Dog News: A Christmas Carol in Under a Minute
It’s not only Doctor Who that looked to Dickens this Christmas for inspiration. Our friends over at Dog News have produced their version of A Christmas Carol in under a minute – (Personally i think the length less a stylistic thing, and more to do with them running out of time due to Candi forgetting her lines. ;))
Well… What would Christmas be without twisting tradition?
Review: Family Guy – It’s A Trap!
The Griffins’ are back in their latest version of a galaxy far, far away with the third installment of the Family Guy/Star Wars satire – a retelling Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi in Family Guy – It’s A Trap!
The story opens, like the film, with C-3PO (Quagmire) and R2-D2 (Cleveland) turning up at Jabba the Hutt’s (Joe) Palace, as part of a plan by Luke Skywalker (Chris) and Princess Leia (Lois) to free Han Solo (Peter) from carbonite, and Jabba’s clutches. After Luke defeats the giant Rancor… sorry, scratch that, giant Rush Limbaugh, the gang are taken to be fed to the Salacc Pit (cue Meg’s guest appearance).
This is the first of the 3 parodies to include character from Seth Macfarlane’s other 2 tv shows, American Dad and The Cleveland Show. The most noticeable guest role is taken by Klaus, the fish from America Dad, as Admiral Ackbar, but Tim the Bear from The Cleveland Show also features prominently once the heroes reach Endor, playing all the Ewoks! Meanwhile, over on the Empire’s side, the brilliantly written Stewie reprises his role as Darth Vader, and Carter Pewterschmidt is back as the Emperor.
It’s A Trap doesn’t quite have the comedic value of Blue Harvest, but it’s still got some great moments, such as C-3PO reciting the plot to The Fresh Prince, rather than the battle against the Empire, and Vader trying to turn Luke to the dark side by making fun of Seth Green (who voices Chris/Luke). Like the standard Family Guy, ‘It’s A Trap!’ also has a bunch of cameo voice spots – including Patrick Stewart and Michael Dorn reprising their roles from “Star Trek: The Next Generation,” and Carrie Fisher (Star Wars Trilogy).
The Blu-ray/DVD extras include the usual Audio Commentaries and animatics, Peter Shin Draws – where Peter draw a few of the popular characters from the trilogy as he talks about their conception & evolution, and Sock Puppet Outtakes (that’ll make sense when you’ve seen It’s A Trap!). There’s also one of the oddest (but strangely compelling) extras I’ve seen on a disc, which is 4 members of the Family Guy crew playing Star Wars Trivial Pursuit!
“Family Guy: It’s A Trap!” – arrives exclusively on Triple Play (Blu-ray, DVD + Digital Copy)
8/10 – It’s A Trap! It’s Freakin’ Sweet!
Word Lens – Augmented Reality Augments Your Language!
This has to go down as one of the most useful uses for an Augmented Reality iPhone app! Word Lens will actual translate signage from one language into another, on the fly, without a net connection! If it works even half as well as it does in the video below, it’s a must have for everyone next time they’re traveling abroad! I remember an incident on holiday in France involving a menu, lack of phrase book and sheep brains, where this app would have been really helpful!
Download it from here from iTunes
Axe Falls on ‘Stargate Universe’
Stargate Universe Cancelled!
Always knew this was likely given it’s US ratings, but reports are saying SyFy have axed ‘Stargate Universe’. Real shame, as it just seems to be getting stronger and stronger as a show, but isn’t finding an audience. For me, it’s the most interesting and different to of the Stargate franchise… But that was possibly also part of it’s downfall.
Yes, the style was… shall we say ‘heavily influenced’… by Battlestar Galactica. But BSG was a great show too (even with the slightly dodgy ending), so I never saw being inspired by another show as an issue. I mean, we wouldn’t have has those interestingly show space sequences in BSG if it hadn’t been for Firefly doing it first.
The final 10 episodes of SGU’s second season will air on SyFy (US) in the Spring of 2011, and presumably on Sky1 soon after.
So another interesting and dark scifi show bites the dust. Would you like to see a new Stargate franchise? If so, where would you want them to go next? Leave your thoughts in the comments, or over on the forum.
Jackie Chan, Bruce Lee, Jean Claude Van Damme? It can only be Kung Fu Christmas!
On Syfy (Sky channel 129, Virgin Media channel 135, Talk Talk channel 22) from Dec 17th at 10pm
Chestnuts roasting on an open fire, Jackie Chan kicking at your nose…
There won’t be many silent nights this December as Syfy turn the season of goodwill to all men – except those pesky bad guys – into a Kung Fu Christmas with a host of awesome martial arts movies. So, get writing to Santa to ask for a karate suit and a pair of nunchucks as they prepare to judo chop and high-kick their way into 2011.
If you’re dreaming of a fight Christmas, Santa’s got a real treat for you in the shape of a sack full of JACKIE CHAN movies. The great man is on a tour of Europe, looking for mysterious treasure that’s been protected by an order of monks in ARMOUR OF GOD (Dec 21). In POLICE STORY (Dec 20), he’s a cop who finds himself framed for murder after he gets on the wrong side of a drug lord. Does he clear his name? Well, here’s a bit of a clue – Syfy are also showing the action-packed sequel POLICE STORY 2 straight after!
It appears the Christmas Day festive spirit may be getting to Chan in THE DRUNKEN MASTER (Dec 25), and he even dabbles in period drama for PROJECT A (Dec 17), which sees him battling 19th century pirates, but don’t worry, he’s still more action than Austen.
Chan isn’t the only martial arts star of wonder this festive season. You also get to see JEAN-CLAUDE VAN DAMME in action in KICKBOXER (Dec 21), in which he stars as – wait for it – a kickboxer(!) out to avenge his injured brother. If you can’t get enough of the Muscles from Brussels, he plays identical twins in DOUBLE IMPACT (Dec 24). One brother is a petty crook, the other stays on the right side of the law, but they’re both experts at delivering a high kick.
Of course, no martial arts season would be complete without Bruce Lee, and Syfy have found room to squeeze him under the tree too. His seasonal highlights include GAME OF DEATH (Dec 18), which centres on a movie star who fakes his own demise. Conspiracy theorists might like to know that Lee died before he could finish the movie, while film buffs might also spot the intentional similarity between the actor’s yellow jumpsuit, and the one worn by Uma Thurman in Kill Bill.
There’s more Lee action in FIST OF FURY (Dec 19), in which he plays a martial arts student investigating the death of his teacher. You can also find out how he compares with another legend as he squares up to CHUCK NORRIS in WAY OF THE DRAGON (Dec 19).
Find out more at www.syfy.co.uk
Full list of Golden Globe Nominations!
The Full list of Golden Globe Nominations has just been announced!
The King’s Speech leads the pack, but there’s gonna be some serious competition in this years lineup. Best TV series for drama and comedy are looking like tough categories this year. As is Best Director and Best Screenplay for a motion picture.
Click the link below to jump to a full list of the 2010 Golden Globe Nominations!
