YES! The teaser trailer for Resident Evil: Retribution (the 5th installment of the franchise) is up! It was exclusively shown on Attack of the Show during "The Feed" segment. G4TV has put it online for our viewing pleasure. It starts at about 3 minutes/16 seconds in to the video below.
I want this movie in my eyes right now! You know I loves me some zombie goodness and am a huge fan of this franchise. Oh, here's the breakdown for the flick:
"The Umbrella Corporation’s deadly T-virus continues to ravage the Earth, transforming the global population into legions of the flesh eating Undead. The human race’s last and only hope, Alice (Milla Jovovich), awakens in the heart of Umbrella’s most clandestine operations facility and unveils more of her mysterious past as she delves further into the complex. Without a safe haven, Alice continues to hunt those responsible for the outbreak; a chase that takes her from Tokyo to New York, Washington, D.C. and Moscow, culminating in a mind-blowing revelation that will force her to rethink everything that she once thought to be true. Aided by newfound allies and familiar friends, Alice must fight to survive long enough to escape a hostile world on the brink of oblivion. The countdown has begun."
Reviews: Deadlands: Black Water One-Shot, Lobster Johnson The Burning Hand #1, Star Wars Knights Of The Old Republic War #1, Whispers #1
Jimmy is joined in studio by frequent guest co-host Kevin Conn. They chat the Golden Globes, Jimmy playing Lego Harry Potter, DC's new logo, give congrats to Jennifer De Guzman on her new gig at Image Comics and the new pre-registration for SDCC. News includes: Pizza Island comes to an end, FX's Powers TV show in limbo, Green Arrow TV series may come to the CW, DC cancels some new 52 titles while adding new ones, Rob Liefeld takes on 3 DC titles, The Omega Effecttakes over 3 Marvel titles, Garth Ennis to write Dynamite's The Shadow relaunch, and Mark Millar talks Jupiter's Children with Frank Quietly. As always, listener feedback, the Top 3 and more! Leave your iTunes comments! 5 stars and nothing but love!
I am still catching up on books from 2011 that I bought ages ago and am just now getting to. It took me a couple of days, but I just finished the almost 500 page graphic novel, Infinite Kung Fu by Kagan McLeod. This would have definitely been one of my top picks of 2011 if I had gotten around to it. I bought it last spring/summer and am embarrassed that it took me this long to read it. Kudos to creator Kagan McLeod for such a fun, action packed kung-fu and zombie homage. It's The 5 Deadly Venoms meets The Walking Dead. It's beautifully illustrated and really shows off the kung fu action in a cinematic fashion. Most of you know me as a big zombie enthusiast. Well, I was a huge kung-fu fan. Every Saturday afternoon, some friends and I would gather around and watch Kung-Fu Theater(later known as Black Belt Theater) on the local Fox affiliate. They would show 2 films back-to-back and I ate them all up. Of course, we'd go outside after and practice our technique so we could avenge our masters. After the victory, it would be RICE AND TEA...FOR EVERYONE!!! Mwhahahahaha!!!!!
Needless to say, the combination of kung-fu and zombies in this giant comic book immediately appealed to me. And boy howdy, is it goodgreatterrific fucking awesome!
I didn't realize this was a previous series that is now collected until I just checked out Kagan's website. But it says there are 200 additional pages in this! Did I mention it was almost 500 pages? And at a cheap $24.95 from Top Shelf Productions. I'm a big supporter of Top Shelf and pick up most anything new they put out.
Go get it and then start practicing your kung-fu. Because if you don't, I'M COMING FOR YOU!
Check out a full review on my podcast, Comic News Insider, when the new episode is up late Tuesday/early Wednesday. You may hear it mentioned during the "Top 3" segment later in the show.
I see my blog-fu has enticed you to purchase. You're safe from my drunken laptop technique.
Okay, everyone. Settle down. Many of you hadn't heard of Lana Del Rey until her now widely panned performance on Saturday Night Live last night. She was clearly very nervous, a bit off key and just seemed a bit sullen. (She's a looker though. Quite stunning). Still, I like her. I first heard of her last September when I had Cooking Channel stars Alie & Georgia on my podcast (Comic News Insider) and Alie suggested her music. Her song, Video Games, is a haunting melody and I really dig the quality of her voice.
As a former performer, I'm pretty forgiving when people mess up on stage. She's getting a lot of hate, but I honestly don't think she was as bad as some are making her out to be. It's been said she's one of the most inexperienced performers to grace the SNL stage and that must have been a daunting thing to think about. I'm not saying you should forgive a bad performance. I'm just saying give her music another shot. And if Lana is reading this, you're welcome to come on my podcast and talk about nerdy things any time.
I'm currently playing Lego Harry Potter: Years 5-7. The Lego video games are super fun and I'm enjoying it, but I feel the novelty may have worn off on me. Still, having a blast playing it! Even it covers the end of the Harry Potter series, you know, the dark stuff; it still has that fun Lego videogame humor.
Gotta give mad props to my bud Lenny for posting this on Facebook. I know it's been around a couple of months or so, but I haven't seen it around a lot. So here I am spreading the love! (Original link here).
Reviews: Fatale #1, Ferals #1, Wolverine And The X-Men Alpha And Omega #1
Jimmy is joined in studio by fellow podcaster Molly Jane Kremer of the Chicago based Comics Slumber Party podcast. They chat about stuff missed in last week's Best of 2011 podcast, Star Wars burgers in France, Comic Book Men, and upcoming comic conventions. News includes:Batman: Earth One is coming, Superman: Earth One sequel is too, Greg Pak offers a textlessVison Machine, MorrisonCon is happening, Benedict Cumberbatch in Star Trek sequel, Marvel game comes to Facebook, and Marvel lineup announced on Disney XD. As always, listener feedback, the Top 3 and more! Leave your iTunes comments! 5 stars and nothing but love!
If you follow me on various social media, then you have heard me speak of Michelle Vargas. She's a videoblogger and video producer (among many other talents). We first met at the beginning of last year when she and her comedy partner Grace Helbig came on my podcast (Comic News Insider). Grace and I have become pals and has come on the podcast several times since then but Michelle is always quite busy. Still, I follow her on various social media sites and keep up with her life. I drop a line here and there but haven't seen her in ages until a few weeks back while seeing Grace's show at The PIT. We had some beers and chatted off and on with other friends. For a young girl in her 20's, she is wise beyond her years and I always enjoy and appreciate when she doles out advice in person or online. She's just one of those people with whom you just want to be friends. Smart, funny, talented, nerdy, so down to earth and just plain awesome. (Duh, on the fact that she's so beautiful but that's not why I want to be friends.). Basically, she's the cat's meow LION'S ROAR! Hope to hang again soon and/or get her on the podcast in the near future.
Recently, she has been going through some rough personal times as she lost her mother in December. She has talked about it online and released this video about her thoughts on it all.
Just absolutely lovely sentiments.
It made me think a lot about my mother. And my grandmother. If I may be allowed to share a story myself. Ashamedly, I am not as close to my mother as I should be. I love her to pieces, of course. However, I was extremely close with my grandmother when she was alive. Growing up, my mom and I (and brother) lived with her off and on. Granny and I had the same interests (acting, academics, literature, humor, etc). The family used to joke how things skip generations. My mom often got angry because she felt left out and that we were talking over her head on purpose. (My mother isn't dumb but my granny was in MENSA). When I moved to NYC in the early 90's, my mom made a big to do about it and got really upset. My grandmother? She said, "I don't want to see you again for awhile unless you're traveling through with a national tour!" Ha! I knew what she meant of course and she got that I was starting over. Needless to say, when my grandmother passed in 1998, it devastated me. I was still performing at the time and she was so supportive of that. I know I'm not the best singer in the world, but I wanted to sing for her one last time.
I saw Michelle mention on her Tumblr about nostalgia with songs and the like. Of course, I thought of the song I sung back then. It was called "Mama, A Rainbow" from a little known musical about The Marx Bros. called Minnie's Boys. I first heard it sung by Terri White (Broadway performer in Nunsense, Chicago, etc.) when I was visiting the work place of a friend at the now closed piano bar, Rose's Turn. Terri was working there and before she sang, she told a moving story of how she recorded the song for her mom and when she was going through her things after she passed, she found the tape in the recorder next to her mom's bed. I found a grainy video of Terri singing it down at the bar from many year's back. (There's a great version of her singing it on her album that you can buy on iTunes).
I had talked to my granny earlier that week and she was upbeat even though she knew she didn't have long. My flight down was on a Saturday. If I remember correctly, she had mentioned me singing for her and I thought of the song Terri sung. Figured I'd just sing it to her in the bed in the hospital but wanted to do it well enough. Mind you, this was 1998. No YouTube. No iTunes. I knew how the song went but wasn't that confident so I wanted to get the sheet music. I had become casual friends with Terri but she hadn't worked at the bar in awhile and couldn't find the music when I contacted her. I asked around and most hadn't heard of it. The night before I left, I was calling various friends and then decided to check if the theater store in Times Square might have it. My friend Jim was manager and they sold sheet music. Alas, they didn't have it. But, he turned to another worker and asked, "Jesse. Don't you sing 'Mama A Rainbow' for auditions?" Jesse, whom I had never met, said he did and had his music book with him and would gladly copy it! (Side note: The Jesse in question was Jesse Tyler Ferguson from Modern Family whom will never know how indebted I am to him after all these years. Not name dropping/bragging. Just think it's a pretty neat anecdote.). It was like I was meant to sing it for her.
I woke up the next morning and as I was about to catch a cab to the airport, my mother called telling me that my grandmother had passed. I was heartbroken that I didn't get to see her one last time. But, I figured I could still sing for her at her funeral and did so. I struggled near the end and choked up a bit but got through it. I remember feeling a bit better for some strange reason. I just knew that Granny was smiling as she heard the words.
"What do you give to the lady who has given All her life and love to you What do you give to the reason you are livin' I could window shop the world Before I'm through
Mama, a rainbow Mama, a sunrise Mama, the moon to wear That's not good enough No not good enough Not for Mama
Mama, a palace Diamonds like door knobs Mountains of gold to spare That's not rich enough No not rich enough Not for Mama
Mama, a life time crowded with laughter That's not long enough Not half long enough
What can I give you That I can give you What will your present be Mama, young and beautiful Always young and beautiful That's the Mama I'll always see... That's for Mama with love...from me"
Just perfectly describes my grandmother and I'm quite sure, mothers and grandmothers everywhere. I wanted to write about this since I know Michelle is going through a lot of healing right now. I know just hearing and/or seeing the lyrics to the song wont cure anyone of sadness but I hope it warms her heart. And she's a fantastic singer, so perhaps she'll want to sing it. But if anything, I just wanted to let her know that she's got mad love coming from me and so many others around the world.
I am ashamed it’s taken me this long to read the great comic book series Love and Capes, but I finally did! Well, the first 6 issues at least. As the creator Thom Zahler describes it:
“'Love and Capes' is a heroically super romantic comedy situation comedy in comic book form from Thom Zahler.
“I’ve always liked superheroes, and I’ve always liked romantic comedies,” says Zahler. “It was kind of a peanut butter and jelly moment. The ideas just started flowing after that.”
I remember reading the first issue years ago and loving it when it came out. Then it sort of got lost in the shuffle. Jesse, a loyal listener of my podcast,Comic News Insider, is a friend of the creator Thom and loves the series as well. He got Thom to send me the first 6 issues quite awhile back. For one reason or another, I just never got around to it. (To be fair, I get sent LOTS of comic books, books, DVDs, etc to review for the podcast and still have stacks I have yet to touch). Now that it’s remedied, I plan on talking about it on the podcast and getting the rest of the series in front of my eyeballs soon! It’s funny, cute, adorable and you will catch yourself going “Awww” quite a few times. See? I’m not such a heartless bastard.
I’ve seen Thom at conventions over the years but never stopped at his table because I hadn’t read it yet. That will NOT be the case next time and I hope to interview him for the podcast in the near future.
I never grew up playing the video game Oregon Trail but was familiar with it when I got older. Still, don't ever remember playing it. It's a survival game that depends on the decisions you make throughout.
Well, the people over at The Men Who Wear Many Hats have made a spoof game called Organ Trail. As a zombie lover, this immediately appealed to me. I know I'm late to this but I'm in now! A zombie apocalypse has happened and you must traverse from the east coast of the U.S.A. to a "safe haven" on the west coast. Trading/buying/scavenging along the way to survive and on occasion running into zombies. You can lose party members to zombies, disease, starvation, etc. You can run out of gas or your car can break down. All based on decisions you make.
It's addictive, time consuming, often frustrating but ultimately fun! I played it through once using the names of friends as part of my party:
Brea Grant - A fellow zombie lover. I figure she would have knowledge to survive. Plus, she's tiny and could probably outrun the zombies.
Jon Hoche - One of my pals who's in ridiculously good shape. You need a hefty he-man type to help fight off the undead and even more so with other survivors.
Grace Helbig - My soon to be famous comedian pal could keep us all entertained on the long journey and maybe barter supplies with her comedy stylings.
Lorraine Cink - My new nerdy friend and recent co-host of my podcast (Comic News Insider). She's an adorable nerd and loves her some zombies as well so I figure she might have useful knowledge. If not, maybe the zombies would just think she's too cute to bite.
Yes, I realize their real life personas don't apply to the game, but hey...it's my game here!
Anyway, I started off strong with plenty of supplies, food, ammunition, etc. Everyone's health was strong. Then, Jon got bit. Rumors of a cure in the "safe haven" had me keep him alive for awhile. But his sickness took up a lot of our rations so ultimately, we had to put him down. Sorry, bud. Then Brea got sick with measles. Again, she was taking up supplies and then even got bit. Yep. Put down. Grace got dysnentary and died eventually. It was just me and Lorraine near the end. And we were about 3 cities away from the goal. Fuel and supplies were very low. Our health was low. Lorraine became incapacitated from disease and eventually died. And finally...I ate it as well. 3 stops from the safe haven. SO CLOSE!
For the record, I thought Grace would go first (and she'd be the first to tell you the same). Just goes to show you, not always the strongest (Jon) or smartest (Brea) can survive in a zombie outbreak. I'm very disappointed in the virtual versions of you two!
Since Lorraine proved such a fierce contender til the end, I may try again tonight and just immediately kill off the other 3 people I choose just so we could have more rations and supplies. This time I'll make it all the way.
WHO'S WITH ME?!!!
Oh yeah. None of you. You'll just slow me down and take up supplies. Why don't you go start your own game by clicking on the link. Add me to your team and see if I make it.
Other...: about.me/jimmyaquino
