The Truth About Star Wars and YOU

The Truth About Star Wars and YOU

The trailer for the newest entry into the Star wars universe, The Force Awakens, has now been released and I was floored by the amount of responses I saw within a short period of time. What really shocked me (yes, it still shocks me) was the negativity. Now granted, I may be bias as I am a HUGE Star Wars nerd; starting in 1978 when SW came to my local theater and at the tender age of 8, I was immediately hooked. I was instantly taken to a galaxy far, far away. 

This is where I start to speak the truth about Star Wars, so buckle up as we jump to light speed. It's gonna be a bumpy ride rides. 

My love for Star Wars is over 35 yrs long and tons and tons of money deep. From countless viewings, opening night toy runs, multiple copies of VHS, DVD's and Blu Rays purchases. Yes, I feel like I have a problem. What I don't have a problem with though; knowing that Star Wars is aimed at children. As I grew older, the series stayed aimed at the same audience. My inner child was still there but I started to see the writing on the wall.

Kids love this asshole

From Ewoks to Jar Jar Binks, all aimed for kids, not me. Light sabers, space ships, creatures...yep, all for kids...again, not me. We have to remember, we all fell in love with Star Wars as a child. I would love to be selfish and think "Lucas was making the movies for me"...but sadly, he wasn't. To me, this isn't negative...this is the charm of Star Wars.

When I became a father and The Phantom Menace came out, I immediately thought, "Midnight showing with my kids!!" Was I happy with that movie? It was ok (ok, my least favorite of the series)...it was not what I fell in love with but then it dawned on me, as my kids were asking for Jar Jar Binks toys...wait, this isn't MY Star Wars...its bigger than that. THEY loved it. Know why? Because they aren't a 26 yr old fanboy who grew up on it that shits on every possible flaw that we, as adults don't feel fits into OUR Star Wars memories. We have emotion attachment, based on various feelings we all had when we saw or had our 1st experience.  

The film and universe isn't for us...its for our kids!! Sitting and bitching about how the 90 sec teaser looks, is just silly. First, how can you judge anything in 90 secs...unless you're a guy getting your first experience of vagina, its hard to achieve pleasure in 90 secs. Well, even then, its one sided. In todays world, Disney knows YOU are going go see the movie, regardless of how much you bitch. Bitching does NOTHING. The flashy droid, the cool speeder...all aimed at kids. The new Light saber design? You guessed it...for toy sales. Once you start to accept it, its much easier to just relax and enjoy. 

Ok, maybe the lens flare is for me ;)

Will it be good? Who knows. Will I be there? Of course...with my wife and kids too. I will (probably) also buying toys I don't need and more Star Wars nonsense that will continue to clutter my house. I'm not saying we have to enjoy the thought of Jar Jar making decisions that could foil the galaxy or even the thought that Chewbacca needing to get home for Earth Day, we just have to realize, we are fans, but its our inner child that has a connection. Its time for a new generation to know what becoming a fan of the series is and making that connection. The series beginning to restart again makes me happy. Knowing we will see some of the main trilogy characters, again, makes me excited. JJ Abrams is a fanboy just like us...if anyone could make a fantastic film, it's him. Have faith boys and girls. 

Be more positive, be better for tomorrows fan...and may the force be with you.....always.

XOC Podcast #19 "A Day in the Life"

XOC Podcast #19

"A Day in the Life"

The Extreme Odd Couple Podcast

This week, The King of Old School, Steve Corino and his trusty side-kick, Rob Dimension make their way to the MonsterMania Horror Convention in Cherry Hill, NJ, then head to ACW Pro Wrestling so Corino can face Jerry Lynn. The guys start podcasting at 7:30 am and don't stop til 12:30 am on Sunday.

Corino shares his "run in" with Darth Vader. They invite, Matt, a fan of the show who drove from Long Island just to talk to these two turds, to discuss what he likes. They have a discussion of Jerry Lynn, truly being the nicest guy in Wrestling and Worst jobs the guys ever had!

You guys are there for the day...enjoy! Don't forget, follow them on Twitter @SteveCorino and @RobDimension, also make sure you subscibe, rate and review the show! As always, visit http://www.xocpodcast.com/, http://www.worldofcorino.com/ & http://www.robdimension.com/ - plus, look for the XOC Podcast crew Live...you NEVER know where they will show up!

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XOC Podcast #15 - Chronic Reviewer Intervention

XOC Podcast #15
Chronic Reviewer Intervention
Extreme Odd Couple Podcast

Steve Corino and Rob Dimension discuss The Super Bowl and lack of great commercials. Corino decides it's time to have a Chronic Reviewer Intervention with Dimension about the constant reviews....we hear Dimension plans on reviewing this episode. Also, Dimension shares his views on Star Wars Episode 1 in 3D and if the Rock will reach the end of his Journey.



They discuss Reality TV, the idea of the National Guard being our Police Force and why crime is rampant in Philly. Dimension asks Corino "work out" advice that could be helpful to the listeners...all this and so much more.


Visit www.xocpodcast.com for more information, plus ask about advertising opportunities. Follow the guys on Twitter @SteveCorino and @RobDimension.

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Phantom Menace in 3D - Was my mind blown or was Uncle George blowing smoke?

Episode 1 - The Phantom Menace 

Was my mind blown..or was Uncle George just blowing smoke..?

Now, we all know that The Phantom menace was a turd of a film in relation to the Star Wars universe, probably the worst of the 6. Darth Maul was marked as one of the most bad ass villains in Cinema history only to die a quick death with less than 10 minutes of screen time...yes, I know, very frustrating.

Without going into a review of the movie, because if you haven't already seen this...chances are you won't anyways. I would rather focus on the amazing 3-D effects that I would be looking forward too. Knowing how Lucas Arts is an innovator, knowing that good ole George would have something special up his sleeve for this, just to hook all of us nerds in for more merchandise and future releases...and knowing that my hopes are high as I've defended this release and looked forward too it...Uncle George wouldn't let me or the rest of us Lucas fanboys down...would he???

I went in with every intention of being in awe, with a complete open mind. Regardless of how bad Jake Lloyd was (even in High Def) I was going to enjoy the chills during the opening crawl and be wow'd like never before!! Well, I wasn't. Let me state this...the quality of picture was amazing. You could not ask for a better transfer to screen than what you get. Every detail sticks out, every background character has a face and we see everything with amazing depth. The 3-D effects just were lackluster.

Sure, I know that this wasn't "shot in 3-D" but come on Mr Lucas, you Sir, are on top of the world with Technology, you are cutting edge...you Sir are the creator and reason why movie magic is so epic. I was expecting to duck during the podrace scene, I was expecting to need oxygen during the space battles...I was expecting to be able to punch Jar Jar but in the end....I simply felt that I watched a Blu Ray version of the movie. It looks amazing, just not amazing 3-D.

My son, @BroccoliRob11, who wasn't born when this film came out, yet has seen this film at least 40 times was my theater pal for the day. When he was younger, he enjoyed Jar Jar, in fact...while everyone hates Bink, I noticed that the kids still laugh at him. I often have to step back and say to myself "I feel in love with Star Wars when I was 8yrs old. George Lucas doesn't make these for me, he makes them for the kids".

In closing, let me say this...I will continue to support George Lucas. I am a Star Wars junkie, I have been since 1977. I've seen every release in the theaters, I've even seen most opening night. I've shared this special Star Wars bond with my Wife, my kids, my friends and many, many strangers. I will always love Star Wars and I encourage people...if you love it, then love it, if not..that's cool too. It was great to take my son today, it's memory I will always cherish and I know he will too. And to George Lucas...Thank you for what you have given so many of us (even though you're a greedy, money hungry bitch)

More "Peeking at Pictures" - Documentaries

Rob Dimension

"Peeks at Pictures"

DOCUMENTARIES

Lately, I have been watching a good amount of documentaries...you know..behind the scenes stuff, peoples opinions or an outsiders glimpse of a rival. Some succeed, some fail...after all, if I have 0 idea about the subject matter, you need to hold my interest. The nerd mood I have been in, makes choosing these titles has been easy. Granted, the subject matter of my choosing has been rather fun and somewhere along the way, these topics have been a part of my life.

The Best Worst Movie - Troll 2 has always been acclaimed as the "Worst Movie Ever Made". This film documents Cult status Troll 2 has achieved and the lives it's impacted...and it's a fun ride.

When you set out to make a film, obviously, you are hoping people watch, enjoy and help spread the word. Troll 2, released in 1989 was unleashed upon the Horror community...regardless, if we were ready of not. Having nothing to do with the original, Troll 2 has poor acting, a bad script and a slightly delusional director. This documentary exposes us to the underground movement of Troll 2 parties. Screening and the chaos that follows. The visionary Italian couple responsible makes some scenes a little uncomfortable to watch.

I liked this movie...a lot. Directed by Michael Paul Stephenson, who starred in Troll 2 as a child. It shows the lengths he goes to gather the former cast...sometimes, the "catching up" can be funny...and honestly, sad, but in the end, you will enjoy the ride. Stand out in this feature is George Hardy, a Dentist, who made the bold statement "You can't Piss on Hospitality..I won't allow it!" Hardy is a great focal point for this, he's funny, seems genuine and truly loves the attention. While I truly found Hardy a nice guy, his opinion towards the Horror community was a little off putting. Regardless, this one is for everyone who has sat through and loved a movie that's "so bad...it's a winner".

http://bestworstmovie.com/

The People vs George Lucas - Let me get this right out there...I LOVE Star Wars and once a day, some form of a Star Wars quote is spoken by me. George Lucas is the mind behind my childhood, teenage an adult obsession but let's face it...Our Uncle George has messed with "The Galaxy Far, Far Away" a little too much.

This documentary is by the fans. The fans who have stood in line for the prequels, the fans who have spend thousands of dollars on Star Wars merchandise and the fans, who regardless of what others say, believe in the Force. Granted, suffering through the multi- releases in every format, those awful prequels and the constant tinkering has made us all a little mad. This documentary is Our story!

While you could say it's 92 minutes of bitching and whining...well, ok, it is. Where is the versions of the Classic's, why the constant changes? Listen and witness Lucas talk about changing, updating and moving on in the Original Trilogy, never letting us rewatch the originals, the way we remember. Filled with opinions, fan films, plus exposure to tons of bigger nerds than me, this is a MUST watch!! (I hate saying that..but I watched this one a few times)

Let me say, I feel Lucas has made enough money off of me, but I still want the Originals released, the want the shoddy effects, the lacking CGI...I want more of the damn puppet Yoda!!! I NEED to see Han shoot first, I NEVER need to see Han step on Jabba's tail...that shit is AW-Fkn-Ful. If you agree, love "The Wars" and want to feel like part of the fandom...this is worth check out. Damn you George!!

http://www.peoplevsgeorge.com/

Dimension's Horrible Podcast #9 - Halloween??

Dimension's Horrible Podcast #9

Halloween??

This week, Rob Dimension gets a big surprise from Sal...it's time to discuss Rob Zombie's Halloween? Rob, known to despise the film, isn't a fan of this shocker, but listen in and judge for yourself. Sal is having the time of his life during this show...

Dimension also reviews 2010 Spanish film "The Last Circus", the story of Javier and why it sometimes doesn't pay to like circus clowns. They also talk Star Wars Old Republic, as Sal had an invite into the Beta format and Rob shares his love for Nintendo! (Old School NES, of course)

For more Info - http://www.robdimension.com/

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Need a Day Shift Manager? Call Chad Vader

Chad Vader - Day Shift Manager

by : Rob Dimension

All it takes sometimes, is a wake up call for you to realize that you gotta work harder to achieve great results. The guys over at Blame Society (www.BlameSociety.net) are using Star Wars and a little twist, to make that magic happen...man, I wish I had thought of that! Their hit web series "Chad Vader: Day Shift Manager", having finished the 3rd season is still garnering huge numbers in the view department.

Haven't seen it yet?? What? Okay, lets give you a back story - Chad Vader is the day-shift manager at the fictional supermarket Empire Market, who clashes with his customers and employees. From the daily power struggle to simple dating are all covered by the brother of Darth. Filtering in lines from Star Wars, this should be a MUST SEE for any, even remote fan of the most famouds Trilogy EVER (and no I am NOT talking about Lord of the Rings). Showing that the bravery gene was given to his brother, Chad does step up and do his best to keep Empire Markets on top of the competition.

(Credit Wiki) Chad Vader (Aaron Yonda/voiced by Matt Sloan) is the show's central character. He is the day shift manager of Empire Market. Sometimes using lines lifted from the Star Wars films, Chad's main goal is to crush Empire Market's competition and help make the store dominate the food retailing industry. While he has inappropriate and rocky relationships with most of his co-workers, most notably Clintfield Chadton, he has better ones with others, such as Jeremy, whom he adopts. Chad implies in the second episode that his older brother is Darth Vader, and that Darth gave Chad a life support suit and helmet similar to his own after Chad accidentally rode his bicycle into a volcano. This fact is mentioned explicitly on the Blame Society website (www.blamesociety.net). Though he uses a red Sith lightsaber as a weapon to threaten opponents and shoplifters (mostly old ladies), he may not be a Sith; he is never referred to as "Darth", the title given to all members of the Sith order. He is, however, referred to as "Lord Vader" by some characters. Chad had lost touch with his family when they moved to Tatooine without him. Despite Sloan being a local comedian and voice actor, LucasArts was impressed by his Darth Vader impression, so after the lawsuit[citation needed], they got together with him. This led to him becoming the new voice actor for Darth Vader. His voice appears in the games Empire at War: Forces of Corruption, Soulcalibur IV, and Star Wars: The Force Unleashed. It is also noted that in Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, if the player kills 12 storm troopers, they will receive an achievement entitled "Worst Day shift Manager Ever".

So, in closing...when you think that you are doing great with your show (looking into the mirror) you realize guys like Blame Society average 500,000 views and even grabbed over 10 million views for thier 1st episode....THAT is making people notice you. Take a minute and head over to the Chad Vader page - http://www.youtube.com/show/chadvader?s=2

 

For info on Chad Vader, the creators and some of Blame Society's other creations, visit:

Blame Society

 

Star Wars - The Force Unleashed II review

Star Wars the Force Unleashed II Review

 by - John Cannon

In a galaxy long ago….ok let’s be real, it was this past week and it was at my nearest GameStop store. I had heard about the Force Unleashed II coming out a number of months ago and after becoming a fan of the first game I knew I had to acquire a copy of the sequel, STFU2. Now in reading a small bit of information regarding the new game I was intrigued as they said the game play and controls would overall be a lot easier to handle. I was pretty happy this as remembering back to the first one I usually had a hard time with the force grab and throw option as well as not having good force lightning.

So anyways, I got the call that they would have a midnight release of the game and while I had done them before I was too tired to attempt this one, so I opted to just go in the morning. I went the next day picked up my copy and threw it into my car to play at a later date. A couple days later I was talking with a friend who had picked the game up and was playing it and so I asked him what he thought about it. He told me the force throw and lightning were awesome, but the story line just seemed a bit weird. He explained a little bit of the story to me and I have to admit I was confused about it, so that sort of got me in gear to load it up and play it.

Once my PS3 (I only do PS3, sorry Xbox fans) loaded al the updates for the game I clicked on the start menu and began the journey.

Now as I played through the game I did realize that the game play was in fact much easier and in my opinion a bit more enjoyable than the first one. The force grab and throw was excellent and much more easier than before so I give the game designers kudos for that one. Plus the force lightning starts off kind of bleh, but once you upgrade it one its like the emperor himself is throwing lightning, very cool.

There are however a few things that I really didn’t enjoy about this game. One was the fact that it seemed much shorter than the first one, I mean a beat it within a few hours of game play and really didn’t have much of an effort beating it. So that was a bit disappointing in itself. Then you get to the story line and I know many a Star Wars fan who loves the story lines in the films and this was a severe let down. IT made no sense what so ever in relation to the first film and just when you think you begin to understand what is going on they change it and you’re confused all over again. While I am not a huge Star Wars “mark” I do enjoy seeing the classic characters like Yoda show up, yet he does nothing and you do nothing on his planet, a complete waste of time to see a vision that could have easily been a cut scene. Finally towards the end of the game it goes into some sort of weird outlook and you can no longer dash or move the camera around, it just didn’t make sense.

In playing and thinking about this game I would say go get it because its game play is excellent, just try not to focus on the story line to much.

Be safe and may the force be with you,

John Cannon

Comic Book Vocabulary - A Beginners Guide to Comic Book terms and more

Comic Book Vocabulary - A Beginners Guide to Comic Book terms and more
Video Included!!!

by : John Cannon

Comic books have been around for a multitude of years even starting as early as 1934 when the reprinted regular newspaper comics at first. Now if you have gone through your life and have never read a comic I can understand as they don’t appeal to some people. However if you have gone through your life and never even seen a comic book then I would have to call you a liar. Comics have become apart of the main stream fabric in which we live. Today they are making them into movies and TV shows, mainly because Hollywood has apparently run out of ideas and their effort to appeal to another target audience, but I digress. Ok before I digress, some of these movies are absolutely horrible and don’t follow the established path the comic or even cartoons had taken, I make my point with the X-Men movies, ok now I am done…for now. 

Suffice it to say comic books have been read time and time again and generated their own world. I know this as Rob and I went to Wizard World in Philadelphia and felt completely out of my element. Rob was like a kid in a candy store as he went through comics, DVD, Toy, T-shirt & artists booths. He was like a kid in a candy store until we saw the Jedi’s fighting, then it was just plain depressing, at least to me it was. Yet in a way it was a side of Rob I had never seen before, it was pretty cool. To see him in his universe, as I called it, with such a love and passion for everything comic related was pretty cool and I was glad to be apart of it. However I couldn’t help feel a bit out of my league as I looked around at the people and heard the conversations in a language not entirely familiar to me. It was English, with maybe a little bit of Klingon mixed in, but it was the phrases that they used.

I asked Rob a ton of questions about what was this, what does that mean and why are fat storm troopers so funny to look at. I knew then that I could not be the only person in the world who would be completely lost in this bizzaro world of comics and its terminology. I used to read some comics back when I was in middle school and high school and if you ask Rob he will tell you the only comics I ever really remember reading were any Lobo comics and the graphic novel Batman vs Judge Dredd, which I will find and own someday. Again, I knew I could not be the only one in the world to have such limited knowledge of comics so I pitched the idea to both him and James from Cyborg 1 about doing a segment that could be related to the more novice/beginner comic book reader. Whenever Rob & James get together to go over comics or Rob talks to me about comics I usually stand there with a blank look on my face because I have no clue of the terminology being used. I figured this would be the starting point for me and all those like me, I would research and write down some comic terms and have Rob & James explain them in a way that they were understandable for the average beginner comic book reader.

Listed below are some of the terms I brought to them and you can see the 2 part video of a more in-depth definition of the words on latenighthorrorhotel.com we filmed.

Comix	This is associated more with Alternative and Underground comics
Comics	This is associated more with more mainstream comic companies such as DC & Marvel
Graphic Novel / Trade Paperback	A series of individual comics compressed into one big book.
Motion Comic	A hybrid of comic books & animation
Prestige & Bookshelf Format	Is based upon the number of pages within the “book” usually being 48 to 64 pages in length
Alternative Comics	Is non-mainstream and delivers on a wide range of subject matter
The Marvel Method	A way a comic is written; mainly being the artist would draw the comic first based upon an outline then the words would be added.
Continuity	The way in which a comic flows and little things are observed or happen within a comic series
Canon	Refers to the stories which are, at any one point, part of the "official", "accepted" history and story of particular characters/universes.
Retcon	A retcon affects the past history of characters and/or the whole shared universe, and says that the "new" changed events have always been that way.
Crossover	A guest appearance by one superhero into another superheroes world. Usually one companies heroes into another’s.
Shared Universe	A multitude of different characters co-exist and/or interact
Direct Market	The comics that are sent directly to the comic store rather than to places like Borders or Barnes & Nobles
Variante	Same exact comic, but with 2-3 different covers
Sleeper	A lesser known comic with great potential
Grade	The condition of a comic
Mini-Series	Usually a series of 6 comics to tell a story over time
Maxi-Series	Usually a series of 8 or more comics to tell a story over time
Manga	Japanese comics
Bleed	The art touches the edge of the pages without the traditional white frames
Splash Page	Full page drawing in a comic book
Gutter	The space between borders
Previews	A monthly book that shows the up and coming comics for early purchase.

I found this glossary link on the DC Wiki website, check it out for some more definitions: http://dc.wikia.com/wiki/Category:Glossary_Entries

Hopefully these terms and definitions help you understand the comic world just a little bit more and if you have any other you would like explained please contact us at latenighthorrorhotel@hotmail.com

At the end of all this I realized there was a whole other word out there that I was not aware of. I have heard Rob discuss things like Magic, Pokemon & Starwars RPG Games just to name a few. Now I have “heard” of these things before I just don’t know what the draw is to them, I don’t know anything about them and again I know there are a lot of people out there just like me who have the same confusion. So again I have put it to Rob and we will look at filming some segments that will help to uncover and understand the underground geek world out there. And believe me they are out there and some of them are really scary…did I mention the fat storm troopers?

Be safe and don’t forget your 13 sided die,

John Cannon

Part 1
 

Watch LNHH Comic Definitions Part 1 in Entertainment  |  View More Free Videos Online at Veoh.com

Part 2