It’s getting to the point where movies don’t really need titles anymore. You just need a couple digits and people get the idea. This is especially true for the Fast and the Furious franchise, which is near to releasing its ninth installment called, you guessed it, F9. Yep, it’s time for another edition of Trailer Time.
Wow. Nine movies. Pretty impressive. And there’s gonna be at lest two more. Meanwhile, in this one, based on the official synopsis:
“After the events of The Fate of the Furious, Dominic Toretto and his family must face Dominic’s younger brother Jakob, a deadly assassin, who is working with their old enemy Cipher, and who holds a personal vendetta against Dominic.”
Anyway, Dom and the gang are back once again for more vehicular mayhem and there’s, of course, a new trailer to get people pumped for the upcoming film. And yes, there’s a lot of car chases, explosions, action, fights, stunts and, of course, family. Because it’s all about family, kids. Remember that.
F9, which stars Vin Diesel, Michelle Rodriguez, Charlize Theron, John Cena, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Sung Kang, Helen Mirren (and more!), hits theaters on Jun 25th.
Until that glorious time, check out the trailer below. In all honesty, it does look pretty great. We’re ready.
It is Star Wars, after all. And we don’t pass up a chance to talk about or feature or generally get excited for anything Star Wars around here. Not with nerds like Chris and Joe in charge.
So, to put it mildly, this The Bad Batch trailer looks pretty awesome. In fact, it looks really awesome. We’re also very happy it’s produced by Dave Filoni (of The Clone Wars and The Mandalorian) and features the voice talents of Dee Bradley Baker, Ming-Na Wen, Stephen Stanton and Andrew Kishino.
But what’s it all about, you may wonder? Here’s some info from the official synopsis:
“Star Wars: The Bad Batch” follows the elite and experimental clones of the Bad Batch (first introduced in “The Clone Wars”) as they find their way in a rapidly changing galaxy in the immediate aftermath of the Clone War. Members of Bad Batch—a unique squad of clones who vary genetically from their brothers in the Clone Army—each possess a singular exceptional skill that makes them extraordinarily effective soldiers and a formidable crew.”
We. Can’t Wait. Fortunately, it won’t be too long. Until then, check out the trailer below.
Look for Star Wars: The Bad Batch to hit Disney Plus on, you guessed it, May the 4th.
Time for another edition of Trailer Time. For this installment we’re bringing you the “redband” trailer for James Gunn’s highly anticipated “sequel” to Suicide Squad called, well, The Suicide Squad.
Some familiar faces return for this, as well as a whole new crop of residents of Belle Reve penitentiary. They are put together by Amanda Waller (Viola Davis) “as members of Task Force X and sent to the South American island of Corto Maltese to destroy Jotunheim, a Nazi-era prison and laboratory which held political prisoners and conducted experiments,” one of which seemingly produces an enlarged version of a certain intelligent starfish.
In addition to the returning Davis, the film again features Margot Robbie as Harley Quinn, Joel Kinnaman as Col. Rick Flagg and Jai Courtney as Capt. Boomerang. In addition, newcomers join in the mayhem including Idris Elba as Bloodsport, John Cena as Peacemaker, Michael Rooker (of course) as Savant, Pete Davidson as Blackguard, Peter Capaldi as Thinker and Sylvester Stallone as King Shark. Also, look for appearances by Alice Braga, David Dastmalchian, Sean Gunn (of course), Taika Waititi and Nathan Filion (also, of course).
Check out the “redband” trailer for The Suicide Squad after the break. It’s likely you’ll need to click through to YouTube to watch it. If so, we apologize. It sucks that some people can’t handle things, but here we are.
Either way, the trailer looks great and we expect the movie to be the same. Look for The Suicide Squad to drop in theaters and on HBO Max on August 6th.
It’s time for another edition of What We’re Playing. This time around What We’re Playing is The Elder Scrolls V, better know to all as the amazing Skyrim. If you’re a fan of this site, or gaming in general, we’ll guess you’ve probably heard of it.
When first released in 2011, Skyrim received universal acclaim and was touted as one of the best video games ever made. Since that time, the game continues to be immensely popular, with fans anxiously awaiting a new installment.
Of course, some have moved on to other games, it’s just the nature of the business. But we love Skyrim and always will. We know a lot of people agree.
For those few not familiar, you enter the game as The Dragonborn. Your quest “is to defeat Alduin the World-Eater, a dragon who is prophesied to destroy the world. The game is set 200 years after the events of Oblivion and takes place in Skyrim, the northernmost province of Tamriel.”
“Over the course of the game, (you) complete quests and develop your character by improving skills. The game continues the open-world tradition of its predecessors by allowing the player to travel anywhere in the game world at any time, and to ignore or postpone the main storyline indefinitely.”
That’s a rather mundane way of describing the awesomeness that is Skyrim. But don’t take our word for it, or the word of the person who wrote the words above and posted them on Wikipedia. You really need to play it for yourself.
But until then, check out the official trailer for Skyrim below to see what you’re missing or to remind you what you need to get back to. Happy gaming!
Have you played Skyrim? Do you love it as much as we do? If so, let us know in the comments or hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
It’s time for another edition of Trailer Time. For this installment we’re checking out the trailer for the upcoming action/thriller Nobody.
The film features Bob Odenkirk as Hutch Mansell, an “underestimated and overlooked dad and husband, taking life’s indignities on the chin and never pushing back. A nobody.” Until one day, he does push back. Hard.
After a break-in at his home, Hutch has had enough. The incident triggers “dormant instincts and propell(s) him on a brutal path that will surface dark secrets and lethal skills. In a barrage of fists, gunfire and squealing tires, Hutch must save his family from a dangerous adversary and ensure he will never be underestimated as a nobody again.”
Choice words from the film’s official synopsis. Sounds good to us. And based on the trailer itself, we have to say it, this movie looks pretty darn good.
Let’s hope the trailer does it justice. We’re pretty sure it does.
Nobody stars Bob Odenkirk, Connie Nielsen, RZA, Aleksey Serebryakov and Christopher Lloyd. It’s written by Derek Kolstad of John Wick fame and directed by Ilya Naishuller. It hits theaters on March 26th. Look for it on streaming hopefully soon after that.
Until then, check out the “Redband” trailer for Nobody after the jump. Yeah, we still need to do that. Sorry.
In the history of sci-fi movies. few are as beloved or, in some ways, controversial as Blade Runner. But that’s What We’re Watching this week.
When the film debuted in 1982 it found limited commercial and minimal critical praise. In the years sense, appreciation for the film has grown immensely with audiences around the world now embracing it as a sci-fi/noir classic. It’s so popular, in fact, it spawned a sequel thirty years later: 2017’s Blade Runner: 2049.
It’s also had, to date, seven different versions over the years as well. Crazy, right? We prefer the Director’s Cut, by the way.
It’s hard to remember exactly how many times we’ve watched the tale of Rick Deckard, Blade Runner, as he hurts humanoid replicants, led by Rutger Hauer’s Roy Batty, in dystopian Los Angeles of 2019. Yes, the movie takes place in the “future” year 2019.
Remember, the film originally came out in 1982, so 2019 seemed far into the future when they were making it. So much so it imagined a time when we’d have flying cars, endless rain, replicants to do our bidding and a rewarding trip to the off world colonies to look forward to.
Even though the film didn’t get a lot about the future correct, at least not yet, it still manages to entertain and provide a spectacular look at what life in the “future” might be like. Plus, it’s technically innovative, beautifully scored and boasts a great cast doing some of their finest work. And, it just looks cool.
Here’s the original trailer for Blade Runner, as well as the one for the sequel, Blade Runner: 2049. The original Blade Runner stars Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Daryl Hannah, Brion James, Edward James Olmos and the great M. Emmet Walsh. It’s written by Hampton Fancher and David Peoples and directed by Ridley Scott.
Have you seen Blade Runner? Do you love it as much as we do? Let us know in the comments or hit us up on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook. Happy Watching!
Welcome to another edition of Tech Time. In this series we focus on a piece of technology we love from the past, present or future.
Like last time, we’re focusing on audio with a look at another important piece of tech you’ll definitely need if you want to record it: microphones.
You likely know already but a microphone is (according to the dictionary) “. . . an instrument whereby sound waves are caused to generate or modulate an electric current usually for the purpose of transmitting or recording sound (such as speech or music).”
Makes sense, right? But what microphone do you want or need?
For our purposes, which are mostly recording podcasts, but also audio books or music, we’re going to look at two different kinds of mics: USB and XLR. These refer to the way the microphone connects to your computer so you can use it for recording.
A USB mic is just that, a microphone that connects to your computer directly via a USB cable. Some of the ones we’ve used and like are the Blue Yeti, the Rode NT-USB and the one our podcast co-host Joe Dilworth uses (for the moment), the Blue Snowball. They’re relatively easy to set up and use, which is great for beginners.
XLR microphones use an XLR cable and are found in most music and podcast recording studio in the world. They are the choice of most pros and offer higher build and recording quality. Of course, said higher quality also comes with a higher price tag.
Out preferred XLR microphones include the Shure SM58, the Rode PodMic and the one used by our podcast co-host Chris Ullrich (and so many others), the Shure SM7B. Yeah, we know, the SM7B is expensive. But it really is one of the best.
To use an XLR microphone, you’ll also need an XLR cable and a device like the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2. We discussed the Focusrite Scarlett 2i2 in a previous post. Again, the higher quality requires more expense and a bit more setup. We produce podcasts and other audio professionally, so we think it’s worth it.
If you’re just starting out or don’t want to spend a lot of money (we get that), you can absolutely use a USB microphone like the Yeti or Snowball from Blue and record audio with software such as Apple’s Garage Band. That’s how we started and you can get some good sound that way.
So that’s a bit of information on microphones. We plan on doing a more in-depth series on podcast recording in the near future, so keep an eye out for that. Until then, happy recording!
Do you record a podcast or music at home or in a studio? If so, what microphone do you like and use? Let us know in the comments or hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
Images: Shure / Rode Note: This post contains affiliate links.
It’s time for another edition of Weekly Link Love The last few weeks we focused on Twitter and Instagram accounts we love and follow. This week we’re turning to cool websites of friends and more we want to be sure get the recognition (and love) they deserve.
You may have heard of none, some, or all of these sites. And yes, we know we’ve featured a few of them in previous Weekly Link Love posts, but they’re worth your time, so we’re link loving them again!
And, of course, there’s so many more we follow and love. We can’t list them all. This post would be way too long. Instead, here’s a taste.
As always, don’t forget to spread the love. Now, on to the links!
Baronfig – Tools for thinking. These folks make some of our favorite notebooks and more.
BoingBoing – A site full of interesting and mostly wonderful things. An internet staple for so many years.
CBR – The place for comics, movies, and other news. Old school, but still one of the best.
DnD Beyond – If you play D&D, this site is a must. Try it and you’ll never play without it again.
Engadget – The OG of tech blogs. Still one of the best.
Field Notes – Our other favorite notebook company. Can’t get enough of their stuff.
GeekDad – Are you a geek or nerd? Are you a Dad? This site is for you.
Jason Lee – Actor and amazing photographer. Jason Lee is the real deal. Check out his work. It’s pretty amazing.
Kottke – Hard to describe, but if you’re a nerd/geek, or just like cool, quirky stuff, this site is a must.
LAist – Our favorite website about Los Angeles. Still going strong after all these years.
Lifehacker – You know this one. Want to get better and, well, everything? You need to read this.
Pencil Revolution – We love pencils, so this is a favorite. Lots of great info, reviews, terrific zines, a podcast and more!
Pen Addict – The site that pretty much kickstarted/re-ignited our love of pens, pencils, notebooks and more.
RPGBot – A great source of knowledge to help you optimize characters for D&D and other RPGs.
Tabletop Hero – Your library of adventures, monsters and encounters for D&D 5e. Plus, D&D kids club. Great stuff.
Terribleminds – The site where author Chuck Wendig offers “gentle” writing advice, rants and more. Well worth your time.
The Typewriter Revolution – If you love typewriters like we do, this site is a must. So much great info for fellow enthusiasts.
Whatever – Author John Scalzi’s website where he talks about, well, whatever. Love his work? You’ll love this site.
Wirecutter – Our go-to site for reviews & recommendations for pretty much everything from TV’s to toasters, and more.
That’s it for this week. Did we miss any of your favorite websites or blogs? If so, let us know in the comments or hit us up on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
Until then, happy linking and don’t forget to spread the love!
It’s time for another edition of Trailer Time. This time around, we’re going bigger with trailers, teasers and more from the upcoming Marvel/Disney+ series The Falcon and The Winter Soldier.
Now that WandaVisionhas come to an end, what are Marvel fans to do? We’re not getting Black Widow or Eternals until later this year (at least). So, until then, how will we scratch our itch for explosive Marvel fare?
Fortunately, there’s hope. Hope in the form of two somewhat unlikely heroes named Sam Wilson and Bucky Barnes, aka The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. Played, of course, by the terrific Anthony Mackie and Sebastian Stan, just like in the movies. Fun!
Set in the aftermath of Avengers: Endgame, this upcoming show tells the story of two opposites forced to come together and work together to save humanity from powerful forces, including an old threat in the form of Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl). Can these two opposites share an apartment and save the world without driving each other crazy?
It sounds great. We’ll just have to watch and find out. Well, maybe we made up that apartment thing. But maybe. Who knows? We’ll find out soon enough.
Are you excited for The Falcon and The Winter Soldier? Are you going to watch it? Let us know in the comments or hit us up on Twitter, Instagram or Facebook.
It’s time for another edition of What We’re Reading. This week What We’re Reading is Chuck Wendig’s apocalyptic novel Wanderers.
To us it seems sorta appropriate to be reading a novel about the downfall of society during a pandemic. Heck, we’re gluttons for punishment most of the time and watch/read and enjoy all sorts of stuff some may find distasteful. To each his or her own, right?
Fortunately, at least in the case of Wanderers, it’s so good and so consistently entertaining we can actually forget about real world issues and instead concentrate on the issues of the characters in the novel. That’s no small feat and we have Chuck Wendig’s excellent writing to thank for it.
So, thank you Mr. Wendig. Chuck . . . Can we call you Chuck? Anyway . . .
Wanderers grabs you from the first page and never lets you go. It’s the kind of book you’re tempted to read the last few pages of because you desperately want to know how it ends, who’s gonna survive and what the hell is going on, but you don’t dare.
Even though you really want to know, you also want to follow the story to see what happens and not spoil anything. Such a tough (and great) predicament to be in.
In short, as you can probably tell, we loved the book around here and can’t recommend it highly enough. And we’re not the only ones.
It was named one of the best books of the year by The Washington Post, The Guardian, NPR and Publisher’s Weekly. Not bad. Give it a read, you’re sure to enjoy it too.
Get your copy of Wanderers wherever awesome books are sold. We got our copies at Amazon and BookPeople, our local bookstore here in Austin.
The novel is also being developed as a television series by Walking Dead and The Shield producer Glen Mazarra. So, that’s pretty cool. Lastly, look for Wayward, the sequel to Wanderers, hitting bookstores in 2022.
Have you read Chuck Wendig’s Wanderers? If so, what di you think of it? Let us know in the comments or hit us up on Twitter, Facebook or Instagram.
Note: This post contains affiliate links. Artwork: Del Rey / Penguin Randomhouse
