Just Like They Serve at The Three Broomsticks!

I snagged this recipe from Starline Hodge’s webcomic site, Candi – A College Story.

You should definitely check the strip out. It’s a lot of fun, has some great characters, and depicts parts of my university career with aching clarity, episodes that I think are universal to anyone who’s pursued higher learning at any institution.

Most of which I think a lot of us would would much rather forget.

*SHUDDER*

At any rate, thanks Starline!

BUTTERBEER

Ingredients:

1 cup (8 oz) club soda or cream soda

½ cup (4 oz) butterscotch syrup (ice cream topping)

½ tablespoon butter

Directions:

Step 1: Measure butterscotch and butter into a 2 cup (16 oz) glass. Microwave on high for 1 to 1½ minutes, or until syrup is bubbly and butter is completely incorporated.

Step 2: Stir and cool for 30 seconds, then slowly mix in club soda. Mixture will fizz quite a bit.

Step 3: Serve in two coffee mugs or small glasses; a perfectly warm Hogwarts treat for two!

Yummy! And to work up your appetite, here’s the latest trailer for Harry Potter and The Deathly Hallows, Parts 1 & 2.

New Scott Pilgrim Trailer

I’m really thinking I’m going to have to see this movie!

I love the comic book touches (“What are you doing? Getting a life.”)  and the fact that Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead) is directing it fills me with glee. Chris Evans lack of any acting ability however? Not so much.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World opens August 13th.

PS. Nice Can-con touch with the CBC shirt. Could this movie make it cool to watch the CBC?

Playing Tricks on the Mind

The new Inception poster is out!

I love it! It’s Escher meets Hitchcock!

The concept for Inception reads like Duplicity meets The Matrix. What happens when corporate espionage is able to occur at the level of the unconscious? When thieves are able to enter the dreams of their targets, and extract valuable information:

Dom Cobb (Leonardo DiCaprio) is a skilled thief, the absolute best in the dangerous art of extraction, stealing valuable secrets from deep within the subconscious during the dream state, when the mind is at its most vulnerable. Cobb’s rare ability has made him a coveted player in this treacherous new world of corporate espionage, but it has also made him an international fugitive and cost him everything he has ever loved.

Now Cobb is being offered a chance at redemption. One last job could give him his life back but only if he can accomplish the impossibleinception. Instead of the perfect heist, Cobb and his team of specialists have to pull off the reverse: their task is not to steal an idea but to plant one. If they succeed, it could be the perfect crime. But no amount of careful planning or expertise can prepare the team for the dangerous enemy that seems to predict their every move. An enemy that only Cobb could have seen coming. This summer, your mind is the scene of the crime.

The power house cast includes Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger and Michael Caine.  I can’t imagine anyone giving a poor performance out of these actors.

I am so pumped to see this movie. Nolan is a master of this sort of film noir storytelling, and the concept takes this to a whole new level. The obvious question will be if he can steward a Ledger-esque performance out of one of his actors, and if so, which one? My bet is on either Joseph Gordon-Levitt or Ellen Page knocking it out of the park.

Ken Watanabe, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Marion Cotillard, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Tom Berenger and Michael Caine

When Jonah Met Tony

Well, it’s official! The Summer Movie Season is here!

It’s Just Some Random Guy has just posted his first I’m a Marvel and I’m a DC parody. If you haven’t seen these before, or just feel the need to fall on your butt laughing, check the rest of IJSRG’s genius parodies.

PS. I love Deadpool.

The Latest Blood Transfusion

The second True Blood Mini-episodes is up and this one features Jessica, who is probably my favorite character after Tara.

She is the perfect mix of innocence and danger and a great foil for Bill.

I hope she sticks around for a long, long time.

Enjoy!

Season 3 premieres on June 13th.

BTW, HBO remade the teaser trailer with a new twist. Check it out:

I Always Thought Westerns Were Dead….

…turns out, it’s only the cowboys.

I hate to say it, but I’m getting a bad Van Helsing vibe from this trailer. That feeling, coupled with the 80 minute run time, extensive re-shoots and presence of John Malkovich the Scene Chewer as opposed to John Malkovich the Actor, does not bode well for this movie as far as I’m concerned. The only potentially redeeming quality is the presence of Will Arnett and Aidan Quinn.

I think I’ll be seeing this as a rental.

And Megan Fox? We know you’re pretty. You know you’re pretty. We know you know you’re pretty. Get over it. You’re nothing new and these roles are getting old.

Someone Never Read the Far Side…

I will not play in God's Domain

Otherwise, Sarah Polley and Adrian Brody would know that the following is a *really* bad idea:

“It’s a mistake.” – ya think?

Back to the well…

The first trailer for the latest installment of the Resident Evil franchise – Resident Evil: Afterlife  is out.

I find it interesting that their main promotional hook is that it’s filmed using the same fusion camera system that James Cameron used for Avatar. Are people really going to see this because the 3D is as good as Avatar?

Remember a few years ago, when Disney’s traditional animation house was closed because the big wigs decided they weren’t going to make hand drawn animated movies anymore. The reason given at the time was that computer generated movies were doing so well at the box office, Disney wanted to focus exclusively on getting that specific piece of the pie.  Then their computer animated flicks underperformed, because who needs great stories, intriguing dialogue, engrossing character development when a computer can bounce a ball across the screen? Then along comes John Lasseter as head of Disney Animation, he places the focus back on the story being told, not the means and BAM! The Princess and the Frog comes out, it’s a hit and classical animation is hot again.

I predict the same is going to happen with 3D and it’s going to start with Resident Evil: Afterlife. Not that I think this will be a bad film, especially not with Paul W.S. Anderson back behind the camera and adding Ali Larter and Wentworth Miller to the mix. And I don’t think a studio is going to pull a Disney and insist that every film be in 3D.

I do think we’re going to start to see more movies coming out in 3D for the sake of being in 3D. That’s going to result in a decline in the earnings of 3D films as every George, Peter and Stephen jumps onto the bandwagon. Movie makers are going to get lazy, and depend on 3D to bring in the bucks and forgetting that 3D is just a tool that is supposed to serve the story, not the other way around.  The novelty is going to wear off, and movie returns are going to suffer as a result.  Because of the decrease in audiences and revenue, the industry is going to start wringing its hands and wonder where it all went wrong.

Resident Evil: Afterlife opens on September 10th, 2010

Hitching the Trailers

A bunch of great movie trailers and commercial spots came out last week, here they are in no particular order:

Iron Man 2 (Commercial Spot from Kids Choice Awards)

Sorcerer’s Apprentice (Official Trailer)

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World

Despicable Me

I’ve never heard of Scott Pilgrim, but that looks hysterical, even if it does have Michael Cera in it.  I’m glad to see Jay Baruchel in another movie.  This is going to be a big year for him.  Nicholas Cage, not so much. Hasn’t he done this brand of crazy before?  Getting a little boring.  Despicable Me looks meh, but who hasn’t wanted to pull out a freeze ray at Starbucks.

As for Iron Man 2 – it looks awesome of course.

Robert Downey Jr, step away from the giant fried pastry!

Anyone looking forward to these?

‘Tis the week for being surprised

First Tron Legacy, now Robin Hood…..

I’ve haven’t heard a lot of good buzz about the upcoming Robin Hood movie starring Russel Crowe and Cate Blanchett, but the trailer hopefully will change that.  It will be nice to see both Crowe and director Ridley Scott springing back to form after the middling success of American Gangster and Body of Lies.

[EDIT:  Yes!  YouTube now has it up.  No need for the jump to Yahoo Movies, but they do have some extra content you might be interested in.]

The thing I find intriguing is that Maid Marian appears to become a more active player, picking up a bow and wearing armour in this version.  It’s interesting in terms of the character’s evolution.  Looking back to Kevin Costner’s version, and Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio’s portrayal, Marian starts out strong, defending herself and her home, but in the end wimps out and needs Robin to save her from the Sheriff.  Of course in earlier versions, Marian is nothing more than window dressing, prettying up the confines of Sherwood Forest and providing a reason for some daring do for Robin and his men, so any action on her part will be an improvement.  I’ll be interested to see how exactly her character develops throughout the film.