GeekiN Episode #86 – Merry Geekmas
Monday, December 22nd, 2008
With the holidays approaching, we are back again to warm your hearts. How we do that? By giving you the best geek discussion that we can. Hope you enjoy he talk. Keep reading to see what all we discussed this week.
- Time for the Holidays
- New Writers
- Delgo sets low point record
- Iron Man 2 Talk picks up
- Crazy rumors about third Batman film
- Fable 2 DLC delayed until “Late Jan ‘09″
- X-men Origins: Wolverine
- Majel Roddenberry Dead at 76
Box Office Report (Dec 12-14):
| TW | LW | Title (click to view) | Weekend Gross | Average | Total Gross | Budget* | Week # |
| 1 | N | The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) | $30,480,153 | $8,562 | $30,480,153 | $80 | 1 |
| 2 | 1 | Four Christmases | $13,074,470 | $3,693 | $87,775,974 | $80 | 3 |
| 3 | 2 | Twilight | $7,951,131 | $2,179 | $150,045,826 | $37 | 4 |
| 4 | 3 | Bolt | $7,464,282 | $2,382 | $88,849,005 | - | 4 |
| 5 | 4 | Australia | $4,169,277 | $1,542 | $37,767,253 | $130 | 3 |
Geek Jerk Reaction (December 25):
Bedtime Stories
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marley & Me
The Spirit
Valkyrie
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Book of the Month
Y The Last Man Vol. 5In this final Deluxe Edition hardcover collecting Y #49-60, Yorick and Agent 355 prepare for their ultimate quest to reunite the last man with his lost love, while the person, people or thing behind the disaster that wiped out half of humanity is revealed. Then, Yorick Brown's long journey through an Earth populated only by women comes to its dramatic, unexpected conclusion.
Merry Geekmas back to all you guys at geekshow.us
Thanks for reading my True Blood comment (Grant here), and no offense taken for the Louisiana comments :) I’m not originally from LA and yes, it is a weird place. Hell, my parents, and I’m sure they would call you crazy if you told them this 10 yrs ago, live on the bayou (though it’s a suburbian bayou). No my dad doesn’t drive a lawn mower to work. :)
(I grew up in TN so probably about the same as KY).
Glad to hear you’ve watched the show now. When I put that Netflix comment in I thought you hadn’t seen it (and maybe you hadn’t yet) and forgot about shows magically appearing on people’s hard drive (I’m assuming here, hehe). Really Netflix is the only way I thought a lot could watch it, eventually, (or rental in general) because HBO shows are pretty pricey on DVD.
Favorite Xmas movie? Die Hard (yes, it’s a Xmas movie!) Seriously, Christmas Vacation and Christmas Story (don’t even).
Don’t want to debate either, but I’m looking forward to The Spirit, and yes it does look like Sin City 2, but I liked the look of Sin City so much, I don’t really care I guess. Not saying this is going to be a good movie, but I want to find out if it is good or not. I know nothing about the comic.
Valkyrie seems interesting too, and I agree WW2 is the best war for movies imho, and really in history. There are some great WW2 movies (yes Pearl Harbor was horrible), especially if you go back to the old movies (two words, John Wayne).
Have a Merry Geekmas guys. Congrats on the new pad Wayne.
I’ve been watching Jeremiah as well (Thank you, Netflix streaming!). I am now slightly into the second season, and I’ve really been liking the show. However, I absolutely hate the retard pop song they changed the theme song into for season two. The first season had a nice little symphonic score for the theme that fit the show very well. The new theme for the second season just doesn’t fit at all. Yuck.
Benjamin Button was directed by David Fincher. That’s all I need to know to get me into a theater seat. :D
Here’s a list of some good movies about/involving WWII in no particular order:
Tora Tora Tora
Das Boot
Schindler’s List
The Guns of Navarone
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Great Escape
To Hell and Back
The Dirty Dozen
Patton
Saving Private Ryan
Run Silent, Run Deep
The Longest Day
@Polygon_Wizard:
Yeah i wasnt even going to see Benjamin Button till dvd untill I seen that at the end of the trailer, now I’ll be there opening week.
BTW, has anyone here ever seen Grave of the Fireflies? When talking about one of my top World War 2 movies ever, that one consistently makes the list. It’s an anime movie made in 1988 by Isao Takahata. It was one of the first Anime movies/series that I ever watched, and it’s probably one of the only movies I’ve ever teared up during. When I was in high school, I bought a copy for my history class when we were going over World War 2. However, my history teacher was hesitant because it was an Anime movie. However, by the next year, she had started showing it to her classes.
I rarely suggest anime series/movies, because they vary as far as how people take them. But if you ever want a good World War 2 movie, I suggest watching that at some point. The story is told through the perspective of a little boy and his sister during the end of World War 2. I can’t say enough good things about it. If you have never seen it, do yourself a favor and give it a shot.
@Polygon: I agree about the beginning of Jeremiah Season 2. Though I didn’t particularly like the intro for season 1 either. With that said, Season 2 so far has been consistently better than a lot of season 1 episodes. The first couple, were especially cool. It reminded me of the series finale of Jericho, which is also a fantastic series if there are people that still haven’t watched that (And it is available for instant streaming as well.
I’ve just started Jeremiah, S1 last week on a whim. I’m really impressed thus far and am hoping to make it through the first season before it expires on the streaming option December 31. I see a Day-After-Christmas-Marathon coming my way . . .
Is it me or does “Marley and Me” sounds like a REMAKE of “Beethoven”
@WonderJenn: Yeah, I’m trying to finish things before it expires as well. I think I have like 12 episodes to go….
I read parts of the Marley and Me book at work, suffice it to say I know how it ends and I can’t watch that. No spoilers or anything, it has nothing to do with the writing, etc… I just can’t deal with it. So, no, I can not see it.
As for WW2 movies I still hold that Empire of the Sun is one of the best. The best Spielberg movie too, in a lot of ways it’s very different than all of his other movies whilst keeping some of his style. Though my Christian Bale love is no secret, even as a kid he is amazing. Probably one of the best kid actor performances of all time. From Here to Eternity is what Pearl Harbor SHOULD have been. If you could combine the special effects of Pearl Harbor with the awesome story, acting, cinematography etc of that movie, but the effects of Pearl Harbor you’d have a perfect movie. Because, whilst I normally don’t complain about old movie effects, yes, the bombing scene in From Here to Eternity is cheesy, even by 50’s standards. Great Escape, another classic. Steve McQueen makes ANYTHING cool. He even makes being a POW cool. As kids my grandpa showed us that movie and me and my sister would throw baseballs against our bunk bed because, well, Steve McQueen did it. :PAnd hey, don’t forget Raiders of the Lost Ark. ‘Nuff said.
That’s all I can think of at the moment (IE that’s all I have in my easily43 viewable DVD collection across from me, lol) But best WW1 movie of recent memory? A Very Long Engagement. By the same guy that did Amelie. Amazing. Cry every time I see it.
Thanks for answering my Christmas question! Those are by no means my ONLY faves, just the ones off the top of my head that are my absurd favorites. I always forget about Christmas Vacation! I haven’kij,ot seen it in years, but as kids, me and my brother and sisters totally adored all the Vacation movies, god- those are so being Netflix-ed in my other open firefox tab. :P
Mr. Pointy: Yes! Die Hard, I totes forgot that one too. I was JUST telling my roomate the other day it’s one of the best Christmas movies. People forget it takes place at Christmas.
It’s ok Sunshine, we know. (comment deleted for SPOILERS)
What are some of your favorite Christmas tv episodes?
The O.C. episodes were always great.I absolutely loved this year’s Chuck Christmas episode, which was also the last episode of this half of the season. I’ll have to give that more thought, though. Good question…
Agreed on both accounts Randy. With the exception of season 3’s “The Chrismukkah Bar-Mitzvahkkah”, The OC’s Christmas episodes are a must watch for me every year.
Last Week’s Christmas themed Chuck was probably the best episode of the series to this point. I loved every second of it.
Oddly enough, I really liked Gossip Girl’s Christmas episode from last season, too. I guess Josh Schwartz is the king of good Christmas episodes…
A Very Supernatural Christmas was a great one. As is Lexmas from Smallville. The Office always has hysterical Christmas episodes (this year was no exception…). I can only remember one of the top of my head, but I seem to remember really enjoying the Scrubs Christmas episode as well.
… I can’t think of any others, but I’m sure there are tons.
Yeah the Chrismakuh episodes were great, Lexmas, Supernatural Xmas, and the Office xmas eps are all good too.
I also enjoyed the Seinfeld Festivus episode. :)
Can’t think of any others.
Gremlins is another under the radar Xmas movie. :)
Hey Guys!
Love the podcast. I’m new to the site, but I’ve been listening for a while.
@SaberJ: I’m a huge fan of Grave of the Fireflies (and anime in general) but this one is amazing. Even the “serious” film critics give it it’s due. An interesting piece of trivia is that it played in theaters in Japan along with My Neighbor Totoro. That certainly would never happen here.
As for True Blood, I like the show too. The show gets better and better as you go on and there’s less gratuitous Jason sex. I actually like that it’s set in Louisiana BECAUSE of the creepiness, but as you all know, the show is based on a series of books so it adheres to the rules (more or less) created by the author.
By the way, the letter read on the podcast mentioned Alan Ball as the actor playing Bill Compton in True Blood??? Alan Ball is the creator of the series (actually the producer and showrunner) and the creator of Six Feet Under and writer of American Beauty. Stephen Moyer is the actor.
I think it was my email they read that said Allan Ball played Bill, but I did NOT say that in the email. :) I knew he was the writer/creator (loved Six Feet Under and American Beauty).
Just to set the record. :P
@SaberJ: Yeah I loved Grave of the Fireflies. I watched it years ago but still can’t bring myself to watch it again just yet because it’s such an emotional film.
Also I sent a True Blood answer, don’t know if you didn’t get it but it covered much of the same stuff the other answers did. I did however give a special mention to Lizzy Caplan who you may have seen in Cloverfield or Freaks and Geeks, when she joins the show about half way through.
@Critter: I remember that email. Not sure where it ended up. Hmmmm.
Glad to see a couple people have seen Grave of the Fireflies. I hope people that haven’t seen it take my suggestion seriously. It is definitely one of the most emotional films I’ve ever seen. World War II from the perspective of Japanese children is an intense journey, for sure. It may not be one of the best looking anime movies of all time (Coming from ‘88), but it still ranks as one of my favorites.
I have also seen Grave of the Fireflies. It is a very touching and sad movie. It is a great example of the serious kind of animated movie that doesn’t get made in the US.
@SaberJ: Jericho is on my Netflix Instant Queue right behind Jeremiah. I planned on watching it pretty soon, but Netflix just made the 2nd and 3rd seasons of Dr. Who available for streaming, so I don’t have to wait for discs any more. :D
About McGuyver: I had heard about five years ago now, that a young McGuyver series was in pilot stages with Jared Padaleki in the titular role. It never made it past pilot stage and Jared of course moved onto Supernatural.
Ok. I know I am so late in listening but I did want to point out that Sin City was primarily directed by Robert Rodriguez with Frank Miller’s oversight, 300 was directed by Zack Snyder (who is also doing Watchmen) and The Spirit is directed by Frank Miller alone. Since 300 was helmed by another director altogether, I think that is why you see such a different vision of Miller’s material. I loved Sin City, and have no interest in The Spirit. That being said, I tend to like most films directed by Rodriguez, with the possible upcoing Red Sonja. I’m still not sure what to think about that one. Anyway, just wanted to point out that while they’re Miller’s stories, not all are under his direction.
Ah, well, I just remember that when the argument came up before about me not liking the fact that The Spirit was so close to Sin City, Scott pointed out that it was Miller’s style. He compared it to how all of Tim Burton’s films look so similar. Which I don’t agree with at all, because The Spirit and Sin City look like Twin brothers, whereas Tim Burton movies look like cousins most of time, with the occasional brother mixed in. :P
In this first season of True Blood just when you think this show has a lot of drama in the previous episode you watched,your mistaken. I didn’t think you’d watch start watching the series but I’m glad that you are and that your liking it.
It also has a Twilight storyline to it.A little bit. But I didn’t wanna say that because I was sure you guys wouldn’t see it. Because you haven’t read Twilight book series.The love triangle is somewhat similar.
Tara cracks me up.She is loud but also you feel bad for her sometimes.
There is a lot of sex.But it does start to die down a little on last half of the season. And I don’t mind the accents on the show.
Yep, loving it. Though it’s going to get pushed to the side so I can finish Jeremiah before it gets taken off of Instant Watch on Netflix. 6 more episodes, I believe, so it won’t take long to finish it.
Also, I didn’t mind Twilight, so that wouldn’t have bothered me.
Oh I totally agree that The Spirit has just turned out to look like a lame copy of Sin City. It’s kinda why I really don’t want to see it. If I want to see Sin City 2, I’ll wait for Sin City 2. :)
exactly.
heyyy Randy, its coming up as “GeekiNtertainment >> GeekiNtertainment” again on the feed
Re: True Blood
The accents are amazing when you realize that many of the actors are not even from the US. You’ve got Stephen Moyer who is British, Ryan Kwanten (Jason) who is Australian, and Anna Paquin who was born in Canada and raised in New Zealand!
Re: Frank Miller
I understand that he has directed films that are his own creation (Sin City/Sin City 2), but he had Robert Rodriguez to help and Rodriguez’ touch is all over that movie. I had never considered Frank Miller a director the way that I think of other people as directors. The fact that The Spirit is doing so poorly and people are complaining about the way it looks is telling. Obviously “300″ looks different because it was directed by Zack Snyder. I liked Sin City in every way, and there’s nothing wrong with having a visual style, but you don’t want to see exactly the same movie over and over again. For example, why black and white? The reason why Sin City and 300 worked was because they followed the visual style of the comic. The Spirit movie is not emulating the comic enough.
@Saberj: Last night, I just got to the part in Jeremiah’s 2nd season where something big happens revolving around Libby. I totally thought they were going a different way with it, and then the show pulled the rug out from under me. I may hate the new theme song for the second season, but the episodes themselves are still just as good. :D
BTW, Jeremiah is no longer set to expire on Dec 31st on Netflix streaming.
Sweet! Good to know, We’re only on ep 7. Thanks for the head’s up Randy!
I finished Jeremiah last night, and other than the finale feeling a bit rushed, I liked the show quite a bit. It’s too bad they didn’t continue it longer.
I’m going to be a bit sad to finish things up. Especially since season 2 really changed up the dynamics of the show. It has been for the better in most cases, though there is one thing that I’m especially hoping they wrap up soon. With so few episodes remaining, it’s just going to be sad to see that not get a lot of time.
Unfortunately, the second season reminds me a lot of why I was so sad to see Jericho go off the air. I LOVED the finale to that show, and would have paid to see the show continue in that direction.
Yeah, it was a bit sad to finish the show. I had really grown to love all the characters, and I loved the dynamic that developed between Jeremiah and Kurdy over the length of the show. I even grew to like Mister Smith, even though I didn’t really like his character at first.