Geek friend Friday will return next week because I thought of a good part two in this blog series from me and Murph.
I enjoyed Murphy's choices in out first installment. I've always said Gargoyles would be a great live-action flick, but I never gave that much thought about Bravestarr. Great thoughts on that one, Murph.
My choice today is another from the golden days of 80's action toons.
Centurions
A high-octane, fast-paced sci-fi adventure with lots of explosions. Spells out summer blockbuster to me.
This is something that's so crazy that's there's not too many ways to mess it up. With those accelerator suits, maybe we should start referring to G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra as a prototype Centurions flick (or maybe I'll just tell myself that so I'll calm down a bit).
Now, the origin treatment would most likely be how the first movie plays out, especially if they want to turn it into a franchise. But it's also something in which the first few minutes of the movie could establish what the Centurions are all about. I say the trailer could pretty much be a super sleek version of the old cartoon intro.
As for casting, I can think of at least two actors I'd like to see in it. Gerard Butler as Max Ray, Bradley Cooper as Ace McCloud and Nathan Fillion as Jake Rockwell.
So that's my choice for today. I have another, but I'll save it because Murphy already handled a sci-fi western in the last one.
July 24, 2009
July 17, 2009
Geek Friend Friday Issue Number One
Being geeks, Murphy and I make some interesting geeky friend. Of course, there's nothing wrong with that. The geekier the better. And as geeks, we sometimes think about what fictional geeks we'd most likely be super cool buddies with. Now, me and said geek buddies probably wouldn't be hanging out with Murphy at the club seeing as how he has the looks and we'd scare all the girls off.
Back to my point.
There's a lot of wonderful geeks in the various shows/comic books/movies/novels we enjoy. So, we decided to talk about a few of these wonderful imaginary friends on our blog.
21 and 24
21 and 24 are the loveable lackies of the not-so-menacing supervillain known as the Monarch. This little glimpse into their antics are only a tiny taste of their geekery. They've talked about how they're "those guys that never get shot" when it comes to being henchmen, argued about how Smurfs reproduce, done a really bad beatbox (haven't we all?), trying to create battle damage by rubbing nacho chips all over your face, create mix tapes, and many other funderful geeky things. Also, 21 has a super cool collection of prop replicas from various sci-fi and fantasy movies and comic books (including one of the few real working lightsabers). And let's not leave out 24's Nissan Stanza. The convos and arguments would never stop between Roberts & Brannigan and 21 & 24.
Alas, 24 lost his life during the finale of season 3. Oh well, we still got 21 and his super cool collection. I CALL DIBS ON ARAGORN'S SWORD!!!
Back to my point.
There's a lot of wonderful geeks in the various shows/comic books/movies/novels we enjoy. So, we decided to talk about a few of these wonderful imaginary friends on our blog.
21 and 24
21 and 24 are the loveable lackies of the not-so-menacing supervillain known as the Monarch. This little glimpse into their antics are only a tiny taste of their geekery. They've talked about how they're "those guys that never get shot" when it comes to being henchmen, argued about how Smurfs reproduce, done a really bad beatbox (haven't we all?), trying to create battle damage by rubbing nacho chips all over your face, create mix tapes, and many other funderful geeky things. Also, 21 has a super cool collection of prop replicas from various sci-fi and fantasy movies and comic books (including one of the few real working lightsabers). And let's not leave out 24's Nissan Stanza. The convos and arguments would never stop between Roberts & Brannigan and 21 & 24.
Alas, 24 lost his life during the finale of season 3. Oh well, we still got 21 and his super cool collection. I CALL DIBS ON ARAGORN'S SWORD!!!
July 7, 2009
Do Not Trust MNU
No matter what you hear from or about Multi-National United, do not believe any of it. MNU says they're giving rights to non-humans, but they're using them merely as cheap labor. They put them in slums with very little in terms of public services.
Read this blog for more information on the real MNU: http://www.mnuspreadslies.com/
Read this blog for more information on the real MNU: http://www.mnuspreadslies.com/
June 29, 2009
Tandom Thoughts One
Where the heck have I been? Around.
Tandom Thoughts was a column that I wrote for my school paper my junior and senior years. It was delightfully forgettable and tandom. In fact, the name of the column was a failed attempt to combine my name with the word "random". Instead, it just made the yearbook teacher constantly point out that we misspelled tandem therefore making the yearbook crew far superior at spellchecking. Yet, he constantly tried to recruit me to join yearbook and bring Tandom Thoughts with me. Hmmmmmmm.
Anyway, I decided "Why not bring Tandom Thoughts to Blogger?" So here it is. Tandom Thoughts coming to Blogger.
To start this new adventure, I thought I'd give you my favorite edition of Tandom Thoughts I wrote.
We all like a good story. Especially ones that are so unbelievable, people don't care whether they are true or not.
To prove my point. I will now tell the story about how I killed a bear.
I was strolling through the woods thinking to myself, when suddenly I heard a rustling behind some bushes.
I went to check it out and lo-and-behold I was staring a ten-foot-bear right in the leg.
We stared at each other for a bit. Neither of us was really doing anything. That is until I noticed he was scolding me. Ten-foot-bear or not, I don't like being scolded at.
"Your fur is mangy," I told him. He scolded more and said, "So is yours." At this point, I had to pull out the big guns. I mentioned his mom.
"Your mom doesn't like your mangy fur." Take that, bear-face.
He simply replied with "At least my mom doesn't want me to cut my mangy fur."
This got me a little mad, so I started pointing at him. Mind you, bears DO NOT like to be pointed at.
He then ran at me. I then dramatically jumped out of the way while the Six Million Dollar Man sound effect played and forced him into a tree. Unfortunately, he recovered.
He then began chasing me around the lake. I had to resort to dirty tricks: I threw a stick at his feet. This stumbled him up but not enough.
He came at me again, but this time I jumped on his back and began steering him by tugging his ears. Yes, you can steer bears.
While riding bearback (BEAR-back! Get it? No? Well you stink.) I looked for a way to end this epic, yet not-so-violent battle.
Thinking quickly, I steered him into a trash can full of fatty foods. Upon consuming so much at one time, he then had a heart attack.
As he clinched his arm in pain, he looked up at me and said "Good game." Watching him die somewhat peacefully with a smile on his face, I realized this brave beast must live on somehow. So I took him home and shaved his head and arms. And that is why my flip-flops are so furry.
Tha. End.
Tandom Thoughts was a column that I wrote for my school paper my junior and senior years. It was delightfully forgettable and tandom. In fact, the name of the column was a failed attempt to combine my name with the word "random". Instead, it just made the yearbook teacher constantly point out that we misspelled tandem therefore making the yearbook crew far superior at spellchecking. Yet, he constantly tried to recruit me to join yearbook and bring Tandom Thoughts with me. Hmmmmmmm.
Anyway, I decided "Why not bring Tandom Thoughts to Blogger?" So here it is. Tandom Thoughts coming to Blogger.
To start this new adventure, I thought I'd give you my favorite edition of Tandom Thoughts I wrote.
We all like a good story. Especially ones that are so unbelievable, people don't care whether they are true or not.
To prove my point. I will now tell the story about how I killed a bear.
I was strolling through the woods thinking to myself, when suddenly I heard a rustling behind some bushes.
I went to check it out and lo-and-behold I was staring a ten-foot-bear right in the leg.
We stared at each other for a bit. Neither of us was really doing anything. That is until I noticed he was scolding me. Ten-foot-bear or not, I don't like being scolded at.
"Your fur is mangy," I told him. He scolded more and said, "So is yours." At this point, I had to pull out the big guns. I mentioned his mom.
"Your mom doesn't like your mangy fur." Take that, bear-face.
He simply replied with "At least my mom doesn't want me to cut my mangy fur."
This got me a little mad, so I started pointing at him. Mind you, bears DO NOT like to be pointed at.
He then ran at me. I then dramatically jumped out of the way while the Six Million Dollar Man sound effect played and forced him into a tree. Unfortunately, he recovered.
He then began chasing me around the lake. I had to resort to dirty tricks: I threw a stick at his feet. This stumbled him up but not enough.
He came at me again, but this time I jumped on his back and began steering him by tugging his ears. Yes, you can steer bears.
While riding bearback (BEAR-back! Get it? No? Well you stink.) I looked for a way to end this epic, yet not-so-violent battle.
Thinking quickly, I steered him into a trash can full of fatty foods. Upon consuming so much at one time, he then had a heart attack.
As he clinched his arm in pain, he looked up at me and said "Good game." Watching him die somewhat peacefully with a smile on his face, I realized this brave beast must live on somehow. So I took him home and shaved his head and arms. And that is why my flip-flops are so furry.
Tha. End.
June 8, 2009
Action Figure Collecting Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Fun
As many of you know, I collect and still play with action figures.
Why?
Short answer: I'm a geek who refuses to put his inner-child in a corner.
I've just always gotten a simple pleasure out of buying them and I always get a joy out of having various heroes and villains duking it out.
At one point in my life, believe it or not, I hardly focused on the play value.
As a child, I was never to picky about action figures. I loved the cheap discount/dollar store figures just as much as the major ones available at K-B, Toys R Us, Walmart, Target, etc. They were just fun.
Skip ahead a few years and I became a "collector". Therefore, I paid close attention to detail, articulation, accessories, dates of release for a certain series, etc. And toy shopping wasn't just "Hey, this guy looks super cool" like it was when I was younger. It was like I was looking for the right car. Oh sure, a car would be just fine but it needs to be the perfect car for me. I was buying particular figures for particular reasons.
When I'd go to any comic shop that sold old toys, I'd get a second chance to get a figure I missed out on when I was younger. Upon buying a few of them, I noticed the quality wasn't as great as a lot of stuff and sometimes the weapons or action features were pretty cheesy. But I realized something they had that was the reason I loved them when I was younger: they had a fun factor.
I'd been too busy treating action figures like works of art that I forgot the purpose of them. Now, some action figures I have are from collector oriented lines. That doesn't stop me from playing with them from time-to-time. Sure I spent about fifteen bucks on Captain Atom and all he's really meant for is to stand on my shelf and look stoic. But hey, he looks like the type who could fight a giant generic robot. Plus with one leg bent upward, he gets that cool hovering pose. And that look on his face just says "Yeah, I could've gone home with a collector who'd keep me in the box, but Tanner gives me the oppurunity to be the butt-kicking hero I was made to be. That Dollar General brand robot never stood a chance."
Now I split it up. Sometimes I'll hunt for specific figures to add to the collection when I got to a comic book store. But if I'm at Walmart, Target, or Toys R Us, I look for toys I think will just be fun and provide my inner-child with a good, action-packed playtime. 'Action Figure Collector Tanner' may want to get that epically posed Captain America that stands there, but 'Forever-Ten-Years-Old Tanner' thinks the CORPS! figures will make for a super cool military themed adventure in the sandbox.
But no matter what, I try to find the fun factor in any action figure I buy now. If it doesn't have a high play value, I think of cool ways to display it. Just so long as I find the fun in it.
After all, isn't that the point of toys?
Why?
Short answer: I'm a geek who refuses to put his inner-child in a corner.
I've just always gotten a simple pleasure out of buying them and I always get a joy out of having various heroes and villains duking it out.
At one point in my life, believe it or not, I hardly focused on the play value.
As a child, I was never to picky about action figures. I loved the cheap discount/dollar store figures just as much as the major ones available at K-B, Toys R Us, Walmart, Target, etc. They were just fun.
Skip ahead a few years and I became a "collector". Therefore, I paid close attention to detail, articulation, accessories, dates of release for a certain series, etc. And toy shopping wasn't just "Hey, this guy looks super cool" like it was when I was younger. It was like I was looking for the right car. Oh sure, a car would be just fine but it needs to be the perfect car for me. I was buying particular figures for particular reasons.
When I'd go to any comic shop that sold old toys, I'd get a second chance to get a figure I missed out on when I was younger. Upon buying a few of them, I noticed the quality wasn't as great as a lot of stuff and sometimes the weapons or action features were pretty cheesy. But I realized something they had that was the reason I loved them when I was younger: they had a fun factor.
I'd been too busy treating action figures like works of art that I forgot the purpose of them. Now, some action figures I have are from collector oriented lines. That doesn't stop me from playing with them from time-to-time. Sure I spent about fifteen bucks on Captain Atom and all he's really meant for is to stand on my shelf and look stoic. But hey, he looks like the type who could fight a giant generic robot. Plus with one leg bent upward, he gets that cool hovering pose. And that look on his face just says "Yeah, I could've gone home with a collector who'd keep me in the box, but Tanner gives me the oppurunity to be the butt-kicking hero I was made to be. That Dollar General brand robot never stood a chance."
Now I split it up. Sometimes I'll hunt for specific figures to add to the collection when I got to a comic book store. But if I'm at Walmart, Target, or Toys R Us, I look for toys I think will just be fun and provide my inner-child with a good, action-packed playtime. 'Action Figure Collector Tanner' may want to get that epically posed Captain America that stands there, but 'Forever-Ten-Years-Old Tanner' thinks the CORPS! figures will make for a super cool military themed adventure in the sandbox.
But no matter what, I try to find the fun factor in any action figure I buy now. If it doesn't have a high play value, I think of cool ways to display it. Just so long as I find the fun in it.
After all, isn't that the point of toys?
May 29, 2009
For Lack of a Better Blog
I give you... THE GREAT OFFICE WAR!!!
I dare you to tell me that was not the most epic Nerf battle waged across cubicles. I DARE you.
Murph
I dare you to tell me that was not the most epic Nerf battle waged across cubicles. I DARE you.
Murph
May 22, 2009
Cartoon's That Could Do Well In Live-Action Territory (If Done Right) Part One
Yet again, Tanner has been struck by the faceless foe known as writer's block. Well, it actually has a face this time. The face of David McCallum. Tanner's been too busy watching The Man from U.N.C.L.E. to think up a good blog, so I'm going to do one instead.
After Tanner's little rant on The Rise of Cobra, he felt that we should do a joint project on certain cartoon shows that we feel deserve the live-action treatment (if done right).
Seeing the trailer for the upcoming G.I. Joe flick (Action Force for me when I was a wee bit smaller), I know that some studios don't care much for the original stories or what made the shows so fun to begin with. I honestly didn't care much for anything involving the military when I was younger. I found my dad's old war films to be a bit, dare I say, boring. But watching Action Force made me realize just how cool the military really was. Okay, so they weren't officially 'soldiers', but the aspect was great.
Pardon that little talk about action force. I'd pretty much be repeating what Tanner said in his anti-Rise of Cobra post. But my point is that these cartoons had great ideas that would still be great in live-action movies with some touch-ups here-and-there so they'll appeal to teens and adults. Some, however, wouldn't need touch-ups because they were deep even when marketed to children.
Tanner wanted this list to be mainly cartoons popular in the states. Sorry, Bananaman.
BraveStarr
This would make a great film. The aesthetic would probably have to be changed a bit because the story is great, but I don't think those costumes would look as good if put into live-action. But the whole space western theme could be fun for many people.
I don't really want to rip-off the look of another great space western (at least, I consider it a space western), but I can see BraveStarr having a look and feel similar to Firefly and Serenity. Maybe sci-fi up the costumes a bit, but not so much to make it feel like a bad 80's sci-fi flick. And given the improvements in visual effects and make-up, I bet we could have an incredibly terrifying Tex Hex. Some may see the Prairie People as the second coming of the ewoks, but the ewoks did rock in the end.
When it comes to casting this one, I only have two actors in mind off the top of my head. For the heroic and virtuous Marshall BraveStarr, I feel Adam Beach would be a perfect choice. Look at BraveStarr and then look at Adam beach. PERFECT!!! He has that perfect tough-but-caring feel to him and even has the Marshall's smile. He'd definitely do major justice to this role, no pun intended. As for Tex Hex, leader of the Carrion Bunch and BraveStarr's arch enemy, Sam Elliott would be ideal. I'm not just picking him because he's pretty much the go-to-guy when you need a tough cowboy (or outlaw in this case), but because he could bring an odd menace to the role. Plus I think his voice would match Hex's zombie-like exterior better than that of the original voice.
Also I just want to see a shoot-out in space between Adam Beach and Sam Elliott.
Gargoyles
This one is just begging for an epic live-action translation. Nothing would have to even be changed from the original's overall plot. Gargoyles was a show that easily appealed to children and adults. At times I'm surprised Disney even produced it. It had action, drama, suspense, violence. TRUE LIFE VIOLENCE IN A SATURDAY MORNING DISNEY CARTOON!!! Come on, you're wanting a live-action rendition just as bad as me.
Considering Disney studios has started to go into the darker world of the PG-13 rating with the POTC trilogy, I'm sure they'd be fine with making Gargoyles darker than it already is. Plus the studio would be crazy to change anything from the original. Gargoyles seems like it was born to get a big-screen epic.
This is one where I think a few of the voice actors could actually come back to portray their animated counterparts. Jonathan Frakes and Salli Richardson seem to be spitting images of David Xanatos and Eliza Maza, respectively. As for the Gargoyles, I'm still not fully sure. It's be great if the studios would do the smart thing and use actors under heavy prosthetic make-up and suits. If this was the case, I know two actors picked out. Michael Clark Duncan as Goliath (was there any doubt on this choice?) and Bob Hoskins as Hudson. As for the other members of the clan, I'd have to do some thinking. Although, Tanner Criswell Roberts may be a good choice for the role of Lexington.
That's all for edition one. Tanner will give you number two as soon as he's done watching Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin save the world.
Adieu.
After Tanner's little rant on The Rise of Cobra, he felt that we should do a joint project on certain cartoon shows that we feel deserve the live-action treatment (if done right).
Seeing the trailer for the upcoming G.I. Joe flick (Action Force for me when I was a wee bit smaller), I know that some studios don't care much for the original stories or what made the shows so fun to begin with. I honestly didn't care much for anything involving the military when I was younger. I found my dad's old war films to be a bit, dare I say, boring. But watching Action Force made me realize just how cool the military really was. Okay, so they weren't officially 'soldiers', but the aspect was great.
Pardon that little talk about action force. I'd pretty much be repeating what Tanner said in his anti-Rise of Cobra post. But my point is that these cartoons had great ideas that would still be great in live-action movies with some touch-ups here-and-there so they'll appeal to teens and adults. Some, however, wouldn't need touch-ups because they were deep even when marketed to children.
Tanner wanted this list to be mainly cartoons popular in the states. Sorry, Bananaman.
BraveStarr
This would make a great film. The aesthetic would probably have to be changed a bit because the story is great, but I don't think those costumes would look as good if put into live-action. But the whole space western theme could be fun for many people.
I don't really want to rip-off the look of another great space western (at least, I consider it a space western), but I can see BraveStarr having a look and feel similar to Firefly and Serenity. Maybe sci-fi up the costumes a bit, but not so much to make it feel like a bad 80's sci-fi flick. And given the improvements in visual effects and make-up, I bet we could have an incredibly terrifying Tex Hex. Some may see the Prairie People as the second coming of the ewoks, but the ewoks did rock in the end.
When it comes to casting this one, I only have two actors in mind off the top of my head. For the heroic and virtuous Marshall BraveStarr, I feel Adam Beach would be a perfect choice. Look at BraveStarr and then look at Adam beach. PERFECT!!! He has that perfect tough-but-caring feel to him and even has the Marshall's smile. He'd definitely do major justice to this role, no pun intended. As for Tex Hex, leader of the Carrion Bunch and BraveStarr's arch enemy, Sam Elliott would be ideal. I'm not just picking him because he's pretty much the go-to-guy when you need a tough cowboy (or outlaw in this case), but because he could bring an odd menace to the role. Plus I think his voice would match Hex's zombie-like exterior better than that of the original voice.
Also I just want to see a shoot-out in space between Adam Beach and Sam Elliott.
Gargoyles
This one is just begging for an epic live-action translation. Nothing would have to even be changed from the original's overall plot. Gargoyles was a show that easily appealed to children and adults. At times I'm surprised Disney even produced it. It had action, drama, suspense, violence. TRUE LIFE VIOLENCE IN A SATURDAY MORNING DISNEY CARTOON!!! Come on, you're wanting a live-action rendition just as bad as me.
Considering Disney studios has started to go into the darker world of the PG-13 rating with the POTC trilogy, I'm sure they'd be fine with making Gargoyles darker than it already is. Plus the studio would be crazy to change anything from the original. Gargoyles seems like it was born to get a big-screen epic.
This is one where I think a few of the voice actors could actually come back to portray their animated counterparts. Jonathan Frakes and Salli Richardson seem to be spitting images of David Xanatos and Eliza Maza, respectively. As for the Gargoyles, I'm still not fully sure. It's be great if the studios would do the smart thing and use actors under heavy prosthetic make-up and suits. If this was the case, I know two actors picked out. Michael Clark Duncan as Goliath (was there any doubt on this choice?) and Bob Hoskins as Hudson. As for the other members of the clan, I'd have to do some thinking. Although, Tanner Criswell Roberts may be a good choice for the role of Lexington.
That's all for edition one. Tanner will give you number two as soon as he's done watching Napoleon Solo and Ilya Kuryakin save the world.
Adieu.
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