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Wednesday, May 8, 2013

OMG Guys! Look! An IT Crowd Finale!

The IT Crowd

The EW has dropped a happy news flash informing us that The IT Crowd is gonna get it's season finale! They will begin filming before the month's end.

Sadly, it doesn't look like we're going to get the show BACK, but I'll happily take any extra I can get and a little more closure. Not that anything desperately needing closing...it just kinda stopped. By the time you get to the last episode in current existence, you're kinda stunned by the sudden .... lack of a next episode. It just... abruptly ends. No warning. No farewell. Nothing.

IF you are a one of the sad deprived souls who has yet to discover The IT Crowd, then I suggest to you, in a most adamant and firm manner, that you get your arse over to wherever it is you get your shows from and WATCH IT NOW. There are some laughs you will never be able to find anywhere else on this planet. DO IT.

Lots of references. We love our references.

If you are not used to British humor, then trust me, you'll get into the full swing of it by about half way into the first season. And that's just the beginning.

Let me know if you do a live tweet as you watch or rewatch so I can follow your hashtag! Cannot WAIT till we get further news and confirmation about when we can expect this finale.

Till Our Next Rendezvous,

Heather

The Incredible Dork

Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Pucatrade

We here at NGU are big fans of the card game Magic: The Gathering. You may have seen our previous post reviewing the 2013 Deck Builder set. These sets are great to start out with, but you're going to realize pretty fast that you're going to need some more cards to make the best deck possible. When you get your deck set up, you quickly get to know what kinds of cards you need and in some instances, the exact card you need to make your deck unbeatable. In the past this used to involve buying booster after booster until you got the cards you need or scouring local Friday Night Magic tournaments until you found someone with the card you wanted and then hope that they'd be willing to trade you that card(s). But now, with the internet making out lives oh so easy, why shouldn't you be able to quickly, easily and safely trade for the cards you need with anyone around the world? Eric Freytag felt the same way so he created Pucatrade. With the site, MTG players all across the globe can trade for the cards they need and put up for trade the cards they don't. They just completed their indiegogo campaign to raise funds so that they can get out of beta and even in beta have helped thousands of players trade over 80,000 cards. The interface is easy to use and every trade is guaranteed by Pucatrade. If someone rips you off or you're not satisfied with the trade, Pucatrade with reimburse you the full value of the cards. They also don't use cash, so no worries about anyone stealing any credit info. They use a credit system where you can build up credits from participating in the community, inviting friends and many more ways to fund your card trading. And don't worry, signing up is free, there is no monthly fee to use the site, but if you want to help support them, you can always upgrade to PucaPro for only $2.99 a month or $18.00 a year to unlock additional features. Check out their press release below for all that Pucatrade has to offer the MTG community.

OUR INNOVATIVE SYSTEMS OFFER A BETTER WAY TO TRADE

Our Intelligent Trade-Matching System –Our auto-matching technology instantly connects you with people who want the cards you’re offering.

A “Haggle-Free” Trading Experience—Tired of arguing over price? We were too. Our Card Value Index has the prices of cards pre-loaded, so you always get full value for your cards.

Our Trade Guarantee – PucaTrade guarantees the success of every trade, or you’ll be reimbursed in full for the value of your cards.

BENEFITS OF THE CREDIT SYSTEM

More Trading for You—Send cards to anyone who wants them; not just to the people who have stuff you want.

A “Savings Account” for Trades—Even if you don’t want any cards at the moment, you can still trade to earn credits for that deck you plan to build next week.

Many Ways to Earn Credits—Don’t have that many cards? No worries; you can still participate in the PucaTrade community. Earn credits just for signing up, leaving feedback, inviting friends, and much more.

A COMMITMENT TO FREE TRADE

PucaTrade is free (really free)—We offer a way for you to get the cards you want, without spending cash.Other sites charge 10-30% just to use their service. We believe that the best part about trading is saving money.

Social Equality - We think it's vitally important to the MtG community that this game remains accessible to all players, regardless of socio-economic status. Free trade is a big step towards the goal of making Magic a more financially-accessible game.

BEYOND BETA -- GOALS FOR THE NEAR FUTURE

A Delightful User Experience—We will make PucaTrade instantly understandable to people that visit for the first time, and you’ll be able to start trading immediately upon signing up.

A Social Community—We’ll build ways to communicate and share with one another, so that you can leave feedback and rate your experiences with other traders. This will also provide you with more control over who sends you cards.

Support for Foils—Everyone loves these shiny, holographic “Premium” cards (even if you just love them for their higher value).

Account Authentication—This verification process allows us to confirm that each member of PucaTrade has only signed up for 1 account per person. This is a critical feature that will enable us to give you free trade-credits, even if you don’t have many cards to send.

Non-English Cards and Various Conditions—Magic is printed in many different languages, and it’s our goal to support them all on PucaTrade. Likewise, cards that have seen varying degrees of play should be available for trade on PucaTrade, as well.

Friday, May 3, 2013

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

To Infinity and Beyond!

That's the TARDIS. She's infinite!

These are a few of my favorite things!

Here are my Top 5 from this episode:

1. Costumes!

What good is a sic-fi show without the things of geekdom?

The whole salvage ship idea was definitely a winner in my book. Who doesn't love the concept of Space Pirates? Not to mention the agony of watching our beloved TARDIS captured and unceremoniously lumped in with the rubbish? That's why we have TV; we love having our feelings toyed with. We're weird. Back to the point, period costume and futuristic space costumes are some of my favorite things; and we got some classic space stuff in this episode.

Cool goggles and breathing apparatus: CHECK!

The Android was also a fun feature. Even though, he turned out to be the victim of a cruel, INCREDIBLY CRUEL, ongoing sick joke. The evil brother had made himself void of all conscience by inflicting a vile form of psychologic abuse to better his own ends, but, mercifully for the younger brother, they were all given a do-over. In the new timeline, the evil brother was given a fresh start and the younger saved from such emotionally scarring treatment. Do overs. Such a precious and amazing thing that we don't really get to experience in real life. It's cool to at least see it on TV.

2. Beyond the Console of the TARDIS!

Now this episode was ALL about the TARDIS. So SO many snippets from the Doctor gave us further insight to the scientific miracle that is the TARDIS. Those damn Timelords are so freaking smart. My favorite little quote was when the Doctor was genuinely concerned about an oncoming "TARDIS tantrum".

As promised, we got to see the massive library! AND ... AND the swimming pool that River landed in!! Remember when she had to jump off that tall building in New York and the TARDIS arrived just in time, opened her doors, and we both heard and saw the splash?

We got to see the TARDIS mess with everyone and protect herself in so many ways. I particularly liked when she turned the ladder to acid metal to make that guy fall off. I also really liked how she was switching the console room back and forth so fast that the Doctor was in one dimension while Clara was in another, but both in the same console the entire time while unable to see or speak to eachother. The analogy of a light switch toggling back and forth was pretty darn cool. That, was sic-fi AWESOMENESS right there.

One of the things that drew me in the most, as I'm sure it did all of us, was the office. Or, the other little library. I wish so badly I could go there and explore that room. I died over the Encyclopedia Gallifrey. DIED. They looked like alchemist's bottles. Liquid knowledge. I wonder how you use them. Did I mention they are so cool I could die?

3: The History of the Time War.

The ever elusive Time War.

Seeing that book was like laying eyes upon the Holy Grail. Not much more needs to be said, other than, "Just look at it", in hushed reverent tones. Clara got to both touch it and look within it's priceless pages.

She did say, "so that's who", before being interrupted. There's lots of speculation over what that means or why something like that would be so easily read in a book. I don't want to diminish the sanctity of the moment. I think I'd like to revel in the wow factor. In the end, Clara doesn't remember it anyway as time gets reset. Just look at that book. It's beautiful. The Doctor's deepest pain and every Whovian's lingering questions are embodied right there in that book.

4. The Doctor asks Who.

It occurs to me now, that this entire time with Clara, the Doctor is being confronted with his own question. Clara who? When the moment came that he knew they were done for, he just out right bluntly asked her.

The Doctor: Well, we're about to die. There's no point now. Just tell me who you are.
Clara: You know who I am.
The Doctor: No, I don't. I look at you at you every single day, and I don't understand a thing about you. Why do I keep running into you?

5. The Architectural Reconfiguration System.

A scientific marvel beautiful to behold.

Everything.

When the Space Pirate's scanner found the room holding the Architectural Reconfiguration System, it told him that "everything" was in that room. Among the many critical components of the TARDIS, we got to see this mechanical system. It was gorgeous. It was mindblowing.

"Whatever machine you require, this system will build it."

Need we say more.

And that dumb lug was willing to cut up this last specimen of Gallifreyan ingenuity. That's what happens when you kill your soul hurting others. You no longer see what's truly valuable and precious. Luckily for him, the TARDIS specializes in matters of time and he got that do over.

The Doctor is so Doctor-ish this second half of the season. I love it. We've gotten to see rooms of the TARDIS in the past, probably more often in Classic Who, so it was especially awesome to have an episode that gave us the chance to explore the TARDIS and concepts relating to the TARDIS. Also, was it just me, or did it seem that the TARDIS is warming up to Clara?

Have an awesome Doctor Who Saturday!!! Looking forward to seeing red...err.... crimson!!

Your Timey Wimey Buddy,

Heather

The Incredible Dork

Saturday, April 27, 2013

Hide!

Look in the middle.

How many times have I looked at this poster and NOT seen the freakiest part!?!
Beware! My post is spoilery as always and meant to be enjoyed POST viewing.

Stormy weather! Creepy old house!! Paranormal activity reading devices! Psychic girl!! This episode just starts off with ALL the cool stuff! Instantly delivering on all the creep the poster promised! Then, THAT GHOST!!!!! Not some weak whispy thing...it had a freaky face and errythang! Now, when the ominous banging at the door started, we all KNEW it was the Doctor. Loved his cheekiness when he popped his head out all of a sudden and threw out a "BOO!!".... "We're looking for a ghost.", immediately followed by Clara's "Ghostbusters!!" quip. *happy sigh*

I know we all died over the next line. Instead of the new guy responding with "Doctor who??" he said "Doctor what?" and the Doctor was all "If you like!" Hahaaaa!!!! Doctor What. Oh TimeLORDY that was too good.

In my book, the mark of an awesomely exceptional movie or TV episode is when its so loaded with great lines that you want to quote them ALL all day!! Erryday!! I can't even decide what to highlight next!! I just want to rewatch the whole episode and pause it every few seconds to quote all the brilliant things that came out of the Doctors mouth! And Claras!! We're gonna have to do a twitter rewatch together sometime with #Hide as the hashtag so we can just quote and comment away.

Another minor detail that I loved was how the Doctor brought up all the things he admired about the guy (getting especially excited when calling him a Ghost Hunter), but all to point out that this guy was great, brave, and humble. The Doctor seems to always, even in his mad 10 million words and thoughts per second, find a moment to encourage someone who's a bit forgotten or perhaps a tad deflated. It wasn't empty flattery, it was a plain old "well-done" pat on the back respect. With the Doctor, nothing is empty or fake. Even when he's lying, it's always for a reason. Usually to save our butts. (Rule 1: The Doctor Lies.) There are always many meaningful nuggets that occur so fast; the Doctor just screams along at such a genius alien pace that you barely get a chance to register them sometimes. He started to say really nice things to the girl who was an Empathic, but Clara sensed it wasn't the time or the right thing to say and stopped him. He means well! He just gets carried away with all the stuff he knows! Anywhooo... I'm getting carried away now.

I especially loved that board with all the photos of the ghost. Very cool. Very demented faces. Loved it. Having the "ghost" turn out to be the FIRST time traveler was AWESOME. I dunno why, but I particularly like that she wore a white space suit of sorts.

Know what else I loved? Clara's faces!!! Her expressions... I love it when actors don't stand there all boring like. I once watched the movie A Knight's Tale specifically to observe Wot the entire time because he was perpetually hilarious even if it wasn't his scene. I'm starting to want to watch Clara like that because she's so... not dull... and she's, dare I say, SO CUTE!!

I haven't even gotten to all the poingnat moments with the Doctor. The episode was crammed full of them. In particular, the scene when they were developing the photos was pretty loaded with meaning. The Doctor's face after this exchange caused some pretty legit feelings:

The Doctor: (asking the guy, Alec, about himself) How does that man? That war hero? End up here, in this lonely old mansion looking for ghosts?

Alec Palmer: Because I killed. And I caused to have killed. I sent young men and women to their deaths, and here I am, still alive. It..it does tend to haunt you...living. After so much of... the other thing.

There was also that other little moment after the Doctor had taken a photo of their location at every point in time ("When are we!" Clever Clara!), when Clara asked if her grave was out there somewhere. We know the Doctor has seen her gravestone. Again, his face. The knowing yet unsure look on his face at that moment. *feelings*

I bet we're all alive to him. All the time. Surely he remembers us like that rather than as dead?

Now, onto the curious case of the TARDIS always locking Clara out. Or as Clara called her, the grumpy old cow!! LOL. You know, I wonder if the TARDIS locks her out because Clara died that one time kind of as a result of just walking into the TARDIS and then being followed by that frozen governess monster chick? Maybe it's a health and safety thing? That said, she's awfully persistent about not letting Clara in. I do love that the TARDIS finally responded to Clara and that they rescued the Doctor together. Togther! Not only that, but the Empathic girl, Emma, rescued EVERYONE. Even the TARDIS!

THEN... THEN!!!! It all turned out to be a love story. And not just between Alec and Emma. It was about love lost and found again. Even if they were kind of, errm, awkward looking creatures. Love is love! It is always beautiful. It even made those creatures, however strange they may appear to our sense of beauty, beautiful to us.

Now, there is SO much more to comment about on that episode, that I am seriously serious about doing a twitter re-watch sometime. Let's do it after the season ends when all feel like dying. Perhaps it will comfort us.

Can't wait for our next Journey!!

Together in Timey Wimey,

Heather

The Incredible Dork

Thursday, April 25, 2013

Movie Review: Upstream Color

Upstream Color is undoubtedly science fiction, but not in the way we’re accustomed to seeing it in Hollywood. It takes place neither in the future nor a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away. There are no lasers, spaceships, sophisticated gadgets, or remarkable inventions. The film takes place in modern-day America and the characters are ordinary people. However, they are subject to circumstances that could only be born out of science fiction.

To say that there are also no aliens or strange creatures (the other big staple of sci-fi) would be both true and false at the same time in the case of this film. Unlike the traditional creatures we find in sci-fi films, which are usually some fantastic version or combination of earthly animals, the entity in Upstream Color does not seem to have a corporeal form. Described by the film’s promotional material only as an “ageless organism,” this being is never verbally referenced by any of the characters, and is never shown in any way other than how it affects the living things it comes into contact with. However, these effects are what drive the entire film.

These deviations from the Hollywood sci-fi status quo are not accidental. Acting as director, writer, producer, actor, cinematographer, editor, composer, casting director, production designer, sound designer, and distributor, Shane Carruth worked independently from Hollywood to make a specific type of film that doesn’t subscribe to any conventions. One such convention it breaks away from is a standard, linear plot. Upstream Color doesn’t tell its story from beginning to end, but instead utilizes a sort of cyclical plot structure that repeatedly references itself.

This plot structure is not used in an attempt to disguise confusion as cleverness, but as a way to connect the audience to the characters. The organism that drives our story infuses itself into a natural cycle, moving from plants, to insects, to people, to farm animals, and back into nature for the cycle to start again. All living things that comes into contact with this presence share a connection, whether they be human, animal, or plant. This connection is never fully explained or investigated; this movie isn’t about explanations, it’s about experiences and the emotions that result from them. Our two main characters, Kris (Amy Seimetz) and Jeff (Carruth), are caught in this shared experience and become part of the cycle.

Words are repeated. They’re spoken by Jeff and and repeated by Kris. They’re spoken again by Kris and repeated again by Jeff, over and over until we can’t remember who said what first, and neither can the Kris or Jeff. Everyone, including the viewer, is lost in a haze of mixed-up thoughts, memories, and emotions that continually blur together. Actions are repeated. The same experiences are played out by different entities at the same time but in different places, or in the same place but at different times, or at different times and places altogether. Sometimes the specifics aren’t obvious but the connections between entities and the emotional significance are clear. The movie cycles around and recalls itself many times, but rather than feeling redundant these repetitions instead echo emotion. This type of storytelling is sometimes disorienting spatially and chronologically; you don’t always know where or when you are, but those details become cloudy to the characters as well as the film progresses.

Yet however confusing things seem to get, there is always a sense that this is a controlled chaos; an impression that we are seeing exactly what the filmmaker wants us to see. Whether it be seemingly random shots of nature, ambiguous lines of dialogues,or distinctive audio cues, everything in Upstream Color is purposefully included to elicit a particular reaction from the viewer and specifically placed within the film in a way that’s only possible when almost all aspects of the production are controlled by one person. A collaborative effort is often what makes large films possible, but in this case it’s a singular effort from Shane Carruth that makes this smaller film so precise.

It is this irregular but exact form of storytelling that makes Upstream Color very different from what we’re used to seeing in movies. It can a bit hard to digest at first, but upon later reflection the film gives a sweet aftertaste. Simple yet stunning images and a strong emotional connection that the film has forged linger with us much longer than the confusion from the atypical narrative structure.

Grade: B

Upstream Color

Directed by: Shane Carruth

Written by: Shane Carruth

Starring: Shane Carruth, Amy Seimetz, Andrew Sensenig

Release date: April 5, 2013 (Limited); Expanding April 19 & April 26

Feel free to follow me on Twitter @JOKftw or post in the comments if you've got any questions or comments.

Wednesday, April 24, 2013

Space: The Final Frontier... now with jokes

My goodness gracious. You just have to think that this was planned. So you mean to tell me, that someone piloted the Rover, turned the camera and snapped this picture by accident? Who am I kidding, if I had tax payer money to send something to another planet I'd do the same thing! Oh NASA, you slay me.

Reddit: Mars Rover

Monday, April 22, 2013

New Images and Plot Details - Thor: The Dark World

Chris Hemsworth and executive producer, Kevin Feige, recently spoke with USA TODAY and revealed some interesting plot points for the movie coming to theaters in November.

Ok, well remember how in the self-titled 2011 movie Thor had leave Jane Foster (Natalie Portman) on Earth so he could return home and deal with his family and it didn't seem like he would be coming back any time soon? Remember how in last summer's The Avengers, Thor magically came back to Earth to help deal with Loki and we never see him call Jane or chat with her on Skype? Yeah. He has some explaining to do.

"Thor still has lot of explaining to do, and a lot of making up. Even demigods end up in the doghouse, mate. So none of us is safe," Hemsworth.

Jane's life will be in danger and Thor will have to bring her to Asgard. "So while Thor was a fish out of water on Earth in the first two films (Thor and The Avengers), this time Jane is very much a fish out of water in Asgard," says Feige.

As you can imagine, it won't be all sunshine and rainbow bridges when Thor brings his Earth-girlfriend home. Jane will have to meet Thor's parents. So you know that whole not being good enough for your significant other's parents? Thor's mom, Frigga (Rene Russ), is the Goddess of Love, Beauty, and Marriage and Childbirth and papa Odin (Anthony Hopkins) is the Supreme God.
And lest we forget Thor's on-again/off-again Asgard-girlfriend, the warrior goddess, Sif played by Jaime Alexander.

"It's superhero action, but it's the familiar territory of a love triangle where the parents think your girlfriend is wrong for you," says Feige. "That's how the best of these movies work."

Every good super hero film needs a villain. Thor: The Dark World gets the Dark Elf Malekit played by the 9th Doctor himself, Christopher Eccleston. Malekit threatens Earth and Asgard and Thor will have show he can do more than just hit things with a hammer.

"I really wanted to ramp up his skill set in battle," says Hemsworth. "He's not just this Viking throwing the hammer. Here he's more demigod with dynamic moves we haven't seen before."

Not only will Thor have to step up his fighting game, but he's going to need some help. He's going to have to stop by Asgard-Jail and ask his brother for some help.

"Needing Loki's help turns everything on its head," says Hemsworth. "And it allows us to explore the underlying complexities of their relationship. It really ends up being a kind of chess match."

And don't worry about Loki not being as awesome and dastardly as he has been in previous movies. Kevin Feige says, "Tom has built and shaped one of the best movie villains in years with many, many layers. It will be very difficult for Loki to lose the villain status. He has that firmly in hand."

Thor: The Dark World will hit theaters on November 8th, 2013.

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Recent Posts

OMG Guys! Look! An IT Crowd Finale!

Pucatrade

Journey to the Centre of the TARDIS

Hide!

Movie Review: Upstream Color

Space: The Final Frontier... now with jokes

New Images and Plot Details - Thor: The Dark World