The FNG-Spot: Entertainment

Video Games & TV

Tue, 06 Nov 2007 20:16:43 GMT

For some reason video game refrences, and popular gaming consoles, seem to be popping up more and more often in our favorite TV shows. I'm not complaining... I LOVE pop-culture refrences to video game "nerd humor"!!

The November 5th (2007) episode of CBS' new series The Big Bang Theroy, featured Halo 3 and the Xbox 360.

The Big Bang Theory (Nov. 5th, 2007)- The Dumpling Paradox

In a 3 episode series of South Park called Imaginationland, Wario, Mario, Link, Gannondorf, Akuma, Sagat, and a handful of other video game related characters were all spotted. (Watch them here: Episode 1, Episode 2, Epsiode 3)

South Park - Imaginationland

South Park - Make Love, Not Warcraft

This week, South Park will feature the ever popular Guitar Hero..... I CAN'T WAIT!!!

Guitar Queer-o:

Stan and Kyle are hooked on Guitar Hero.
But Stan's superior skills on the video game damage his friendship with Kyle.

- Jay

Michael Bay - "..HD DVD" -- "it rocks!"

Wed, 22 Aug 2007 20:59:24 GMT

Here's the follow-up (to the follow-up) about Paramount Pictures big HD DVD decision... Apparently Mr. Bay's Blu-Ray buddies brainwashed him into believing the whole SONY Blu-Ray hype. This is the last entry about the whole Michael Bay / HD DVD / Paramount / Transformers fiasco.... I hope.

"Last night at dinner I was having dinner with three blu-ray owners, they were pissed about no Transformers Blu-ray and I drank the kool aid hook line and sinker. So at 1:30 in the morning I posted - nothing good ever comes out of early am posts mind you - I over reacted. I heard where Paramount is coming from and the future of HD and players that will be close to the $200 mark which is the magic number. I like what I heard.

As a director, I'm all about people seeing films in the best quality possible, and I saw and heard firsthand people upset about a corporate decision.

So today I saw 300 on HD, it rocks!

So I think I might be back on to do Transformers 2!"

Source: HighDefDigest.com

In other words; He's happy to get paid millions of dollars and HD DVD looks great.

SUCK IT SONY!

Michael Bay - "No Transformers 2!"

Tue, 21 Aug 2007 18:09:04 GMT

As I mentioned yesterday, Paramount Pictures has left Blu-Ray on the cutting room floor and will be releasing movies like Transformers on only 2 formats; Standard Definition: DVD and High Definition HD DVD. According to Engadget, Michael Bay has responded to Paramount:

"I want people to see my movies in the best formats possible. For them to deny people who have Blu-ray sucks! They were progressive by having two formats. No Transformers 2 for me!"

Source: Engadget

[ my 2 cents ]

OMG! As if Michael Bay isn't making enough money, how he's throwing a temper tantrum because Paramount went with a more affordable HD media format? He's either pissed about not being able to cash in on the DVD, HD DVD and Blu-Ray sales of his movies, or he's still trying to justify his $599.99 PS3 (or $999.99 Blu-Ray player) purchase. My guess is that if Paramount cut him a bigger check he'd STFU and start working on Transformers 2.

Hey Mikey, we don't see Sam Raimi stomping around threatening not to do Spider-Man 4 becuase it's not on HD DVD do we?

[ / My 2 cents ]

- Jay

Paramount says good-bye to Blu-Ray (Transformers confirmed HD DVD exclusive!)

Mon, 20 Aug 2007 20:03:28 GMT

Paramount to drop Blu-ray high-def DVDs

"Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. (NYSE:DWA) will offer next-generation DVDs in the HD DVD format and drop support for Blu-ray, further complicating the race between the competing technologies.

Monday's announcement affects the upcoming DVD release of the blockbuster 'Shrek the Third' and all movies distributed by Paramount Pictures, DreamWorks Pictures, Paramount Vantage, Nickelodeon Movies and MTV Films, as well as movies from DreamWorks Animation, which are distributed exclusively by Paramount Home Entertainment.

Paramount previously released movies in both formats."

Source: CNN Money

This means that movies like Transformers, The Bourne Ultimatum, as well as Dreamworks animated movies like Shrek the 3rd will be HD DVD exclusive!!

- Jay

HD Format Wars

Mon, 06 Aug 2007 12:57:47 GMT

Who's winning; HD DVD or Blu-Ray?

It's tough to get an honest answer when asking about the HD format war. Well, DVD Empire was kind enough to put the following information together for anyone interested in an unbiased answer...

View All HD DVDs | View All Blu-Ray

HALO on PS3?

Mon, 23 Jul 2007 18:19:49 GMT

This all began running through my head the day I saw the new Transformers movie, so allow me to start there.

While walking out of the theater I began to think about how great it was going to be when Transformers was released on HD DVD. I'd be able to watch it on my 60" HD TV in the comfort of my own home. I'd be able to replay the action scenes at will and watch each Autobot / Decepticon transform frame by frame in 1080p glory..... Then it hit me... I instantly started to panic about which HD format would end up with Transformers.... "Oh crap?! Which studio did that? Paramount & Dreamworks Pictures..." When I arrived home I went straight to the internet... *sigh of relief* "Cool, Paramount releases movies on both HD DVD and Blu-Ray... I think I'm covered!"

After seeing Transformers, I started thinking about how cool a Voltron movie could be, and how if HALO would ever be filmed it could end up a classic series of movies.... You know, kind of like Lord of the Rings and Star Wars....

Well, back in October of 2006, Universal Studios and FOX pulled out of making the live action HALO movie due to production costs.

"With the recent departure of Univeral and Fox, Microsoft is now shopping around for new partners. According to Variety, Microsoft is focusing their partnering efforts on Warner Bros. and Paramount, although nothing is definite yet.

Other rumors have Microsoft funding the entire movie themselves. Either way it looks like this movie is going to get made one way or another."

- http://www.halothemovie.org/ (Nov 11th, 2006)

Now, licsencing rights for HALO (the movie) have been picked up by FOX and nobody is sure about the future of this movie.... I'm a bit more concerned about AFTER the movie is made. What happens when Microsoft and Bungie find a studio to make HALO, it turns out to be an absolute blockbuster, and then it's ready for 'video release'?? Has anyone thought THAT far in advance?

Universal, Paramount, Newline Cinemas & Warner Brothers release their movie on both Blu-Ray and HD DVD... What happens if 20th Century Fox, Disney / Buena Vista, Lionsgate Films, MGM, Sony Pictures, or Weinstein Company are any of the studios that end up with rights to the HALO movie? It would then be released on Blu-Ray only! This would mean that one THE biggest titles Microsoft has exclusively could be viewed on a PlayStation 3 and NOT on an Xbox 360! Now how messed up would that be?

Now I know that nothing is set in stone, and the majoiry of the information floating around the web regarding the HALO movie is rumor / speculation, but if the HALO movie were to be exclusively released on Blu-Ray I think it would be quite the kick in the shorts for Microsoft and Bungie.

- Jay

Multiple NERDgasms..

Fri, 21 Jul 2006 14:50:40 GMT

After seeing Superman I started thinking about all the kick-ass comics and cartoons that would make great movies.. then my buddy sent me a link to a TMNT trailer that got even more excited. I'm sure my son will be freaking out too when he seens these trailers.

Spider-Man 3 looks like it has everything the fan-boys (and girls) have been begging for, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles looks 10x better than the 80's flicks (hopefully it's 'darker' than the old ones too.), and Transformers is one that will make me feel like a kid again. (I hope they don't screw the characters up too much.)

Now if only they'd release a trailer for the 2007 HALO movie... Aww man, I'd be in heaven!!!

- Jay

Superman Returns

Thu, 29 Jun 2006 04:20:26 GMT

I just got back from Superman Returns... Not a bad movie.

Here's my quick "no spoiler" review:

Since Christopher Reeve was a damn good Superman, I spent the 1st 1/2 of the movie scrutinizing Brandon Routh's portrayal of the Man of Steel / Clark Kent. I was pleasantly surprised, and down right amazed at times, at how much he looked, acted, and spoke like the Superman I grew up watching on the silver screen.

Sam Huntington played a perfect Jimmy Olsen, Kate Bosworth was great as Lois Lane (In my opinion she was better than Margot Kidder.), and Kevin Spacey was every bit an 'evil genius' as Gene Hackman in the role of Lex Luthor! (Kevin Spacey is the freaking MAN... he can pull off ANY character flawlessly.)

One of my favorite things about this movie is the fact that they used archive footage of Marlon Brando as Jor-El... it was a very nice touch!

Once I got over picking apart the characters I just sat back and enjoyed the ride.... the semi-boring slow stuff, the action scenes, and the development of the story line were all acceptable. If you watched the Superman footage from the Xbox Live Marketplace, or all of the online trailers, you've seen the majoiry of the 'good stuff'... it's still WELL worth the $9.00+ to see it on the big screen.

I'll probably be heading to the IMAX theater this weekend to see it in 3-D.

Oh yeah, I can't forget the BAD-@$$ Spider-Man 3 trailer that played just before the movie! (I saw it in 1080i on my PC before going to see Superman, but it was a nice surprise, and a hell of a lot more exciting to see it on the big screen.)

That's pretty much it... I just wanted to let the 'comic geeks' out there know that it wasn't bad, and I'm sure we can expect many, many more Superman movies spawning from this storyline.

Blu-Ray vs. HD DVD

Thu, 20 Apr 2006 16:59:24 GMT

Guess what; it's VHS vs. BETA all over again!

This entire format war is B.S. for the consumer, so instead of sharing my opinion about which format is superior, I've decided to just list known info about the 2 platforms.

Here's Everything I know so far about the players & movies that have been annoucned.....

Current number of HD DVD Titles Announced: 89
Current number of Blu-Ray Titles Announced: 103

Current number of HD DVD Players Announced: 2
Current number of Blu-Ray Players Announced: 8

Current HD DVD Player Price Range: $499.99
Current Blu-Ray Player Price Range: $999.95 - $1499.99

List of Known HD DVD Players:

Toshiba HD-A1 HD DVD Player:
Price: $499.99
Release Date: Available Now

Microsoft Xbox 360 HD DVD Player:
Price: [UNAVAILABLE]
Release Date: [UNAVAILABLE]

List of Known Blu-Ray Players:

Samsung BD-P1000 Blu-ray Player
Release Date: June 25, 2006 (subject to change)
Price: $1,000 (subject to change)

Pioneer BDP-HD1 Blu-ray Player
Release Date: July 2006 (subject to change)
Price: $1,800 (subject to change)

Sony BDP-S1 Blu-ray Player
Release Date: August 2006 (subject to change)
Price: $1,000 (subject to change)

Panasonic DMP-BD10 Blu-ray Player
Release Date: September 2006 (subject to change)
Price: [UNAVAILABLE]

Philips BDP9000 Blu-ray Player
Release: 3rd or 4th Quarter 2006 (subject to change)
Price: [UNAVAILABLE]

Sharp DV-BP1U Blu-ray Player
Release Date: [UNAVAILABLE]
Price: [UNAVAILABLE]

LG BD199 Blu-ray Player
Release Date: [UNAVAILABLE]
Price: [UNAVAILABLE]

Mitsubishi Blu-ray Player
Release Date: [UNAVAILABLE]
Price: [UNAVAILABLE]

The current list of announced HD DVD titles are:

Universal:

The Bourne Supremacy
The Chronicles of Riddick
Van Helsing
Apollo 13
U-571
12 Monkeys
Dune
The Thing
End of Days
Backdraft
Waterworld
The Bone Collector
Spy Game
Pitch Black
Conan the Barbarian
Dante's Peak

Warner Bros., New Line and HBO:

Above the Law
Alexander
Angels in America
Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery
Batman Begins
Blade
Catwoman
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Constantine
Contact
Dark City
The Dukes of Hazzard
Eraser
Executive Decision
Final Destination
Friday
From the Earth to the Moon
The Fugitive
Gothika
Hard to Kill
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
House of Was (2005)
The Last Samurai
The Mask
The Matrix
The Matrix Reloaded
The Matrix Revolutions
Maverick
Million Dollar Baby
The Music Man
Mystic River
Next of Kin
North by Northwest
Ocean's Eleven
Ocean's Twelve
Passenger 57
The Perfect Storm
The Phantom of the Opera (2004)
The Player
The Polar Express
Red Planet
Rush Hour
Se7en
Soldier
The Sopranos
Spawn
Swordfish
Troy
Under Siege
U.S. Marshals
Wild Wild West

Paramount:

The Manchurian Candidate
Spongebob Squarepants
Elizabethtown
Coach Carter
The Italian Job (2004)
School of Rock
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Forrest Gump
Braveheart
Ghost
Grease
Mission Impossible 2
Black Rain
Save the Last Dance
Sleepy Hollow
U2 Rattle & Hum
Vanilla Sky
Lara Croft: Tomb Raider
Star Trek: First Contact
We Were Soldiers

The current list of announced Blu-Ray titles are:

Disney:

Armageddon
Brothers Grimm
Chicken Little
Crimson Tide
Dark Water
Dinosaur
Everest
Flightplan
Great Raid
Hero
Incredibles
Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back
Kill Bill Vol. 1
King Arthur
Ladder 49
Pirates of the Caribbean

Fox:

Behind Enemy Lines
Fantastic Four
Ice Age
Kiss of the Dragon
League of Extraordinary Gentlemen

Goldhil:

Chronos

Lionsgate:

Basic Instinct
Crash
Devil's Rejects
Dune
Lord of War
Punisher
Rambo: First Blood
Reservoir Dogs
Saw
See No Evil
Step Into Liquid
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
Total Recall

MGM:

Amityville Horror
For a Few Dollars More
Last Waltz
Robocop
Species
Stargate Atlantis
Terminator

Paramount:

Aeon Flux
Four Brothers
Italian Job
Manchurian Candidate
Mission Impossible
Mission Impossible II
Mission Impossible III
Sahara
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow
Sleepy Hollow
Tomb Raider
U2: Rattle and Hum
We Were Soldiers

Sony:

50 First Dates
A Knight's Tale
Black Hawk Down
Bram Stoker's Dracula
Bridge on the River Kwai
Desperado
Fifth Element
Guns of Navarone
Hitch
House of Flying Daggers
Into The Blue
Kung Fu Hustle
Legends of the Fall
Resident Evil
Resident Evil: Apocalypse
S.W.A.T.
Sense and Sensibility
Spider-Man
Stealth
Ultraviolet
Underworld: Evolution
xXx
xXx: State of the Union
Batman BeginsWarner
Blazing Saddles
Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
Constantine
Dukes of Hazzard
Full Metal Jacket
Goodfellas
Green Mile
Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Last Samurai
Lethal Weapon
Matrix
Matrix Reloaded
Million Dollar Baby
Ocean's Twelve
Phantom of the Opera
Rumor Has It
Swordfish
Syriana
Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines
Training Day
Troy
Twister
Unforgiven

Xbox 360: Xecuter Update & Micro$oft's iPod Killer?

Tue, 21 Mar 2006 01:59:09 GMT

Xecuter 360 Update:

During all of the "Xbox 360 has been hacked" commotion, Team Xecuter has decided to release some of their own info regarding their findings.....

"We have made some progress with a new read/patch/write app and no doubt you will all be plugging in your drives to your PC and having some fun shortly - all for free too as no modchips required (and yes we still want to play!)

Here is what we envisage...

- Connect Xbox 360 DVD-ROM to PC
- App to update firmware with magic code
- Connect DVD-ROM back to 360 - and away you go

Obviousley the only use for this is piracy - hence you wont see any modchips (not from us at least - however they wouldn't be needed anyway - however we do have a few cheap tools to make life much easier - more on that soon) Still a long long way off from unsigned code - but it's a start....

Thanks to The Specialist for reviving the scene! We understand he doesn't want to release anything due to possible backlash - but there are many of us who would - and will."

You can read more at www.teamxecuter.com.

Micro$oft's iPod Killer?

No, this isn't the "Microsoft iPod" video that's been circulating, and I certainly hope it's not the so-called hand held system called "Origami".... that thing looks like an oversized Etech-A-Sketch.

"The Microsoft product would compete with Sony, Nintendo and Apple Computer's products,
including the iPod. And Microsoft has some of its most seasoned talent from the division that created its popular Xbox 360 working on it. Game executive J Allard leads the project, and its director is Greg Gibson, who was the system designer on the Xbox 360 video game console. Bryan Lee, the finance chief on the Xbox business, is leading the business side of the project.

By anchoring its entertainment device as a handheld game player, Microsoft is starting from its position of strength in the entertainment business that it hopes Apple cannot match, even with its iPod. The game press has dubbed it an "iPod killer,'' but its functions would likely more closely resemble Sony's PlayStation Portable multimedia gaming device."

You can read more at MercuryNews.com.

- Jay

The life, death & rebirth of TiVo "Bob"

Tue, 28 Feb 2006 21:45:58 GMT

This entry is a tad 'off' from my usual Xbox / video game posts, but since it's still 'geeky' enough I'm going to post it... While sitting through meetings today and demoing the Max Media Manager software for PSP I found my thoughts constantly drifting to TiVo "Bob".

Oh poor TiVo "Bob"

My fiance wanted a TiVo DVR so badly, for so long, but I'd never get one because I was constantly saying, "I want to wait until TiVo Series 3 is released!" Well, I finally broke down and picked one up to give her as a Christmas present; needless to say she flipped out and LOVED it... She named it "Bob". (You have to give your TiVo a name during the setup process.)

Well, "Bob" began to stutter last week, he then began locking up periodically.... I tried every trick I could find online to bring "Bob" back to his former DVR glory, but I had no luck; he finally died. The pile of crap was only 2 months old!!! For the first time ever I actually let a salesman talk me into purchasing the 'extended warrantee'.... You're not going to believe this, it actually paid off!! My Fiance brought "Bob" back to the store he was purchased from and they gave her a BRAND NEW BOB!!!!!

Now when I heard she had no issues with the warrantee and that she was handed a new "Bob", the FIRST thing I though was: "WTF? That was too easy, there HAS to be a catch!! What about was the 'lifetime' subscription??" Apparently the lifetime subscription was transferred to the new "Bob"! How cool is that? (That's Pretty damn cool!)

So, now that we have a new "Bob", and she performed the 8 hour setup ritual, TiVo "Bob" can get back to work and record all the garbage TV has to offer while we're not paying attention.

Oh yeah, before I forget... Just like ever other 'tech toy' I've purchased in the past, a 'newer and cooler' version is about to be released! (HD TiVo Series 3 !!!!) The same thing happened with the iPod Photo... I wanted to wait on purchasing an iPod until Apple announced an iPod that would play video.... Well, 2 months after I got an iPod Photo from my Fiance the iPod Video was released.

I know it's only a rumor, but with my luck, I have a feeling that if I purchase an iPod Video Apple would release something like this a month or two later:

I'm sure this widescreen iPod Video 'beta' is a photoshop job... but it's still a cool idea!

Well, that's enough for now.... I'm off to find a place to eat, other than the hotel.

Before I go, I gotta say something to my buddy Nick:

"HAPPY B3RFDAY D00D!"

- Jay