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King of Kong: A Fistful of Quarters and a bucketfull of awesome

Chuck — Mon, 19 Jul 2010 02:49:42 +0000

When I browsed past The King of Kong: A Fist Full of Quarters on my Netflix account on the 360 (instant queue is a beautiful thing isn’t it?) I thought I was about to watch a smart indie film about a classic video game. But what I got was something more.

Steve Weibe (pronounced: Weebee) has recorded a million+ score on Donkey Kong Jr. in his garage. This beats the standing world record by Billy Mitchell by well over 150,000 points. Billy, a confident video game expert and self-made businessman has held this record since the early 80’s (as well as 4 other world records). Weibe, believing he’s broken the world record, sends the videotape of his record-breaking game in to Twin Galaxies (the official gaming scoreboard) for review. What ensues is a roller coaster of ups and downs; Accused of cheating and modifying his game board to gain an advantage, Weibe has no other choice but to prove his prowess in live competition.

The film brings us Weibe’s struggle to be the best all-the-while being supported by friends and family. Mitchell is portrayed as the untouchable villain with a cadre of evil minions doing his bidding.

While the details of the film may be stretched for dramatic effect (see IMDB trivia page), the story is incontrovertible. It’s an underdog story of the highest degree: A lone challenger beat down his whole life finds a purpose and practices until he can be the best. But he has to prove it against the headstrong, arrogant champion. Will the champion accept the challenge? Will the challenger beat him if he does? That’s the magic of some of the best underdog movies, and that’s the magic of King of Kong.

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My thoughts on the final episode of LOST

Chuck — Mon, 24 May 2010 15:40:48 +0000

So the finale has had some time to sink in. My initial feeling when it ended was that it was self-indulgent and not that great. However, now that I have had some distance, I feel that the ending was appropriate and rather good. The Sideways was not real, it was a construct made by the collective consciousness of everyone on the island that had meaningful relationships. It absolutely had different elements from different philosophies and religions (I think Matthew Fox described it perfectly on Kimmel's wrapup).

The Sideways was out-of-time, and existed on a line that converged many different time streams together. IT was telling at the end when Ben said he wasn't ready to go and still had stuff to work out. Hurley said he was a good #2, to which Ben replied "You were a great #1." This implies that Hurley and Ben where on the island for a long time afterward taking care of it and it's various inhabitants and castaways. If there is ever an opening for more stories, it's there.

All the castaways came together in the Sideways to complete their circle and I think the island helped with that. There is no doubt in my mind that the island has some sort of mystical energy that was harnessed by a civilization eons ago. The island is a cork that golds that energy at bay, preserving some kind of balance (which was always a core theme in the show). I will probably post some more about this later as I get to mull it over some more, but overall I am satisfied with the entire arc.

The ending gave me closure for the characters. I am sure that it isn't what some people wanted. I mean, it was sad, yes they are dead – but as Christian said, some died before and some died long after. I think it was pretty uplifting, Jack was able to finally "fix" the ultimate break, and he gave his life in doing it. He reconciled the scientist and man-of-faith and he was happy. The ending to me was a wrap for the story AND in a meta way, a wrap for the show. LOST was always a character study and I think the ending did justice to the character's journey. Do I want some more answers, sure, but I like the ambiguity. It's something to talk about and discuss which I think we're going to sorely miss now that it's gone.

I'm anxious to hear what you think….

Posted via email from Chuck’s posterous

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Pitching for the win

Chuck — Thu, 20 May 2010 23:11:16 +0000

I just signed up for the new “Creating Your Opportunity Contest” put on by Network Solutions and the new .co domain. The deal is that you pitch your business idea and if you get enough votes…you go to the next round (which is judging). If you win, you get some cash and development time and a brand spankin’ new .co domain name!

So, this is a SHAMELESS plug!

Go vote for me and my idea Mashbord: http://bit.ly/mbpitch

Oh, and after you vote, go check out http://mashbord.com and test out the beta

Thank You!
Chuck

P.S. Did I mention you can tell EVERYONE you know to vote for me to?

Posted via email from Chuck’s posterous

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Halloween is the healthiest holiday

Chuck — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 19:36:18 +0000

I know what you’re all saying, but hear me out. While our kids gorge themselves on candy that they’ve collected over the past several hours, stop and think about how they collected that candy. My kids just came back from 2 hours of trick-or-treating exhausted. That’s right exhausted. I estimated they walked at least 2 miles, in extra layers of clothing, carrying 3-4 pound sacks of goodies, and sweating. Yes, sweating…and loving it it mind you!

So compared to a holiday like say…Thanksgiving, or Easter which is purely centered around eating and more eating; consider Halloween, with it’s biked searchers, its young scavengers on foot, and its out-of-shape parents carrying the whole kit and kaboodle.

Think about it.

Posted via email from Chuck’s posterous

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Guilt/Fame by association

Chuck — Mon, 26 Oct 2009 21:08:06 +0000

So as most of you may (or may not) know. I do a podcast with my buddy Jason called iconogeek. Well he's been working on a documentary film (lending some post production help) for a coworker of his. Well, the film is completed and now officially on IMDB. I just received this link a few minutes ago over IM: http://bit.ly/2oGqEq and I have taken a screengrab as well.

Anyway, as any self-respecting geek (and movie dweeb) can attest, a mention on IMDB is kind of a big deal. I'm stoked that Jason has achieved this momentous occasion and I'm happy to bask in some of the glow emanating out of North Carolina right now. So congrats J!

Now, how the heck to I get on IMDB? Thoughts? Anyone? Beuler?

Posted via email from Chuck’s posterous

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I’m afraid to go to sleep

Chuck — Tue, 20 Oct 2009 04:34:20 +0000

So if Paranormal Activity doesn’t scare the pants off you, you’re either Tom Savini, or dead. Take Blair Witch and get rid of the vomit inducing camera work and you’ve got this flick. I highly recommend, just leave some lights on before you leave for the movie. Trust me, you’ll be glad you did (unless of course, their off when you get home).

Posted via email from Chuck’s posterous

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The best thing about Zombieland? Zombieland.

Chuck — Mon, 12 Oct 2009 21:27:32 +0000

So I got a chance to catch Zombieland last night and let me tell ya. Freakin’ awesome. When I received a text message from Dodge, that said “I’m kinda embarrassed, I actually liked Zombieland,” I knew it was gonna be good, Dodge is notoriously picky and he is usually dead on.

Now I had heard it was good, and I am pre-disposed to like this movie already, but all that aside…this movie kicked in high gear from the getgo and didn’t stop. Great writing, tight editing (only 1hr 21m), great tongue-in-cheek acting (and even some surprising dramatic moments), and a nice retell of a crowded genre.

The movie had a great sense of humor and a slick style, especially with the opening credits which took the JJ Abrams style of 3D integration and took it one step further (borrowing a bit from Johnny Dangerously, actually). I came home after the flick with a desire to play Left 4 Dead, eat a Snowball, and watch Caddyshack, so if you’re a Z-fan (or even if you aren’t) this movie is a good bet for some excellent, dark-humor escapism.

Time to Nut-up ot Shut-up. I give this flick a 10 because it was just plain awesome and didn’t preach anything. Most apocalypse- genre stuff has an underlying theme about the causes of the apocalypse or they delve into the psychology of the characters (The Waking Dead is an excellent example. If you aren’t reading it, you need to.) but not Zombieland. It’s unapologetic about what it is. Zombies have taken over, so be it, deal. Oh yeah and have fun too.

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Tonight, Jay finally doesn’t like a movie…Episode 28

Chuck — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 03:11:43 +0000

Episode 28 starts off with dedicated commitment as Chuck tries to convince Jason to get on Twitter. While Chuck feels his argument has merit, Jay remains unconvinced and brings out the big guns when he calls on Harvard to help his case. Did Chuck win? You be the judge. Chuck and Jay then dive into the Outlander DVD and discuss it’s true awesomeness and its connections to Old English Epic Poems. Jay then offers his review of Terminator Salvation and we find out if all the bad press is deserved. BTW, if you are interested in some good movies about time travel check out Time Crimes and Primer.

We then discuss E3 and some of the great stuff coming out of this year’s biggest gaming show including the Beatles Rockband game, the new Halo: Reach trailer, Left4Dead 2, Splinter Cell Conviction, Metal Gear, and the Sims.

Links:

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I gotta say, it’s pretty awesome.

Chuck — Tue, 14 Apr 2009 01:28:54 +0000

I reciprocated a Follow on Twitter and decided to check out some links. Well, this guy Walt’s show “Awesomeology” (http://www.awesomeology.com) is indeed quite awesome. I mean, how can you mix commentary on bacon, beer, whales, and YouTube morons successfully? Apparently you use Awesomeology (I guess that makes him an Awesomeologist?).

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Charles Widmore is Alvar Hanso.

Chuck — Fri, 20 Feb 2009 03:12:28 +0000

OK, so we’ve been given a TON of info in the episode. I love the pendulum, very cool . Dharma doesn’t seem to be a mystery now (to me at least). I guess they are (were) a scientific organization working on the island doing experiments with biology and electromagnetism. The one thing that I am confused about though, is are they still around? In season 1, there was a Dharma supplies drop, so they must be still around and still think they have functioning operatives on the island (at least until Keamey shows up). But they haven’t been in the story line for a while…or have they?

So here’s my theory…Widmore is Hanso. The Dharma Inititive is his company that he set up to exploit the island in his quest for power. This is why Richard and the Other-Others battled against Dharma in the past and recruited Ben to help them wipe Dharma out on the island. They want Widmore to stop the exploitation of the island. I think that after that Widmore, at some point, was banished from ever returning to the island, which is why he needed the Initiative to get back to it. I think he dedicated his life and resources to finding that Island again, and when he did (using the pendulum)

This theory also explains a little bit more about the confrontation with Ben and the we-can’t kill-each-other pact they have. Ben clearly made a deal with Widmore after Richard assisted him in destroying the Dharma Initiative on the island. What tht deal is, is still a secret, but I am sure we’ll find out.

Think about it, Widmore protects his interests in the island by masquerading as Alvar Hanso. That way he can keep his legitimate enterprises going, while he keeps the more clandestined “Island” business going.

Thoughts?

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Minority Report is now.

Chuck — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:25:21 +0000

g-speak overview 1828121108 from john underkoffler on Vimeo.

Well, maybe not the movie’s premise, but the slick gestural computer system Tom Cruise used to find future offenders is. This is incrediby insane and starts to make the ridiculous “cyber space” trips in movies like Hackers and Johnny Mnemonic start to seem almost plausible. I love it when life imitates art

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Tonight somebody calls a plumber : Episode 18

iconogeek — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 12:44:01 +0000

As Episode 18 kicks off, Jason is intrigued by Chuck’s son’s iPod ‘s playlist. Chuck’s wife does a graduate project on the iconogeek podcast as Chuck reveals that the iconogeek logo won a national design award! Jason then reveals his wife’s affectation and utter terror with zombies. Jay’s been catching up with Battlestar Galactica and Chuck warns of the impending “suck” in season 4. Chuck reminisces about Space: Above and Beyond and compares Star Trek to BSG.

Jason then sparks a conversation about David Duchovny and lays down his review on RocknRolla and the Guy Ritchie character cannon. As Chuck preps to watch “Shoot ‘em up,” he feels compelled to justify his disdain for “Crank,” “Air Force One,” and “24.” Jason attempts to poke holes in Chuck’s 24 shark jump theory by playing the porn card. They then discuss the Tr2n trailer and how cool the original Tron was in its day.

The show wraps with the great slate of DVD’s coming out this month.

Associated Links

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Attention Iconogeeks! Special Assignment!

jason — Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:16:40 +0000

Ironman is now on DVD. If you have yet to see this movie we must insist that you turn your computer off immediately, go to your local BestBuy, Blockbuster, Supermarket or 7-Eleven (yes, they are selling this absolutely everywhere) and purchase the Ironman DVD. If you have already seen this movie, you should still go and buy it.

I picked it up the other night and we watched it again and it really was just a damn good time. If you are on this website, their should be no question in your mind about whether or not this is a must own.

You. Must. Own.

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Rachel, what the hell?

iconogeek — Thu, 31 Jul 2008 00:52:54 +0000

OK I just found this on YouTube and I think it’s damn funny! Clearly some great writing and some pretty good production. Absolutely low budget, but these guys and gals did a really nice job for fans. Oh and the last line in the piece is NOT meant to be offensive at all

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The Dark Knight and Pillow Goo: Episode 14

iconogeek — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 02:52:33 +0000

The news of the summer is certainly The Dark Knight and Jason and Chuck delve into it head on (right after Jason’s water polo match, of course). But first, reminiscing about Batman and Star Wars Christmas specials from the 70’s is up first.

The conversation tangents off (what else?) to Superman and,his magic allergy. Then a sneaky segue by Jason brings us to DC Universe Online and Worlds Collide then off to Batman Gotham Knight and extending movies beyond the screen.

Jason drops another video game bomb with the upcoming Wanted game and then Chuck gets us back to The Dark Knight, Heath Ledger’s phenomenal performance and the most bad-ass movie of the year.

The show wraps with Alan Moore’s genius/craziness and looking forward to Watchmen.

Links for this episode

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He is the man.

Chuck — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 04:32:03 +0000

Yep, James McAvoy is totally the man. And for that matter so is Timur Bekmambetov. Jesus Christmas, I just saw Wanted and I gotta say it kicked much ass. I had very high hopes for this movie and I was not disappointed. I have to admit, I wasn’t quite sure McAvoy could pull it off. He plays great doe-eyed innocence, but action hero? Well, let me just say, he f’n pulls it off, and pulls it off big.

The premise works and I dug it – a millenia-old order of assassins working to keep fate on track (this does deviate a bit from the comic’s plot – but they did a great job in adapting it to the screen). I was able to accept the mystical aspect of it (which they leave largely unexplained) and just completely immerse myself in this film. It handled exposition rather well, with a cheeky VO á la Blade Runner and got into the action at just the right moment. The pacing felt great, the acting was spot on and the effects were tight. Bekmambetov takes John Geata’s bullet time and pushes it even further.

The action is crazy-over-the-top with amazing chase sequences that tip their hats to Point Break, The French Connection, and the Matrix. In addition, you’ll see tons of little in-jokes like a VERY Han-in-Carbonite scene about half-way through the flick. I think my favorite was the appearance of Konstantin Khabensky as one of the Fraternity members.

Angelina Jolie is, of-course, awesome, any time you need a beautiful ass-kicking chick with a heart, she’s your go-to-girl. And Common even makes a great turn as the “Gunsmith”. And if your life won’t be complete until you hear Morgan Freeman say “Shoot this mother-fucker” well then…you’ve come to the right movie. I always like when he is in these mentoring style roles, even though this is nowhere near the gravitas of Se7en, he pulls them off really well. Terence Stamp makes an appearance as well and he plays it straight, not over-the-top (and I always love when General Zod shows up)

Ya know, I think Bekmambetov may have some father issues now that I think about it – lots of father figures in this flick, but I think that’s a topic for the podcast. Before I go, I gotta drop an >i< score of a 9 on this one. Action, humor, in-jokes, fun – it’s got it all – and coupled with great direction, effects AND sound. Go see it, you won’t be left wanting…except for a sequel.

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More NIN Love

jason — Mon, 05 May 2008 14:37:01 +0000

http://theslip.nin.com/

New Nine Inch Nails album, not just instrumental this time either. In his effort to constantly outdo himself this one is entirely free. Yes, free.

Once I get it downloaded and give it a listen I’ll let you know my thoughts.

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I got Pac…err Blinky Feva’

Cesar — Fri, 07 Mar 2008 21:33:42 +0000

Was I the only one that had love for the poor ghosts?
These shoes are ‘teh’ badass.

Want them? I don’t blame ya.

Nuff said.

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A Quick Review

Brett — Sun, 02 Mar 2008 01:30:40 +0000

I recently watched this installment to the Wes Anderson filmography and am providing a link to a full review by a much better writer then I ever will be.

Overall, this was a fantastic film. Anderson recieves a great deal of criticism for his lack of originality regarding plot content. Specifically, every movie involves some sort of broken family unit, but if works, I say roll with it (can I get an AMEN?!). The acting was top-notch, especially from new comer (to an Anderson flick) Adrien Brody. The three lead roles (Brody, Owen Wilson, and Jason Schwartzman) played quite harmoniously off each other, as well as with the always fantastic Angelica Houston.

As far as cinematography, this film provides some of Anderson’s typical camera work, but adds a bit of grandeur as the viewer is taken for quite a magestic ride over the gorgeous landscapes of India.

I’ll leave the plot for you to decipher for yourself, but I suggest you watch the short film Hotel Chevalier prior, which includes the stunning Natale Portman. If you bought the DVD it will give you the option to view the short prior to the full film. Interestingly, Anderson dubs this mini saga, The Darjeeling Limited: Part 1.

Imdb.com has a rating of 7.7 for this film. I’d go with the full 8/10 stars. So get your hands on this flick, and you won’t be dissappointed. Unless of course you don’t like cool stuff.

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