunch at West Edmonton Mall has become problematic these days.   I have my usual haunts, and in the food courts, those usual haunts seem to be closed for renovations right now.  So I have to get adventurous.  I blogged a long time ago that, when I was a kid, going to the food court in a mall was one of the most adventurous experiences, as my mother would give me $10 and say, "Get whatever you want."  But I'm not adventurous anymore, because I have my routine.  but now, I have to get adventurous again because the routine has been disrupted.  What can I say?  If I can't order a ready-made combo, I'm lost.  But I managed to survive and get

With movies of the past safely procured, off to the theatre to see a movie of the present!  I was off to see The Lego Movie.  Much like Frozen, I originally had no desire to see The Lego Movie, until overwhelmingly positive reviews convinced me otherwise.  I mean, I was no Legomaniac when I was a kid.  I had Lego.  I played with Lego.  But my creations always looked so inferior to my brother's, so I would quickly tire of building bigger blocks and then move on to something else.  But a bit of nostalgia and a ton of good reviews convinced me to see it.

Taking place in a Legoland, our hero is Emmet.  He's a regular construction worker, obsessed with following the rules and fitting in, so much so that he fails to stand out.  Typically average in every way.  But before long he's joined with the mystical "Piece of Resistance," a magical Lego piece, and he's drawn into a secret war where he's declared to be the "Special," and will lead the forces of good against the evil President Business before President Business can unleash the ultimate weapon and destroy the world.  Joining Emmet is the warrior woman WyldStyle (no, she's not a DJ), her boyfriend Batman, and the wise man Vitruvius

God, this movie is funny.  It's just a constant stream of jokes.  The plot is cliched.  It follows your standard "hero's journey," but it's aware enough of that to poke fun at it.

And Batman.  Batman is hilarious.  Especially the theme song he wrote for himself.

It's kind of funny, the way the movie is about Lego people who want to be able to throw away the instructions and build whatever they want...it's almost like the filmmakers are taking a dig at Lego and how all Lego sets these days seem to be licensed properties and they don't make just basic sets anymore.

And it's great that 1980s space Lego gets such a prominent place, as that was my favourite back in the day.

It is just so great, you guys.  I give it a solid 3.5 out of 4 nibs.

I was hoping to have my complete review up, but my website is down for some reason tonight.  Keep a watch for it.

Not much more after that.  Did a quick breeze through the Mall, saw nothing special.  Did a quick trip through Best Buy, saw nothing worth spending my gift cards on, and came home.  All in all, not a bad long weekend.  And two more days of just lounging around.  Long weekends, like everything, is awesome.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Star Trek Nemesis

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, where I watch one of my DVDs and blog about it, because I sorely need a girlfriend.  Back in the spring of 2013, I wanted to watch every Star Trek movie before Into Darkness hit theatres, so you're joining us smack dab in the middle of that.  Well, near the end of that, actually, as we reach the end of the original film franchise with Star Trek Nemesis.  *sigh*  This is the way the franchise ends, not with a bang, but a whimper.  This originally appears in my notes at May 5, 2013.

Netflix Nonsense - Fanboys

Welcome back to Netflix Nonsense, the new thingie on my blog.  Wanting to get the most out of my $8/month Netflix account, I decided to take to the blog and jot down my thoughts on whatever offering I pulled up on Netflix.  This past weekend, I caught one of those films that gained a lot of infamy in geek circles, but only now am I finally sitting down to watch it, Fanboys.

Justice League: War Review

It's that time of year again!  The good folks at DC Comics and Warner Brothers are getting ready to unleash this year's series of direct-to-video animated films.  And the whole thing kicks off with...

Justice League:  War

Directed by Jay Olivia

Starring the voices of Alan Tudyk, Jason O'Mara, Michelle Monaghan, Christopher Gorham, Justin Kirk, Shemar Moore, and Sean Astin

Backstory:  So, a few years ago, DC Comics felt that their continuity was in need of a reboot once again, bringing us to the current incarnation of the DC Universe known as "The New 52."  The first story in the New 52's Justice League title was Origin, which brought us the rebooted origin of the Justice League.  But that's not all.  Apparently, Warner Brothers felt these straight-to-DVD movies are in need of a reboot, too.  It was just announced that Warner Brothers is going to take a cue from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and that 2 of the 3 movies they release every year will now share a continuity.  This is the first film in this new "DC straight-to-DVD Shared Continuity Universe."  So, much like the original storyline in the comics, this is meant to build a world and hook us into it.  Does it succeed?

Plot:  "Superheroes" are still a new concept in this world.  People are unsure if that alien from Krypton who's begun policing Metropolis is friend or foe.  The urban legends of a "Bat Man" stalking criminals at night has Gotham City on edge.  And despite being a political ambassador from the island nation of Paradise Island, Wonder Woman's style of dress and warrior attitude is leaving a lot of folks uneasy.  But these three and other heroes such as Green Lantern, the Flash, and Shazam, are soon brought together as they investigate some mysterious abductions, and alien invaders planting mysterious technology around the globe.  It's not long before the invaders bring forth their commander, the warlord known as Darkseid.  And now, these heroes must band together to fight off Darkseid, and it looks like the key to victory will be a young man caught in the middle of it all named Victor Stone.  Will our heroes be able to stave off the invasion and save the world?  Will humanity finally accept them as heroes?

What I Liked:  As always, the interplay between our heroes is key.  Batman and Green Lantern have a great variation on jurisdiction that we've seen in countless cop shows.  Superman and Wonder Woman start with the flirting right off the bat.  Young Cyborg is the most complex, with a strained relationship with his father, and having to deal with the hero worship he gets from Shazam.  And I found it surprising that, even though they've always shot for for a PG-13 rating with these films, it took this long for someone to finally say "shit."  There's a few great action scenes, too, as these folks always know how to animated a great Superman/Darkseid throwdown.  However....

What I Didn't Like:  There's too much action, as we barely get a chance to know the characters and let them breath.  For great stretches, it seems like little more than the final act of The Avengers but with DC characters.  And it's a story that's been told far too often in superhero tales now.  An insurmountable threat, so the diverse heroes band together.  O, however will it go?

Final Verdict:  It's OK, but man o man, the "been there, done that" is one big dark cloud hanging over the proceedings.

2 Nibs

Bonus Features:  For bonus features on the Blu-Ray, you get a featurette about artist Jim Lee, a featurette about the original comic book storyline, an animation progression reel, four bonus episodes of various other DC cartoons, and a sneak peak at the next film, Son of Batman. 

The Targ Keeps Targin' Along

Looks like the podcast just might be sticking around for a bit!  What do we have on this week's episode?

• The Winter Olympics are underway in Sochi, so I ramble about what's new this time out.
• G.I. Joe turns 50, so I reminisce about these toys of my youth.
• And we have Vision in Avengers: Age of Ultron!  What does it mean?  WHAT DOES IT MEAN?

All this and more in Episode 7.03: Witty Title Block, available now for your listening pleasure!


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The Super Bowl Trailers

I haven't had a chance this week to sit down and blog & share my favourite movie trailers from the Super Bowl.  So, let's get to it!

First up, Captain America: The Winter Soldier.  I could post the 30-second Super Bowl spot...or I could share the new 2.5 minute trailer that Super Bowl spot advertised.  Trailer it is!




My thoughts:  looking good!  Nice to see more shots of the Falcon in action.  This one has been described as a more of a political thriller than the other Marvel films to date, and they really seem to be playing that up.  And from when it was screened at the San Diego Comic Con, I've heard that that elevator fight we glimpse is one of the best close-quarters action scenes ever put to screen.  I'm liking it.  Hitting theatres on April 4. 

Next up, The Amazing Spider-Man 2.  Once again, I could post the 30-second Super Bowl spot...or I could share the 4-minute trailer that the spot was advertising.  4 minutes of Spidey it is!




My thoughts:  I do have a bit of unease about this one.  As we all know, superhero films tend to go downhill pretty quick when they start cramming in too many villains, and we get glimpses of Electro, Rhino, and Green Goblin.  They really seem to be focusing on Electro as the main villain, though.  And again, kind of borrowing from The Incredibles and Iron Man 3where the villain tends to be a superfan of the hero, and becomes all jilted and vengeful when the hero inadvertently blows them off.  The more I see, the more I feel like I've seen it before.  But still, cautious optimism.  Coming out on May 2. 

And lastly the latest in Michael Bay's take on my favourite from my childhood, the fourth in the Transformers saga, Transformers: Age of Extinction.  

 


My thoughts:  alfjdlafldsnldsnfnaDKDANLORJAOINAND  DINOBOTS!!!!  That is all.  June 27.

Fishing in the Discount Bin - Star Trek Insurrection

Welcome back to Fishing in the Discount Bin, my weekly re-watching of something in my DVD, Blu-Ray, and VHS library.  Back in the spring of 2013, I got it in my head that I was going to watch every Star Trek movie before Into Darkness came out.  We're about 2/3rds of the way through, as we get to this week's entry, Star Trek Insurrection.  This is dated in my notes at May 4, 2013.

Netflix Nonsense - Super 8

Good day, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to something new I'm going to try on the blog called "Netflix Nonsense."  Despite putting it off for a long time because I had so much fun re-watching a lot of my Blu-Rays in hi-def, I finally activated the Netflix app on my smart TV and got a Netflix account.  So, in order to make sure I get my $8/month's worth, I've decided to launch this Fishing in the Discount Bin spinoff, where I blog about what I just watched on Netflix.  And I could think of no better way to kick this off than with one of the big summer blockbusters of 2011 that I missed, Super 8. 

Sunday Targ Day!

Hey, I'm 2 for 2 in my attempt to resurrect the ol' podcast!

At first, I didn't know what to talk as the week went on.  But then, in the past couple of days, the nerd news erupted and I was cursed with choices!  We've got:

• Back to the Future coming to Broadway!  Good idea or bad idea?
• My comments on the big Batman vs. Superman developments, mainly Jeremy Irons as Alfred and Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor
• And we've seen the Twelfth Doctor's outfit!  How excited can I get about a dark suit?

So give it a listen!  Stuff it in your MP3 player for a lazy Sunday and enjoy!


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