Archive for March, 2008

Local comic strip Dead Days reaches No. 400

Like the great philosopher Xzibit once said : Procrastination like masturbation, your fucking yourself. I don’t think I’ll ever reach 400 of anything in my lifetime (maybe pounds?). That just reeks of dedication and hard work. Fuck that, I’ll stick to my dragging of feet. So to hear that local artist John Rios has hit this milestone just kinda pisses me off. This guy has the focus and talent that I wish I did and has used it to create a wonderful world of funny characters, cool as hell artwork and witty dialogue …..well that just angers me. His stuff is good and consistent! I don’t know what witch doctor this guy went to to get his gifts but I need to go to that guy. To bad about him being a jerk in real life. Yeah, he’s an angry drunk who like to kick dogs…no, no, PUPPIES! Yeah, that’s it….kick puppies. True story (gotta do something to level the playing field, right? And what better way than to defame his name). Check out all his stuff over at his blog Dead Days and maybe he’ll come on here one of these days and answer for his puppy kicking atrocities! Battle! Check out the 400th strip over at deaddays.net and be sure to leave a kind (or not so kind) word!

The DUmb #3 • Requiem For A Podcast

Two podcasts in one week?! Crazy, yeah. But we’re here to provide you with solid entertainment, right? This week we have special-special guests to help carry the topics:

• Bryan Harley - writer/director/creator of AMF Productions
• Adrian Rodriguez - publisher of lateupdate.com
• Robert Anaforian - writer, The Dumb/creator, onepicturesworth.com

This edition’s topics include all things film, summer movies, the Academy Awards, the future of movie theaters, digital distribution and we offer free technical support for our friends over at Fresno Famous. BTW, swing by their site and don’t forget to vote for us under the “Best Blog (or Blogger)” and “Best Podcast” categories. Voting ends this Sunday, Mar. 30th. Thanks for your vote!! Special shout out again to lateupdate.com for hosting our podcasts! They are currently starting a promo where you can win free Grizzlies tickets when you register at the site so check it out! Everyone likes free shit, right?

 
Download The DUmb here!

Those wacky Swedes…

So Michel Gondry’s latest film, “Be Kind Rewind” was (thankfully) playing in Fresno, for a couple weeks at least. Mediocre reviews might have pulled it before you were able to check it out, which in my opinion at least, was a bummer. I think it was a fun little flick to sit and watch. this isn’t a review, however, but a little rumination, and maybe a challenge to some of our readers.

The legacy of the movie isn’t going to be the film itself, but the widespread idea of “Swedeing”. A Swede is an ultra-low budget/effort replica of a film (or a scene from a film). You could go on to Wikipedia and learn more about what a Swede is, but what would you rather have done in school: read a book or watch a movie? Yeah, movie…

Isn’t that guys TIE fighter sound effect awesome? Anyways, I know there are a couple filmmakers who read this blog (and one who writes for it), and who knows how many lurking or aspiring filmmakers otherwise, so why not a little friendly competition? At best, maybe Fresno natives can generate a Swede or two and we can feature them on this site. If not, well…scour YouTube a bit, or go here and see what you come up with. Maybe someone has already Sweded your favorite flick!

Dem Trailers: Vote stuffin’ edition

The Tracey Fragments
If you don’t like Ellen Page for any reason, you better just duck out right now. After Juno (I would say Hard Candy) she’s quickly becoming a Hollywood upstart (isn’t everyone?) and this next film of hers looks pretty good. The trailer is definitely cut differently and it works, music by Broken Social Scene…..yeah, lets hope the film works as good as the trailer does. Check it out here.

The Hammer
I listen to Adam Corolla every morning on my way to work and he definitely adds much cheer to my commute. His film has finally been released and we’ve got it here in Fresno (I guess since we’re one of the markets his show is broadcast into) and I plan to go see it real soon. Just the fact that we got it here is reason enough (not really) but the reviews has been surprisingly good and he’s on a roll with the film PLUS he’s on Dancing With The Stars so he’s adding to his millions in cash. Check out the trailer here.

Who DOESN’T loooove giant robots blowing shit up?

Voltron WAS tight (until you see the show again now and realize it IS shit). Never got into Robotech, although the design were dope. Of course the Transformers make up the true source of my mech-lust but these latest years, the developers from From Software have been the ones filling that hole for me (tee-hee) with their Armored Core series. The games are cool but their artists creating all the CGI are the real superstars. Every cut scene makes my eyeballs bleed and leave me wanting a live action or CGI anime film to be made this way. Amazing. Check out the From Software wiki page here for more info on the developer.

Roque gets lazy; recruits new guy

Well, not so new but rather merely someone else. Fellow blogger Robert Anaforian (One Picture’s Worth.com) & The DUmb podcast regular guest has joined Team Dumb Drum and will be contributing content for your eyes & ears. You see that article down there? The Fanboys one. Yup, that was his first posting so welcome him here and leave him some comments (try to keep it clean, people). So now it won’t just be my words you be reading here as we have kinda switched focus from reporting on my stuff (which was my original intention) to reporting on everything cool. Just like that, reporting on cool shit! That’s our motto. Be it film, video gaming, comics, advertising, art, design….WHATEVER! Being based out of Fresno, California, we will definitely be involved in the development of our local scene and try to enrich locals, as well as outsiders, to the gold we harvest here in the Central Valley. As time goes, we might be encountering more and more change but for now, just bear with us and we will continue to bring you stuff like we have been for the past couple of months. So please continue to join us in this journey into the blogosphere and we’ll continue to provide you with content to make you smile, ear to ear!

P.S.—If your see what you like and would like to join the team, participate in one of our podcasts or just have comments on any of our stuff, please feel free to email us at brodiemash@gmail.com

Whatever, Fanboys.

Well a storm’s a’brewin, and geeks from coast to coast are flexing their pasty, atrophied muscles at the big guns of Hollywood in a showdown for the right to have cancer. Sorta.

Apparently Weinstein, or the freshly dubbed “Darth Weinstein” has used his powers of control to have bits of the film “Fanboys” re-shot and spliced up to remove a cancer subplot from a film about some geeks who try and break into Skywalker Ranch to catch an early glimpse of Phantom Menace (which is so unbelieveable. They would have committed mass suicide upon viewing Jar Jar after all that trouble. C’mon, at least make it realistic!). One character being diagnosed with cancer is what sets off the trip, but Weinstein, who wants to market the film to a teenage crowd (because Star Wars fans are all teenagers, not people born in the 70’s-80’s) thinks that cancer is a total teenage turn-off (that’s called alliteration, kids) and cut out a few scenes and re-shot ‘em while riding past in his convoy of rightness and flipping the bird to the producers.

Angry, cancer-loving Star Wars fans respond by promising to boycott “Superhero Movie” and in general creating an online ruckus while posting pictures of Weinstein in drag and wearing a Darth Vader helmet. PR people have given out little tidbits of there being two versions of the film released, but no solid promises yet.

So how much power rests with the fans on this one? Is a die-hard group of Sci-fi rebels going to be able to bring down one of the most powerful men in Hollywood and force up a change? 300,000 emails have hit the Weinstein company asking for the cancer-cut, so there’s no telling what might happen. Still and all, it’s refreshing to see that even if a small, dedicated group hasn’t been able to knock out the production giant, at least it’s bloodied the nose a bit.

Get the full story here!

Dem Trailers: Post-Easter Edition

Mister Lonely
The newest film from Bolinas, CA navite and Dogme ‘95 director Harmony Korine will undoubtedly not be shown in theatres here in Fresno (please prove me wrong). With that out of the way, I highly recommend you keep your eye open for this to hit DVD later this year as Korine has always been able to weave stories with interesting characters but has yet to hit the mainstream. I mean a Michael Jackson impersonator hooking up with a Marylin Monroe impersonator (who’s is married to a Charlie Chaplin impersonator) and heading off to a land of other impersonators?! Sign me up! Plus it’s always good to see Diego Luna on the screen. Check it out here.

Meet Dave
And Eddie’s career continues to tail spin out of control. Sure Daddy Day Care made money but for every Dreamgirls, there are 2 Norbits. So the summer is here and this year we get this: Meet Dave. Eddie Murphy is a spaceship full of tiny aliens…..yup, that’s the premise. I’ve heard far crazier premises that have turned out good but this one….well, we’ll just wait and see. At least Elizabeth Banks & Ed Helms are in it, right? Check out the trailer here.

The DUmb #2 • It’s Always Sunny In Fresno

It’s been festering in the deepest realms of my hard drive but the newest edition of The DUmb podcast is up and available for you to download here. This time, Martinez joins me for a discussion on television, movies and Me & Ed’s heart shaped pizzas! Yeah, it’s a little old (recorded on Valentine’s Day) but it’s short and sweet. So sit back, relax and jump into our world for the next 20 or so minutes.

 
Download here, too! Just in case you missed that first link. NYUP!

Wanna help out? Vote for me today!

Fresno Famous is holding the Fresno Choice Awards and the categories including Best Band, Coffee, Downtown Building and….what’s this? Best Blog?! Well, I think I’ll go and vote for us and I ask for your help as well. If we win, I promise that I will reward everyone here with a special little something. Actually, that was just one of my campaign lies. I apologize to my staff, my family and most of all, my supporters. But now I’m a changed man. And change is what I’ll bring when The Dumb Are Mostly Intrigued By The Drum wins Best Blog in Fresno! (actualchangeisnotpromised.thisguyisdelusionalandshouldntbetrusted.buteitherwaypleasegovotefortheguy.itwouldmakehimfeelbetterthanks)
Head on over to Fresno Famous.com and on the front page (off to the right) you’ll see the “Fresno Choice Awards” box and the categories in which to vote. We’re under “Blog (or blogger)” so swing by, tell your friends, mother, your sister and your daughter to vote for us! NYUP! Thanks for your support!

Dem Trailers: Surreal Edition

It’s Good Friday and I can almost taste that first cup of coffee since I gave it up for Lent this year. (so close….so close). And what better way to celebrate than by some new trailers!Standard Operating Procedure
From director Errol Morris (Fog Of War) comes this documentary on the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal. Towards the end of the trailer, one of the guys describes the whole experience as “surreal” and it seems as if that’s what the director was trying to do with this film. As you watch the trailer, you can see some really interesting shots (such as the one of the dog up there) that really help drive that point home. Visually, it seems to buck the trend of what a documentary-style film should look like. And change is always good. And I’m sure the touchy subject matter is gonna definitely turn even more heads. Check out the full trailer here.

The Fall
You remember The Cell starring pre-nutty Jeneifer Lopez and creepy Vince Vaughn? It was a stunning film to look at but not much else. Well director Indian director Tarsem (if I make it big, I’m going to go by “Roque” only and become a single name director, too) is back to bring us this little gem. The idea sounds freakin awesome and looks like a sure bet but another “wait until you see it” cause this might just be a case of style over substance again. But the story, this is the type of shit I want to see succeed and the type of movies that we need to see more of: pure storytelling. The type of experience you’d get from listening from another point of view and build your own world in your head. And it seems like that’s something that Tarsem tries to do. Anyways, check out the trailer embedded here or go download it over at IGN here. Also, visit the Web Site for the film for all types of goodies here. Man, gotta love that “Figlio Perduto“, though. Bastard stole my peice of music!

Snake Eyes! We Win! First pics from the upcoming G.I. Joe film

Fuck, that looks dope. What more can I say. Look at a that shit, man! Look at those freakin’ veins popping through his forearm! Damn…the fanboy meter in me is raging, all of a sudden. I used to own more than a few G.I. Joe’s back in the days but I have to say, I haven’t been to hyped up about the franchise heading to the big screen (at least not as bad as I was about Transformers), but these pics single handedly changes my status on that issue. Liquid awesome! Check out the full story here from Aintitcool and click on that second photo up there for a hi-res version for your Cobra-ass! G.I. Joe is set to hit theaters next year.

It is K-Fed’s birthday, why not have fun

You’d think no one outside of the Ferderline family and those who get paid by the man himself will care much about today being Kevin Federline’s birthday but you’d be wrong! Fresnan’s know how to take care of each other and Mike Oz over at The Beehive has put together a birthday card video of sorts from Fresno to K-Fed. Hope you continue to bless us with some of your goodness, sir! Can’t get much “realer” than getting birthday wishes from Lil’ Klack Klack! Now you know your street, sun! Check out the full post here.