This week is a different kind of war movie, because it’s a war movie on the home front which mirrors the actions and feelings of what the country was going through during the latter half of the Vietnam War. Southern Comfort (1981) is a psychological thriller from acclaimed director Walter Hill (The Warriors, The Long Riders, 48 Hours, Streets of Fire, Geronimo: An American Legend.)

The film centers around a squad of nine National Guardsmen who are on weekend maneuvers in the Louisiana bayous in 1973. The film stars an assortment of fantastic character actors ranging from Powers Boothe (Cpl Hardin), Keith Carradine (Pfc. Spencer), T.K. Carter (Pfc. Cribbs), Peter Coyote (Ssgt. Poole), Brion James (Cajun trapper), Sonny Landham (Cajun hunter), Lewis Smith (Pfc. Stuckey), and Fred Ward (Cpl. Reece).

As the squad of men descend deep into the swamp, Cpl. Hardin (Boothe) and Pfc. Spencer (Carradine) quickly become pals and are the only two level headed individuals in this motley crew of weekend warriors. Hardin is a recent transfer from the Texas Guard who is trying to finish his stint so he can return to civilian life. He has total lack of respect for the Army and for those in charge such as Ssgt. Poole (Coyote) and Sgt. Casper (Les Lannom).

As the film progresses, the squad commandeers a few Cajun canoes in order to make their way to the other side of the swamp. In doing so they seal their fate with a bunch of Cajuns who retaliate due to their canoes being stolen, and after Pfc. Stuckey (as a prank), scares them by opening fire with his M-60 machine gun which is loaded with blanks. Terrified, the Cajuns shoot back killing Ssgt. Cribbs. The men quickly become paranoid as to their fate and have only a few precious live rounds to do battle with the Cajuns who use their knowledge of the terrain to their advantage.

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When the statement “think Willy Wonka, The Matrix, and Avatar rolled into one” is used, and not referring to a drug-induced coma, you can understand why a studio like Warner Bros. would greenlight the project. Not only did the studio become interested after that description, but it won in a bidding war for the project against other studios such as Paramount.

The film is based on a book that hasn’t even been released yet about a teenage boy who escapes his bleak reality into a virtual one, uncovering an epic adventure along the way. Ernie Cline (Fanboys) is penning the script with Green Lantern producer Donald De Line stepping in to produce.

The description actually feels more like Reboot meets It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, but we can understand why they went with the appeal of Avatar. Check out the logline, courtesy of Heat Vision, and judge for yourself.

In the near future, outcast teenager Wade Watts escapes from his bleak surroundings by logging in to the Oasis, a globally networked virtual utopia where users can lead idyllic alternate lives. When the eccentric billionaire who created the Oasis dies, he offers up his vast fortune as the prize in an elaborate treasure hunt.

Along with gamers from around the world Wade joins the adventure, and quickly finds himself pitted against powerful corporate foes who will do anything, in the oasis or the real world, to reach the treasure first. Think Willy Wonka, The Matrix, and Avatar all rolled into one.

No word on when we can see more from this project, but with Warners ramping up their Comic-Con presentation for next month, you can be sure we’ll see at least a little bit from Ready Player One at the show.

With all the craziness of E3 last week, we didn’t get much of a chance to kick back and enjoy our regular dosage of playing games, watching movies or reading comics. Instead, this reviewer got gaming in nice short casual samples. The iPhone was the perfect medium for this. Waiting during a commercial break before a press conference started or killing a few minutes while uploading or downloading new videos to the site, casual gaming dominated last week. One of those casual games that helped pass the time was Guitar Hero.

No, don’t worry. There is no plastic guitar peripheral to add to your iPhone to make it work. Instead, Guitar Hero works similar to a DDR system where falling notes need to be pressed when they hit the bottom of the screen. Separating it from just being button presses, Vicarious Visions has added some unique Guitar Hero moves like swiping your finger down the “strum” bar, connecting notes and star power.

As with all Guitar Hero games, gameplay and control is everything. While it is different to play a screen tapping game than plastic guitar controller game, the basic feel of the series is still there. There is a little bit of a learning curve adjusting to the new moves like the note swipe but that is quickly corrected with a few songs.

Track difficulty doesn’t change much. The Expert tracks are moderately more challenging than the Medium versions of the same song, often just sped up with a few extra note moves tossed in there.

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With only two episodes aired for season three so far, HBO has already given the green light for a fourth season of Alan Ball’s vampire series True Blood. The announcement, given by HBO’s programing president Michael Lombardo, will give the series a new season of twelve episodes and follow the continuing adventures of your favorite residents of Bon Temps, LA.

The series, based on the Sookie Stackhouse novels by Charliane Harris and featuring Anna Paquin, Stephen Moyer and Alexander Skarsgard, had a very successful premiere episode and scored a 38% ratings increase over last year’s season two opener. Obviously, this was enough to convince HBO to give the show another season.

“The new season of True Blood is off to a terrific start, as enthusiasm for this unique show continues to build among both subscribers and critics,” noted Lombardo.

This is great news for fans of the show (like me) and with the series going into some new and interesting directions so far this year, I can’t wait to see where it all ends up. The series will begin production of new episodes early next year in Los Angeles, with a season four debut set for summer 2011.

With the news of upcoming Fall TV season pretty much out of the bag we’ve been bringing you previews for many of the new shows here at the site. This way, perhaps you can figure out your Fall viewing schedule well in advance so you don’t miss any show you might have wanted to see.

This time around we’ve got a preview for super producer Jerry Bruckheimer’s upcoming show Chase, which features Kelli Giddish as US Marshal Annie Frost. She specializes in tracking down outlaws who don’t want to pay their debt to society and you can expect a lot of running, shooting and probably some fighting as well.

In the three clips we’ve got for you we hear from star Giddish about the physical nature of her role and series producer Jerry Bruckheimer about what really makes the series work. Also, we’ve got a sneak peek clip from the show which gives you a better idea of what it’s all about.

Check out all three videos after the jump. Chase, which in addition to Giddish features Cole Hauser, Amaury Nolasco and Jesse Metcalfe, will air Mondays at 9/8C on NBC.

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Don’t be jealous of your friends who ordered a new iPhone 4. Well, maybe just a little. At least you’ll be able to use that fancy OS Apple designed for the new iPhone because they have just released iOS 4 into the wild for all to download and enjoy.

iOS 4 can be installed on your newer iPhone OS devices including the iPhone 3G, the iPhone 3GS, the 2G iPod touch and the 3G iPod touch. With iOS 4, you’ll be able to multitask, use folders to organize your apps, have a unified e-mail inbox, and much more. Sadly, without an actual iPhone 4 you will miss out on some features, like that two-way-video chat thing, but you still get some cool stuff.

As has been pointed out at various outlets, this version of iOS4 is the same 8A293 build seeded to developers with the GM release candidate. So, if you’re a developer, no need to update.

You will also need iTunes 9.2 for your new iOS 4 installation. Also, iPhone 3G users may need to do a full restore, not just an update, to get this release working.

If you do decide to update, let us know your experiences, good and bad, in the comments. For us, one iPhone 3GS updated so far and all is well.

Pixar’s Toy Story 3 won the Father’s Day weekend with a total of over $109 Million, making it the highest grossing opening weekend for a Pixar movie thus far. I’ve got to say, it couldn’t have happened to a nicer movie.

Toy Story 3 is a true 4 quadrant film that the studios are always hoping for. It’s the the holy grail of box-office goodness, because it appeals to men and women, young and old.  It’s rated G, which means families can feel at ease bringing the young ones. Critics universally loved the film, and audiences polled by cinemascore raved as well (Entertainment Weekly.)

Toy Story 3 enjoyed a massive opening, as it played on over 4,000 screens.  Roughly half of those were 3D screens, which bolstered the total gross.  Toy Story 3 is the second highest opening for an animated movie, bested only by Shrek the Third’s $121 Million opening back in 2007.

Another family-friendly film took the number two spot.  The Karate Kid dropped around 48%, and tallied up another $29 Million, bringing its 10 day total to an impressive $106 Million.

The A-Team didn’t benefit from word of mouth all that much.  It experienced a 46% drop from last week, earning $13.7. The movie has made about $49 Million in two weekends, but it had a $110 Million budget, so it has a long, steep hill to climb to recoup its budget.  I have yet to talk to anyone who disliked the movie, so I am really puzzled over its performance (or more accurately, lack thereof.)

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Since the “accidental” announcement of Gears of War 3 a few months ago before the Jimmy Fallon Show, the internet has been abuzz with everyone looking to see what the monumental third person shooter would have to offer that was different from the previous games. Especially after the mutliplayer snafu of Gears of War 2, players have been anxiously awaiting what Epic Games will be putting out in the next iteration of the series.

During the Microsoft press conference at E3, Cliffy B of Epic came out with three cohorts to show off the game’s new four player co-op campaign mode. As you’ll see below, players will be taking the fight on two fronts as they deal with the pesky Locusts as well as the new threat, the transforming Lambents. As always, Gears looks beautiful in motion and the new gameplay depth added from a four player mode will inevitably help the series’ success further.

The second video gives some clips from the E3 premiere of Beast mode. The follow-up to Gears of War 2′s Horde mode, players will get to control a horde of Locusts looking to annihilate a group of Gears in this new multiplayer mode. From the look of things, players will have a variety of options with which Locusts they control as they take on the Gears.

These options will likely add hours of new and exciting gameplay for even the most battle hardened Gears of War veterans.
Check out the two gameplay videos after the jump, and keep it here for upcoming news, as it comes to us, on Gears of War 3.

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To open their press conference at this year’s E3, Nintendo needed a heavy hitter. That heavy hitter was Zelda, returning with a brand new title for the Nintendo Wii titled The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swords. Nintendo’s Shigeru Miyamoto hung out on stage for awhile, giving us a taste of the game play and features of the newest title in the epic Zelda franchise.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swords uses Nintendo’s Wii Motion Plus technology to help Link swing, swipe, and roll his way through Hyrule. Controls in this game will differ from the previous title, Twilight Princess, as players will use the Wiimote to swing Link’s sword and the Nunchuck as a shield. Another new aspect of game play is the ability to raise your sword to the sky, charging it with solar energy to fling at your enemies.

From what we saw from Miyamoto’s presentation, the game play seems much more realistic and smooth than Twilight Princess. Watching him, it really looked like he was holding a sword and shield, and his movements translated well in the on-screen game play.

The new item system, which Miyamoto described like a “pocket”, seems like a very intuitive system and a welcome change from the last game’s menu. This game also differs from Twilight Princess hugely because of its bright and beautiful scenery.

The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Swords won’t be released until 2011, but we’ve got a gameplay trailer to keep you occupied after the jump.

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Star Wars: The Old Republic isn’t the only Star Wars highlight from last week’s E3 show. In addition to the still untitled LucasArts game being released for the XBox 360 Kinect, there has also been a trailer released for the upcoming online Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures. Taking place in the same timeline of the Clone Wars animated film and series, younger players get the opportunity to play as either Jedi or Clone Troopers in the war against Count Dooku, General Grievous and the rest of the droid army of the trade federation.

With its cartooney graphics and light hearted feel, this game is certainly aimed at a different demographic than the Star Wars: The Force Unleashed II trailer that was also released this week.  Geared towards the same youth demographic as the cartoon, Star Wars: Clone War Adventures looks to be a combination of casual mini games combined with simple droid destroying lightsaber and star fighter combat. It may not have the crossover appeal to get mature players but some of the most hardcore Star Wars fans will likely use it to get their fix as they await Star Wars: The Old Republic.

Star Wars: Clone Wars Adventures will be releasing this fall for the PC. Check out the trailer and screen shots for it after the jump.

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By Shannon Hood

Reprinted from the SXSW Film Festival, 3/17/2010

Mark and Jay Duplass caused a bit of a commotion at Sundance and SXSW in 2005 when their feature film The Puffy Chair debuted to rave reviews and serious buzz. The brothers’ approach to filmmaking was so innovative that they had a new genre of film named after them: mumblecore.

Mumblecore is an indie genre characterized by low budget, improvisation, “non-actor” actors, and plots dealing primarily with personal relationships. The brothers followed up The Puffy Chair with Baghead (2008.)

Even though Cyrus cannot be categorized as pure mumblecore, it is certainly heavily influenced by the Duplass brothers’ earlier films. The movie stars well known comedic actors Jonah Hill (Superbad) and John C. Reilly (Walk Hard: The Dewey Cox Story), as well as Oscar winner Marisa Tomei (The Wrestler.)

John C. Reilly is wonderful as John, a downtrodden divorced man who finds out that his ex-wife Jamie (played by Catherine Keener) is getting remarried, and wants him to attend an engagement party. Humiliating stuff for even the most confident of men, and John is far from confident.

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Often around the Internets you find many different kinds of videos. Some are produced by people who obviously have no business using  a camera to do anything except filming their vacations.

Then, you find those rare gems produced by people who obviously have talent and know what to do with it. Often these filmmakers don’t have a lot of money but what they lack in funds they more than make up for in sheer creativity.

Case in point is the awesome new Batman fan film City of Scars. Produced by the team of Aaron and Sean Schoenke through their Bat in the Sun productions this film shows, once again, what talented people can do with a little money and a lot of imagination and creativity. It is well worth the time it will take you to watch it and the time it will take to sit through the commercial beforehand.

Check out this awesome fan made movie after the break.

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