Transformers The Ride: Changing The Face Of Theme Park Attractions As We Know It

This past Memorial Day weekend, droves of Los Angeles residents and tourists made the trip to Universal Studios Hollywood to experience the brand new attraction, Transformers: The Ride-3D. I was on the scene for the grand opening of the 100 million dollar spectacular and have returned with a detailed report on how me and a rag tag group of Autobots, Universal employees and fellow members of the press saved the world. Or rode a ride that pretended...

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Happy Towel Day!

Happy Towel Day everyone! I've written towel so many times in the past ten minutes, it doesn't make sense anymore. Also, someone find the towel pictured above and get it for me? Once I had to decide to get a jersey that said Vonnegut/5 or Adams/42. Because I had read 7 Vonnegut books at the time and more recently, and only 5 Adams books, and the year before, I went with Vonnegut. I regret the decision to this day. If you haven't read the Hitchhiker's...

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Is Community The American Answer to Spaced (And Can It Continue To Be Without Dan Harmon?)

Cross-posted on Film.comI was listening to NPR last week while sippin on a Jamba Juice, as you do when you're so LA sometimes you should be slapped, and heard Joel McHale come on to The Treatment with Elvis Mitchell. During this conversation, McHale noted about Community, the show on which he stars,"There's a certain level of pop culture knowledge that I think people have. Some don't and [certain references] would be totally lost on them…but there's...

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So Bad, It Wasn't Bad Enough: A Battleship Rant

Cross-posted on Film.comWhen I decided to see Battleship this past weekend, it was for two very specific reasons. First, I heard great things about the visual effects and the sound, and if it's gonna get any sort of Oscar nod, better I see it in theaters than on a screener later in the year. Second, I had assumed from the Wondercon footage and various interviews where director Peter Berg said he wanted to make his version of a giant big budget action...

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Snow White and The Huntsman Funtime Giveaway!

Another contest?? Hooray!! This time, we're celebrating the release of Snow White & The Hunstman aka the movie I wanted to hate, but then I saw the first trailer and was like, oh crap, I really want to see this now. I've also seen extended footage at both Wondercon and CinemaCon and loved it, plus Charlize Theron's appearances at both have cemented my shift from disliking her to loving her, which began with one of my favorite performances of...

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SEE THIS MOVIE! Extraterrestrial Available on VOD and Theatrically 6/15!!!

So I don't normally post just straight up news or announcements, but I will make an exception for Nacho Vigalondo's follow up to Timecrimes, Extraterrestrial. I saw the film at AFI Fest and absolutely loved it. Out of the 26 films I saw, it landed at #4. My capsule review is below, though in general I would say don't read anything, just trust me and go. But if you don't believe me, then you can read paragraph #2 and if you REALLY REALLY don't believe...

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Kinect Star Wars: A Mildly Fun Missed Opportunity

Cross-posted on and commissioned by Gaming BlendWhen I attended E3 last year, I got to try out the newly announced Star Wars Kinect. It was practically a dream come true for me, getting to kinda sorta really have the force, and it made my Top Five Movie Related Video Games list. Sure some things were wonky, but I GOT TO USE THE FORCE, so I saw a lot of promise. Cut to less than a year later and the finished game hitting stores, fully fleshed out,...

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On The Scene: Starship Troopers 15th Anniversary Screening

Cross-posted on Film.comLast night, tons of die hard Starship Troopers fans descended upon the Arclight Hollywood to celebrate the 15 year anniversary of the Paul Verhoeven cult classic film, adapted from the Heinlein novel. Beware, spoilers abound! Although if you haven't seen the movie by now, that is very silly and should be remedied immediately.Right outside of the theater, various props and costumes were on display, that in retrospect, I probably...

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Should Joss Whedon Direct Avengers 2?

Cross-posted on and commissioned by Film.comAfter breaking the all time record for highest opening weekend numbers with 207 million and holding steady at 93% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes, The Avengers is officially a giant effing success. As haters everywhere find themselves stunned that Joss "wait, the guy who created Buffy?" Whedon pulled off such a universally acclaimed take on these beloved characters, it starts to make you...

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PEN World Voices Festival 2012: New Technology & Conventional Literature Strike a Balance

I had the total lit-nerdy thrill to attend some exciting events during the 8th annual PEN World Voices Festival of International Literature. PEN American Center is the American chapter of International PEN, which is a literary and human rights organization that fights for the freedom of expression of writers all over the world. This year, PEN American Center's festival celebrated the ways in which literary expression expands across multiple artistic...

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