Posted by
Mike Paden
- Wednesday, April 30, 2014
Sand & Snow is a Game of Thrones podcast covering all the weekly happenings in the world of Westeros and beyond! Hyle Snow is a film major who exclusively enjoys Game of Thrones through the HBO television series. Jade Sand is a science major who has also read all of the books in George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. Together they gather to discuss and review the latest episode while also comparing it with the books, with their own brand of insight and speculation.
Beware! This podcast is dark and full of spoilers! This show covers all the content up to and including the titled episode of Game of Thrones. It also discusses the details of the book series A Song of Ice and Fire up to the current part of the story that the show has reached. However, there will be no spoiling of anything in the future of the TV series or story within the books.
:: Season 4, Episode 3 ::
"Breaker of Chains"
Daenarys reaches the city of Meereen; The Hound offers Arya a lesson in how things are; Jamie shows his love for Cersei; and we discuss the rest of the fallout from the "Purple Wedding." Also, we get a new microphone!!
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Sand & Snow Podcast -
Posted by
Fellonius Munch
The classic British actor Bob Hoskins has died today, aged 71, following a bout of pneumonia!
Easily one of England's most popular actors of the last few decades, he was critically acclaimed for performances such as crime thriller The Long Good Friday and also well-known for appearing in Pink Floyd's The Wall before going on to international success as Eddie Valiant in Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and as Mario in an adaptation of the classic videogame Super Mario Bros. Hoskins appeared in many enjoyable films and never gave a bad performance throughout his entire career, beginning in 1972.
He chose to retire last year as a result of being diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, the same neurological condition that affects Back to the Future star Michael J. Fox. Although concerned for his well-being, many of us believed that moment wouldn't have been the last we'd have seen of the lovable thespian.
Retiring as a world-renowned, multiple-award-winning actor of over 40 years, Bob Hoskins not only leaves behind a legacy of great entertainment, he leaves behind armies of fans the world over and generations of performers who have him to thank for catching the acting bug. That isn't half bad for a former window cleaner and lorry driver. Thankfully for IMDb, however, we'll still have his wisdom at least:
When you get to my age, what you want is the cameo. You get paid a lot
of money. You fly in for a couple of weeks. Everybody treats you like
the crown jewels. It's all great and if the film turns out to be a load
of shit, nobody blames you!
Sound off, Fanboys and Fangirls! Tell us your favorite Bob Hoskins movie and television moments in the comments box below and thank you for reading.
Posted by
Anthony Mango
- Tuesday, April 29, 2014
We're getting ready to kick off the biggest time of the year for movies: summer blockbuster season! Over the next few months, many of the films that come out are going to score ridiculously high numbers and shatter box office records, raking in millions (or even billions) in ticket sales.
However, the big bad word—piracy—will rear its ugly head as well. These movies are likely to be prime targets that people want to watch, and that means they'll also be the films people will download illegally.
Last year we went through and gave our predictions for what films could top the list of the most downloaded movies of the year. Now it's time to do that again. This time around, we're going to toss out 25 titles that could make it onto this list. At the end of the year, we will add the actual numbers to this list to see how our predictions turned out.
The group for 2013 consisted of several blockbusters of the comic book genre and a smattering of others as well. Comedies can hit big (The Hangover Part 3), and generic action films can get quite a few downloads (Fast and Furious 6). Oscar buzz can also play a part (Silver Linings Playbook), but then again, you can just have a movie that comes out of the blue—one that people didn't want to pay to see but were interested in checking out nonetheless (Gangster Squad and Now You See Me). Keeping that in mind, here are my predictions for 2014's most downloaded films (in alphabetical order). The titles in bold are the ones I think will be in the top 10.
- 22 Jump Street
- A Million Ways to Die in the West
- Brick Mansions
- Captain America: The Winter Soldier
- Dawn of the Planet of the Apes
- Godzilla
- Guardians of the Galaxy
- Hercules
- How to Train Your Dragon 2
- Interstellar
- Jupiter Ascending
- Maleficent
- Neighbors
- RoboCop
- Sex Tape
- Tammy
- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
- The Amazing Spider-Man 2
- The Expendables 3
- The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug / The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
- The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
- The Other Woman
- Thor: The Dark World
- Transformers: Age of Extinction
- X-Men: Days of Future Past
To break this down further, there are plenty of comic book movies on the list, which doesn't really need much explanation. These films do huge numbers, so it shouldn't be a surprise to see a lot of them here. I'm fairly confident that the three comedies on the list (22 Jump Street, Neighbors, and Sex Tape) will end up doing well. 22 Jump Street follows the massive success of the first film and crosses over between comedy and action. Neighbors is getting a lot of buzz, and Seth Rogen's comedies typically appeal to the audience that is really into torrenting files—younger folk. This is what separates it from something like Tammy; fans of Melissa McCarthy will probably go out to the theaters to see it more than anything else.
What I'm not too sure about, however, is the differentiation between The Other Woman and Sex Tape. The former is doing well at the box office and, with Kate Upton being promoted in it, stands a chance at replacing the latter. However, the subject matter for Sex Tape is tough to ignore. People look for pornography all the time, and if the film does not get panned for being a poor comedy, it will have an easy sell with that title. Sadly, a lot of people will stumble across that just hoping to see some nudity in it. Watch out for all of the 13-year-old boys who will download it and then be disappointed, like what happened with Coyote Ugly back when that was released.
If I were to try to pinpoint one film that will beat out every other on this list, I could see that honor going to either The Hunger Games or Transformers: Age of Extinction.
Some honorable movie mentions that almost made my list were The Lego Movie, 300: Rise of an Empire, Need for Speed, Divergent, Lucy, Edge of Tomorrow, Dumb and Dumber To, and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. These are all films that could end up taking one of the spots above in a top 25, particularly if they end up taking spots away from films like Jupiter Ascending and Hercules, but I don't have as much faith in them having a shot at the top 10.
RESULTS (Source: Excipio, hat tip to Variety.com)
1. The Wolf of Wall Street: 30.035 million (Paramount, Dec. 25, 2013)
2. Frozen: 29.919 million (Disney, Nov. 27, 2013)
3. RoboCop: 29.879 million (MGM, Feb. 12, 2014; and Orion, July 17, 1987)
4. Gravity: 29.357 million (Warner Bros., Oct. 4, 2013)
5. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug: 27.627 million (Warner Bros., Dec. 13, 2013)
6. Thor: The Dark World: 25.749 million (Disney/Marvel, Nov. 8, 2013)
7. Captain America: The Winter Soldier: 25.628 million (Disney/Marvel, April 4, 2014)
8. The Legend of Hercules: 25.137 million (Summit, Jan. 10, 2014)
9. X-Men: Days of Future Past: 24.380 million (20th Century Fox, May 23, 2014)
10. 12 Years a Slave: 23.653 million (Fox Searchlight, Oct. 18, 2013)
11. The Hunger Games: Catching Fire: 23.543 million (Lionsgate, Nov. 22, 2013)
12. American Hustle: 23.143 million (Sony/Columbia, Dec. 13, 2013)
13. 300: Rise of an Empire: 23.096 million (Warner Bros., March 7, 2014)
14. Transformers: Age of Extinction: 21.65 million (Paramount, June 27, 2014)
15. Godzilla: 20.956 million (Warner Bros., May 16, 2014)
16. Noah: 20.334 million (Paramount, March 28, 2014)
17. Divergent: 20.312 million (Lionsgate, March 21, 2014)
18. Edge of Tomorrow: 20.299 million (Warner Bros., June 6, 2014)
19. Captain Phillips: 19.817 million (Sony/Columbia, Oct. 11, 2013)
20. Lone Survivor: 19.130 million (Universal, Dec. 25, 2013)
This list shows once more that the comic book genre has a huge stranglehold on any list that is film related, yet despite being so heavily pirated, these are the movies that are making the most money overall anyway. The most curious of the bunch in my mind for the top ten is The Legend of Hercules, as I just couldn't imagine that many people wanting to view that film—although I certainly understand why they did not wish to pay to do such. The lack of some of the other titles, like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles or Guardians of the Galaxy is even more perplexing. It will be interesting to see what happens in 2015.
What do you think of the results for 2014?
Which ones did you download or see in theaters?
Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!
Posted by
Fellonius Munch
- Monday, April 28, 2014
Welcome to another edition of Right in the Feels, where this time we will be exploring some of DC Comics' most gutting moments. Last time we explored some of Marvel's tearjerkers and ballbreakers. They will be hard to beat, even taking into consideration the frequently pessimistic nature of the DC Universe, but let's see what we have in store for you!
As rivals go, there are moments when Marvel and DC couldn't be more different, and there are moments when they couldn't be more similar. What separates them? Characters, for one, may have their comparisons (Moon Knight and Batman, Aquaman and Namor, Deathstroke and Deadpool, and Thor and Hawkman (kind of)), but aside from their back stories and superpowers, they're really separated by storytelling.
1.) CATWOMAN GIVES HER BABY UP FOR ADOPTION
There is nothing like a swift reality kick to the fantasticals when it comes to your favorite caped crime-buster. We're all so often lulled into a false sense of emotional security by the everyday drama, the comedy, and the campiness of the Batman comics (when they're not in "full dark, no stars" mode, where you at least expect bad things to happen). Then along comes a moment where you don't quite know how to feel. After all this time, we're well accustomed to the many colorful characters of Gotham to the point where we've felt a lot even for the bad guys!
Following Infinite Crisis, Selena Kyle, a.k.a. Catwoman, went through a period of readjustment; namely, pregnancy. Her baby, Helena (Huntress in other realities), could have changed her and turned her away from her life of crime and conflict. However, with the clear and present danger that all of Gotham's most dangerous criminals would be hunting mother and child, Helena's survival to adulthood was questionable at best, and we all know that happiness never lasts in the DC Universe.
Therefore, Selena wasn't forced to put Helena up for adoption but knew it was the right thing to do, even if the decision would either destroy her or haunt her forever. It was bound to be the latter, and Selena was even refused her desperate request to have her memories of Helena wiped away. You wouldn't wish it on your enemies (with the exception of reporting the Joker to social services), and you wouldn't want it for Catwoman. It really changes your outlook on comics and all that you thought they represented…
2.) BARRY ALLEN DIES RACING TO SAVE THE UNIVERSE
During Crisis on Infinite Earths back in 1985, that evil bastard Anti-Monitor planned to destroy Earth and many different ones in other dimensions with his massive weapon…
Now that you're over the initial laughter of Barry Allen coming to the realization that Anti-Monitor wasn't talking about his Anti-Babymaker, but an actual world-destroying Anti-Matter Cannon, you can see where this is going, maybe. The Flash has never been known for brute force or fancy fighting moves, yet his use of the Speed Force made him a hero who could be relied on to go the distance, and that's what he stood for. This is what made the Flash such a lovable hero. He was about the sheer bravery over the violence.
Taking the chance that he could destroy this WUD (Weapon of Universal Destruction, obviously) and save the universe, Barry was pretty certain that it would spell his own death, and he was right. Literally running for his life and the lives of everybody else, his body fails to resist the power of the weapon's concentrated anti-matter as he destroys it, and so he literally disintegrates into nothing, all the while screaming for help. This is a dated comic, but I think it still translates very well.
Heroes sometimes suffer some gnarly, disgusting deaths; deaths they do not deserve and that their fans never forget. Barry's death is like the story of a man that goes from Olympic hero to cancer victim over the space of a few pages, and as we watch him waste away, crying for his life. Oh man, the feels…
Barry's death was also notably sad because unlike every other fan favorite, he stayed dead for over two decades while his family went on to suffer other twisted fates!
3.) THE DEATH OF SUPERMAN
There are two important factors I'd like to address regarding the legendary Superman vs. Doomsday story, which ended in the death of DC's golden boy. First, I don't see how fans can't remember events such as these and then hate the Man of Steel movie with such passion. Here are Supes and Dooms going at it like two old ladies fighting over the last bottle of lavender spray at Ethel Austin, and they're hitting each other so hard that buildings are practically exploding from the impact force!
 |
| "Aaarrgghh, dammit, why you gotta be so pointy!" |
In Man of Steel, General Zod and his merry band of miscreants own Supes so damned hard, and he suffers so damned hard. I mean, seriously, how easily could Zod have finished the job? If we were to see this scene recreated for the latest installments of the franchise, Doomsday would murder the ever-loving shite out of Kal-El, and I think it would translate magnificently.
Second, whereas back in the day Superman fans were subjected to one of the most shocking events in DC's history which left so many upset, this story left me seriously pissed off. And pissed off is a feeling. Pissed off is an emotion. The fact that Superman (just like old buddy Barry) knew that success would come with the ultimate price wasn't a matter that he could sit down and think about. It was a matter of having no choice and fighting to the death, knowing that without his sacrifice, nobody else would survive in the wake of his death.
So as Lois Lane, emotionally destroyed, runs to the side of the dying Superman, all the other heroes in attendance (who did practically fuck-all to help during the fight) just stand around like they're contemplating hot dogs and donuts. The flag made from his torn up cape with the S symbol *choke* is where you know this is ending very badly. Then Lois is told to suck it up so she can report the news. Meanwhile, Jimmy Olson has already been happily snapping away with his crappy little camera, and heroes are actually shouting at each other rather than thinking of how to help, because they're clearly so helpless at that moment.
Superman was so indestructible that they can't even administer first aid, and so his own strength becomes his own weakness in the end. Sure, the Kryptonian would return. I don't think anyone feared that he wouldn't; but the gravity of the situation was truly mind-blowing!
4.) SUE DIBNY IS MURDERED
Reader discretion is most definitely advised on this one, as DC exercises it's skills in shocking and intolerable cruelty. Back during Identity Crisis, Sue Dibny, the wife of Elongated Man Ralph Dibny, was raped and then murdered…
Like I say, DC is known for its unique comedy and fabulist originality, but then it is also known for its suddenly steep descents into dark despair. You see, whereas Marvels villains tend to be more lighthearted about their failings, DC's hold serious grudges and will kill you and your family for spoiling their fun.
When Ralph got home to find his wife dead and burned to a crisp after the killer set their house on fire, we catch a full-on display of him coming literally unraveled; his jaw hung slack along with everything else (because in that moment of absolute hell, he fails to controls his abilities). But it's not that scene that is the entire cause of his pain alone. The torturous linchpin of all that is wrong about this lies at the bottom of the page...
Sue didn't die alone!
5.) DAMIAN WAYNE
Part of you immediately wants to scream, "why the hell can't you keep your Bat Wang in your Bat Kecks, Batman?" It's just not as simple as it appears on the surface as to why Batman's Robin is a ten-year old boy. I mean, hello?! We're not just fighting any old crime here. Does nobody remember every death that ever took place in the DC Universe, let alone the Bat Family? Does nobody remember Jason Todd being beaten to death by the Joker?
Well, hey, this was no ordinary kid Robin: this was Damian Wayne, son of Bruce Wayne and that cold-hearted psycho bitch Talia Al Ghul. He hated his father ever since they were introduced under hostile circumstances; he was an insolent little brat with a forked tongue. From there on, you'd have been heartless not to love him!
Once Damian was accepted into the Bat Family as the new Robin, it seemed that Batman was back into brighter, less cynical territory. Damian should never have been put in this position by any means, but he was just too awesome of a ten-year-old kid to not want around insulting the hell out of Dick Grayson, Tim Drake, and Alfred.
Then suddenly, in Death of the Family, he was impaled on a sword! Bruce and the family, destroyed! Even Talia, who had disowned him, destroyed! Their son had become something greater and purer than both of them despite being torn between their conflicting personalities. After his death, you realize that he was on the sure path to someday becoming a better Batman than his father had ever been. And then that refrain between father and son…
 |
| Gahhh…the Feeeelzzzz. |
Sound off, Fanboys! I hope you enjoyed this latest installment and that you'll be coming back for more. Next time we'll be studying singular characters and getting deeper into their stories, so if you like any particular stories that weren't mentioned here, feel free to comment below and thanks again for reading!
