ElecTRONica

It took almost 30 years, but Disney and Tron are in love again.
The Mouse House has sunk a lot of time, money and even more money into promoting Tron Legacy, a sequel to a film that didn't fare all that well back in 1982. There was so much amazing horror, fantasy and sci-fi released that year that many a truly great film (Blade Runner, The Thing) bombed miserably.
Disney is willing to take Tron back and give the theatrical underachiever a second chance ... and then some. Here's a description of the latest stunt to promote the renewed romance: ElecTRONica.

Beginning October 8, the interactive, digital world of “TRON: Legacy” will light up Hollywood Pictures Backlot as we gear up for the film’s release on December 17. This will be a cool opportunity to peek inside the world of this movie, and it’s available only to visitors of Disney California Adventure park.

 You can read more about the attraction here. I've got my fingers crossed for the new Tron film. If it fails, it sure as hell won't be from a lack of trying.

Free Music: MARY SHELLEY OVERDRIVE

Beginning in late July, South Carolina's Mary Shelley Overdrive began releasing it's new album PENNY DREADFUL VALENTINE on various sites around the Internet. The band is releasing the album track-by-track, debuting songs on individual websites as free downloads before making the tracks available at a webpage devoted to the album.

So far they've released songs at The Manchester Morgue and the Dread Media podcast. The third song, an Alien-inspired tune titled "Derelict," is now available for download at Building a Drain to House the Insane.

The band has quite a few other albums available at various places around the blogosphere, including an EP featuring a cover of Blue Oyster Cult's "This Ain't the Summer of Love" that I'm pretty sure was co-produced by crystal meth. There's also an LP of original songs for sale at Amazon that references everything from Galaga, The Crow, porn, Satanism, commie astronauts and werewolves.

Scott Pilgrim Vs. Donkey Kong

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The Expendables

I saw two of the best movies of the year over the weekend. I also saw The Expendables. Sylvester Stallone didn't put a lot of effort into the script so I think I'll return the favor with this review. It's nothing personal.

The Expendables was fun when shit was exploding, but a tedious, one-dimensional bore in the more "dramatic" moments. I was pulling for Stallone because I liked Rocky Balboa and Rambo, despite their flaws. He's my generation's John Wayne and I'm predisposed to root for him even when I probably shouldn't (am I the only person on earth who likes Oscar?)

Still, Stallone earned my respect for the scene that's probably going to be the most talked-about moment in the film: the three-way hamfest between him, Bruce Willis and Arnold Schwarzenegger. It's a confusing, preposterous (maybe even unnecessary) moment, which is just barely saved by Stallone's willingness to let his co-stars run roughshod over him. It was an inspirational act of humility. I just wish the scene had something going for it beyond the star power.

There were other strong moments in the film. The fight between Jet Li and Dolph Lundren was a hoot (and possibly the most unbalanced fight since Bruce Lee when toe to toe with Kareem Abdul Jabbar.) I also got a kick out of Terry Crews automatic shotgun, and the scene where Stallone and Jason Statham blow the hell out of a dock. But there just wasn't much of a movie to connect these moments into anything cohesive.

And what was the deal with Mickey Rourke's hair? Was he filming this at the same time as Iron-Man 2, or is this just his new look?

Meanwhile, here are some theories from mc chris about the subtext of The Expendables. Read the original post here. Spoilers abound.

1. the CIA is heaven
2. church, bruce willis, is the CIA front
3. Eric Roberts was the CIA drugrunner that got kicked out. He is Satan.
4. Satan corrupts the hearts of men THE GENERAL and his SOLDIERS
5. the soldiers all wear red berets that have five five pointed stars. they are SOLDIERS OF SATAN
6. the general's daughter is the pure soul good and evil fight over.
7. right before dying the general asks for forgiveness.
8. when asked if he'll be back stallone says, i'm always here. He is GOD/JESUS.
9. jet li forgives dolph, the SINNER, at the very end.

Murder by Numbers

Stallone remains on top, which is no surprise ... but how would Schwarzenegger have fared had he been included on the list? The Terminator franchise might skew the curve in his favor, not to mention the final 20 minutes of Commando.

EDIT: I had a reader this weekend point out that I'd misread Stallone and Lundgren's numbers. I'm going to let the post stand, though, so it doesn't look like I'm trying to hide my error. Maybe I should have labeled this IDIOT instead of EDIT.

R2-D2 smart phone is coming

A limited-edition R2-D2 model Droid phone is coming next month from Motorola. Available Sept. 30, the new smart phone will be loaded with Star Wars related goodies and be limited to 50,000 pieces. The website for the phone is now live, and you can get updates on the product at the Droid Twitter feed.


From the press release:
Celebrate the 30th Anniversary of the original trilogy's beloved middle chapter by bringing home one of its most iconic characters. Announcing the limited edition Star Wars™: The Empire Strikes Back™ DROID R2-D2 from Verizon.

With all the features of the new Droid 2, including a Mobile Hotspot, intuitive QWERTY keyboard and Android 2.2, plus exclusive Star Wars content and applications.
 
This collector's edition, limited-run device will be as rare a find as R2 himself. Watch for further email updates to get pricing and availability info, and to be sure you are among the few who this R2-D2 will faithfully serve.

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