The Bloated Penguin

After quite a disappointing 2009, it looks like big studios were saving themselves for the turn of the decade. Check out a couple of new trailers from some big profile flicks coming out later this year.

Tron Legacy

Nice! I have to be honest – I wasn’t a huge fan of the original but I think it’s mostly because I’m from a different generation. I liked it a lot, but I think this new one looks like it could be what the Tron franchise needs to go beyond cult status. I’ll definitely watch the original before I check this out as you can tell from this new trailer that Tron Legacy is in fact a sequel. Fingers crossed for Disney on this one as a followup to Alice in Wonderland.

Iron Man 2

Interesting…. Very interesting indeed. I’m curious to see how this one turns out because right now it’s got a lot going against it. From the looks of the cast, I think it actually has too many well-known names attached. Also, sequels (with respect to T2) hardly ever turn out well. In any case, it’ll be fun to watch RDJ and Donny Cheadle jump in their suits and beat the snot out of some robots.

So far, 2010 is looking up in terms of big budget flicks.

I say this with the utmost respect to Kathryn Bigalow and The Hurt Locker gang, but Jason Reitman was absolutely robbed last night. In case you were sleeping or living in a cave, last night was the Academy Awards and Up In The Air wasn’t given a sniff of an award. With Avatar taking all of the awards that have to do with a computer, I really thought that George Clooney and the rest of the peeps involved with Jason Reitman’s flick had a chance. Turns out I was wrong…

I’ve seen The Hurt Locker and it’s pretty good. My only beef with it is that I’m really tired of war stuff. Tanks, tanned cammo, automatic weapons and disassociated soldiers has been done… Al lot. Granted, The Hurt Locker was one of the better flicks to show this, but at the end of the day, Up In The Air was an original, well portrayed look into the times. It included elements of social commentary, comedy, drama and some great performances. Yes, it was an adapted story, but at the end of the day, aren’t all movies?

Again, nothing against The Hurt Locker, but Up In The Air was absolutely robbed last night.

If you follow The Bloated Penguin (shout out to mom!) then you know that I’ve got a slight obsession with all things Neil Patrick Harris. I was a HUGE Doogie fan and seeing him emerge as a pop-culture icon over the years gives me hope for a happy life. Anyways, upon hearing that NPH will be in the new Smurfs movie (uh, yeah….) I’ve decided to show my top 10 NPH moments ever. Drum roll please:

#10 – NPH’s first cameo as himself in Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle

Some great insight into what went on behind the scenes on the set of Doogie Howser

#9 – NPH’s song Laundry Day for Doctor Horrible’s Sing-Along-Blog

We always knew he had singing chops, but this has become a classic in the new age world of Joss Whedon

#8 – NPH Performing Barney Stinson’s singing number on How I Met Your Mother’s 100th episode

In an episode that guest starred Rachel Bilson, this was actually the highlight – that says something

#7 – NPH as Barney Stinson explaining the Hot versus Crazy graph

Not only hilarious, it actually kind of makes sense… so I’ve heard.

#6 – NPH’s Old Spice Commercial

“I used to be a doctor for pretend”

#5 – NPH sings about shoes on Sesame Street

I’ve only actually seen this clip online so I have no idea why he’s dressed like and angel.

#4 – NPH’s return in Harold and Kumar Escape From Guantanamo Bay

Nothing like seeing someone drive on shrooms

#3 – NPH intros the 2009 Emmy’s

Dude can sing like really REALLY fast

#2 – NPH mocks himself as he does a Doogie Howser journal entry as Barney Stinson

It’s always nice to see someone who doesn’t take themselves too seriously.

#1 Doogie Howser MD

This song alone made me want to learn how to play the keyboard. Turns out it’s really difficult so I never got started.

There you have it.

Wow….

Ever wonder where online video could go if marketing corporations and online video players actually worked together? First, check out this ad by Frito which I have embedded below:

“And Then There Was Salsa” from Frito Lay Dips on Vimeo.

Pretty Effen sweet huh? Now, check out what this video is like when you load it up on Vimeo’s site

RIGHT HERE

WHAAAAAAATTTTT?

Props to Vimeo and Fritos for putting together something really amazing that will no doubt change the way corporations look at online video advertising. Youtube…. What’s your push back?

As most of us Canadians were forced to endure the terrible introductions of Brian Williams and his ragtag team of bad broadcasters, old people and socially inept morning hosts, I did notice a few things that could have made things more enjoyable.

10 – Dude drinking beer through Whistler village.

CTV completely missed the boat on this one forgetting to mention that the beer was most likely locally brewed.

9 – Loooouuuuuu is not Booooooooo

I get that CTV and TSN tried to explain that us Vancouverites were not booing, but why not actually ask someone who doing it?

8 – The Houses

Other than constant shots of Canada Hockey House, CTV never really showcased any other house. Wasn’t Holland house bangin?

7 – From Dives to Presentable Venues

This is more of a tip of the hat to the people of VANOC who turned dives like the Pacific Coliseum and BC place into world class venues. CTV decided not to show how much work was put into these places to make them look the way they did.

6 – How Did Brian Williams Stay Alive?

I’m sure that Brian Williams has since returned to his cryogenic chamber that keeps him preserved for another four years, but I would have liked to see someone analyze his day like he did will all of the speed skaters.

5 – How were all of these red mittens produced?

I’m not being critical, in fact I think it would have been a great segment to have. How did The Bay manage to turn everyone’s hands red? Come on, wouldn’t you have rather seen that than another segment of Michael Landsberg walking through Whistler village?

4 – Athlete’s Village

What went on in there? Fans partied outside, but weren’t there some kickin’ parties going on in the Athlete’s Village? It was like CTV tried to get in the door, but the bouncer said no unless he brought 6 hot friends.

3 – What happened to those tards who broke shit?

It would have awesome to show what happened to those guys that went around smashing shit. Like a 5 minute segment on a VANOC van dropping them off in Hope or something with a bunch of the mascots waiting to pound on them.

2 – Russian Disappointment

Okay, maybe this would have been a bit much, but as we passed the Olympic flag over to Sochi, would it have been cool to challenge them personally? Like “Let’s see if you can do it better, even though you’re all considered failures already by your leader.”

1 – Danny Chan’s Olympic Photography

Again, probably not the highest on everyone’s list but Danny Chan had some of the BEST images of the games I’ll ever see. It was a privilege to follow him on FB and got me thinking about why CTV didn’t focus a little bit on the personal creativity of the locals.

Don’t know if Danny will have his albums public, but I think everyone should be able to enjoy them.

This is my favorite, but he's got tons more.

Anyways, if you thought this was lame, go download Silverlight and watch CTV’s coverage on your own time.

OUT.

I’m kind of wigging out like a crack-addict after the first three hours of rehab. I miss Fringe. Thursday nights used be an event, now? Well, last evening I actually went out of my apartment. With people. Come back Fringe, PLEASE.

If any of that rings true to you, you can do one of two things. You can join the Fringe Facebook group and receive updates during this ridiculous hiatus.

OR

You can just stay here and check it all out in one place:

A couple of weeks ago, this was posted

Then on Feb 18th, they posted this:

Also on the 18th, these photos were posted (the gallery is at the bottom of this post)

Then on Tuesday Feb 23, they posted a link to the Fringe Hidden Elements Game

Fringe Hidden Elements Game

And Last evening, these images were posted

With this video here

If you haven’t checked this out by now you really should. The Grammy’s went way beyond the cassette player and fast forwarded into the modern world of social media for their 2010 site. Focusing on the concept of “We’re all fans,” The Grammy’s site incorporated Youtube clips, images, Tweets and Flckr feeds from real people about their favorite artists.

Performers like LL Cool J, Lady Gaga, Leonard Cohen, Taylor Swift and Green Day all have dedicated fans that submitted their own versions of their favorite artists’ hits. Although the intro to each artist is a bit heavy, the concept is really nice and the it runs very smoothly. I know that this campaign is over, but if you’re looking for how official sites make smooth transitions between different methods of social media, this is a great example.

Check it out here.

In celebration of Disneyland re-releasing Captain EO, I’ve decided to completely waste your time and destroy all of your daily productivity by posting the entire short (borrowed from Youtube). In case you have no idea what I’m talking about, Disneyland California brought back and re-premiered the sci-fi short this week.

Captain EO was created in 1986 as an attraction for people to come to the theme park. Starring Michael Jackson, Anjelica Huston and a bunch of puppets, the short also has big names like Francis Coppola and George Lucas attached. Captain EO is a 3D sci-fi space ship type short film that ran for about 10 years in Disneyland. In 1997 it was replaced by another attraction, Honey I Shrunk The Audience… I probably don’t have explain how Honey I Shrunk The Audience was barely the attraction that Captain EO was.

In any case, with the passing of the King of Pop, Disneyland decided to bring Captain EO out of the vault for a short run at the Tomorrowland Theater. If you can’t make it all the way to Anaheim, you can watch it below (sans 3D glasses of course)