And as a side comment.... Good lord do I hate the stereotypical comic book nerds that show up at these midnight showings and demonstrate their lack of social skills, common courtesy,and occasionally basic hygiene.

Just got back from seeing it and the group i went with all enjoyed the film. Certainly not the best super hero movie of all time, but I'd put it on par with Thor and the (over-hyped) X-men first class that also came out this year.

I would agree that there was potential unfulfilled in this movie ( I would have loved a longer movie with more time on Oa and more of the other lanterns).  But it's still an enjoyable film carried mostly by Ryan Reynolds.

I'm hoping for a sequel that could show more of what this film tried to do.

Played the game for a few hours last night on the PS3.

Overall I'm enjoying the game - I didn't have unrealistic expectations going in, and I'm not trying to compare it against more recent batches of first person shooters. Simply enjoying it for what it is.

That being said - Just like Roman - I'll list some of my dislikes.

• First off the game took forever to install as it needed to copy around 5 gigs to the HD of my PS3. I had to go delete some stuff to make room for the game, and the installation process was slow and boring.
• Roman is not kidding about the god-awful loading times. Which is frustrating if you screw up and die and then have to wait all that time to get back to the last save point. On the plus side - if you read the "tips" that appear on the bottom of the screen during the loading screen - there's a few that are kind of funny.
• The distance blur effect can be a little annoying at times as I've seen things suddenly come into focus and then blur again.
• While I enjoy a fair amount of the over the top dialogue - there's also a good amount of groan worthy statements made throughout the game as well.

But all those quirks aside - I'm enjoying the game and looking forward to getting home tonight to play some more.

[Spoiler]

Never read the books - just been enjoying the TV series and really surprised by how much it sucked me in.

Of course - it's starting to feel like a:

Spoiler for Hiden:

"Oh you like this character? Let's watch him die" marathon though.

Oh well - as long as they don't kill the Imp - I think it'll remain fun to watch.

My pre-order arrives today and I'm looking forward to playing it. I think review scores are meaningless (especially when it's in the best interest of a media outlet to either give the game a great review or a horrible review - few people will click through to read why something got an average review score).

But I have realistic expectations going in. I played the demo a couple of times and commented here about the fact that it felt like an old school duke game - which is sort of out of place in todays world. But even if some of the lines are worn-out now, I think there's still a decent enough game in there to play through and enjoy the over-the-top Duke style again.

I did set expectations with my wife and daughter that they are going to be confined to a room on the other side of the house while I'm playing the game though.

Found a minor issue on the main site (using current version of Safari on Mac)

Expanding press release on http://gamingtrend.com/2011/06/06/june-6th-nintendo-3ds-system-update/ looks like this (I'm assuming this isn't intended)

The first movie is probably my all-time favorite film. But the 2nd and 3rd films just didn't have the same feel to them. Felt like they were trying to tell too many stories at the same time and didn't take the time to really develop any of them. Because of that - some of the major changes in characters that occurred felt like they just came out of nowhere. I always thought they could have turned Pirates 2 and 3 into three (possibly four) much better movies.

So I'm hopeful that with the new storyline it'll go back to a single solid adventure with good action. The book it's based on is supposed to be good (going to read it as soon as I finish seeing the movie as I don't want any spoilers), but early reviews of the film I've seen online have all been fairly negative. So I'm setting my expectations low.

Yep... Seems the teenage girl voters won the night again.
 

LOL,i read that first line as though you had just found 'some family' on the streets and took them to the cinema

LOL - I am pretty lonely so I wouldn't put it past me   

Saw it with some family tonight but this time we went and saw it on the IMAX. If you can - this is definitely the way to see the film. The 3D was much better and didn't have any of the darkness or muddiness that I had to deal with for the first showing on a "Read3d" screen.

Movie was fun for a 2nd showing too (which I wasn't sure if it would be).

For those that have seen the movie, Does Thor have an alto ego in this one where he has to tap his cane to become Thor, or is he just Thor the whole time. I hope it's the later because the Cane tapping version is silly.

He's just Thor.

Thanks for the 3D impressions. The AMC theater I want to see it at over the weekend has me in a dilemma -- I'd love to see it on their huge IMAX screen but it's 3-D for Thor. The only non-3D screen there showing it is more than likely one of its smaller ones.  What to do. It really seems like something I should see at least once on a BIG screen, 3-D be darned.

Yeah I did see it on a smaller screen at the AMC - perhaps the 3d looks a lot better on the IMAX

Sigh. In case anyone else is a dunderhead like me, MovieTickets.com (which requires, for security reasons, that you swipe or have swiped your credit card at the theater to pick up tickets ordered online) doesn't let you pick up tickets ordered with "one-time-use" secure online credit card numbers (Discover and some others offer it).

It would've been nice if they'd told me before I confirmed my order, but I guess their system isn't smart enough to figure that out. It was there in fine print but I thought that was some sort of legal gibberish at the bottom of the screen.

So now I've ordered 4 tickets for Thor tomorrow morning, 2 of which I won't ever be able to access. They're in some alternate universe somewhere. Source Code: The MovieTickets.com version. #$*&*@!

Discover told me the best they can do is "dispute" the charge once it posts on my card account which won't be for some time. And maybe, possibly, some months from now they could get me the $24 back. The whole Sony debacle is why I don't really like letting companies keep my "real" card # floating around.

I bet tomorrow morning there won't even be a line, and I'll feel like a triple dunderhead for having bothered ordering that way in the first place. Somebody shoot me now.   I hate the movies...

What if you take the email receipt you got from movietickets to the AMC customer service desk? I had issues once with an old credit card not being able to be read and they were able to "look up the order" and print out my tickets there.

Took my daughter to a midnight show in a "real3d" 3d theatre (normally I go see these on Imax 3d but this other theatre allows you to pick your seats when you buy).

Never been a fan of Thor (not a hater - just seemed like a B-level hero) and so was never super-excited about this film - even most of the trailers didn't do much to excite me.

That being said - I enjoyed the film. I'd give it a solid B grade. While it wasn't great - it was very enjoyable to watch and they did a good job of bringing this mythology into the Marvel movie universe. There were a couple of scenes that were genuinely funny and the characters were fun to watch.

I might see it again with another family member next week - but if I do, I won't spring for the 3D. I don't think it really added much to experience and actually made many scenes too dark.

I'm just hoping that the rumors of a similar refresh to the Macbook Airs in June turns out to be true.

Need to buy a new laptop before I quit my current job and was about to buy an Air - but then heard that they're supposed to be refreshed next month with the Sandy bridge processors and the addition of Thunderbolt.

So I'm eeking by until then....

The Solar Gard girl is damn cute.

More photos of her here

http://www.outofaces.com/jihye-yuk/

At bare minimum I like the idea (for X Factor) that the judges get personally involved with the contestants, so they have a much bigger investment in who wins, and aren't just inane tools parroting the same BS night in and out.

"it was kind of pitchy for me in places"
"XXX is in it to win it!"
"If I'm being honest - it wasn't my favorite performance of yours"

 

I'm curious if any one of you guys bitching about Pia actually cast a single vote for her this week, or any time at all.  You know you can now do it online as well?  

I've been voting tons for her every week from my AT&T phone (like i would sit there and keep texting votes for a good 30 minutes or so). Unfortunately - we had to be away from home this week and by the time I got home to watch the recording - voting was already closed. So not that my hundred or so votes would have saved her but it's still frustrating. There are so many other contestants that were far more deserving to go home this week.

Scotty is doing a lot better than i expected and so I could see him now making it to the finals (especially with the producers "pimping him"). My daughter really likes him... but I'll never vote for him.

Fuck...

I may not watch the rest of the season now.

I think it's a testament to just how good a filmmaker is when the studio decides they don't have the chops to continue making movies as good as yours and they just say "screw it...do over!".  Raimi just had this happen at Sony with Spiderman as well.

Yeah - I'd have to disagree with that statement. Don't get me wrong - I like Raimi most of the time. But the Spiderman films he made got progressively worse (which some will argue was due to studio tampering - but I think if it was that bad - he would have been better off just walking away). Plus IIRC - he wanted to do a 4th movie but got let go during negotiations as Sony was in a bind to get production started or risk losing the rights to Spiderman back to Marvel - and he tried to use that bind as leverage.

.... also, Casey almost went down on Seacrest.

Yeah - I noticed that too. Was surprised Ryan didn't make some sort of awkward joke about it like he does whenever something similar happens with a female contestant.

Was a good show. We thought the Hulk Hogan scene was hilarious. James looked like a little boy on Xmas morning when Hulk came out.

As soon as Ryan said the results would be surprising tonight - my first thought was that Casey would be on the chopping block. Still kind of a shock to see him there though. He's been shoved in the early to middle of the singing pack for several weeks so it's possible the people are tending to forget about him by the shows end.

Was really surprised that the judges stopped him from singing and saved him immediately. Thought his reaction was genuine too - agree with Jimmy - there were a couple of moments there where it looked like he was about to throw up on nationwide TV.

Pia is still my girl to win the competition.

Any thoughts on who's going home tonight?

I have to admit - i was pretty impressed with what Scotty did with his song last night. Think it started and ended incredibly strong - but thought there were a few issues in the middle where he seemed to try to move it closer to stevie wonders version. Still - a really solid performance that showed a lot of creativity in modifying the song to play to his strengths. He might be a lot stronger of a contender than I gave him credit for.

Based on last night's performances - my guesses are that Haley, Stefano and Naima are in trouble.

With the push to add streaming videos to Amazon Prime customers - I've been suspecting that an upcoming Kindle will take advantage of that service. An Android Kindle might be a push in that direction.

Yeah - the only surprise that we had in my house during last nights episode was that Thia wasn't in the bottom three this week (but I'd be willing to bet that she was close after the last two performances).

For the guys - Scotty, Jacob and Casey seem to have the strongest draw and good enough performances each week. I know that there are people who like Paul and Steffano but I honestly believe that they will be the first two guys to go.

For the girls - it's still Pia and Lauren for us. We like Thia's voice but she doesn't seem to be able to deliver. Lauren made a bad song choice last week and was sick this week but still pulled in "good enough" performances. So I think she's got a lot more to show. Pia is consistently great, but I can see rritchards point - she does seem to carry herself almost too professionally in the competition - would be nice for her to mix it up a little and show off some more personality.

My guess is that the next four eliminations will be Haley, Naima, Paul and Steffano.

On a side note I'm beginning to wonder if Jacob is starting to get a little cocky - wonder if he'll slip up and make a comment that comes across too arrogant and hurts him (ala Justin Guarani in the first season).

Just to prove yes she is wearing her seat belt........Also if I'm not mistaken her name is Ewa Barbara Sonnet...one of the busty Polish babes.

The expression on her face (yes, I made it that high eventually) is a little...vacant isn't it?  It's kinda creepy.

There's a face in that picture? I still don't see it.

Did a quick google search and her music video caught my eye......http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-UM17iRlns

Now to try and put them back in my head.

James Scotty Casey are my favorites.

James and Casey I can understand - but do you think that Scotty is going to be able to sound good once they throw Jazz week or Aerosmith week at him?

Can you be more specific?

Sure thing but I'll probably be wordy 

The guys
When we watched last weeks shows - we actually ended the guys night feeling like we only heard a couple performances that really showed staying power (casey and james).  Assuming Casey's medical issues don't force him out - I think he'll go quite a lot ways in the competition because even with a bad week, he'll got enough like-ability and skill to carry him. As for James - He's got a good story which earns him a lot of support. This weeks song choice was brilliant by him because it gave him a chance to shine w/o resorting to his shriek in every song. Which was how I was starting to typecast him before that performance. If he can keep that up he could make it into the top 3 or 4.

Guys like jacob and scotty seem to be one trick ponies that just aren't going to be able to adapt and sound good once they get more genres forced on them (not to say that they aren't talented in their chosen genres - just don't think they're vocally diverse enough to handle this competition). Plus Jacob is an emotional basket-case and that's going to hurt his like-ability factor.

Stefano and Paul were both horrible. I think that stefano was a waste of a wildcard spot. He's just not good enough at all. He'll be gone within 3 weeks tops. Once they throw more genres at Paul - he's pretty much a shoe-in to be a "vote for the worst" candidate

As for the girls:
Pia is by far my favorite to win the whole thing. I just fear that she peaked too early. Now every week she'll be compared to these last few weeks which might end up hurting her in the end.  Personally - I'd like to see her win it because I think she's that good of a singer.

Lauren Alaina - Obviously an early favorite among the judges and a lot of people. No denying that she has talent but she's made some poor song choices (not bad - just nothing that's propelling her forward). She's got enough buzz though to carry her quite a ways - easily into the 6. But to get any further - she's got to define herself.

Thia Megia - She's sort of a wild-card, I don't think she has any chance of winning but with decent song choices she could keep coming back week after week for quite awhile. Sort of a stealth contestant.

Haley Reinhart - She's got a decent voice but I don't think she's mature enough to make good song choices. Plus at this point she's easily forgettable even right after she sings.  She might make it into top 10 if she's lucky.

Karen Rodriguez - She's a selena wannabe and I think it's obvious that she's trying to play that angle to win some votes. Depending on her song choices - I could see her either going home in the next 2 weeks or making it to the top 5 or 6 (but no further)

Naima Adedapo - While I was impressed with what she tried to do this week, I just don't think that she has enough like-ability or talent to carry her for too many weeks more. She'll probably be a vote for the worst candidate when it happens too.

My picks for top 4 are Pia, Lauren, James and Casey (although i think it's possible that Thia could knock one of those guys out of the top 4).

Three girls in the bottom 3 - I rest my case.  

Two of which were the judges wildcard saves.

Guys will start dropping like flies after they're gone.

Ashthon was the only wild card in the bottom 3 this past week.  The other two wild cards were Naima and Stefano who were both safe.  But yeah it don't look good for the girls this year.

Oh that's right - for some reason I was thinking that Haylee was a wildcard too.

In my house we think that there were only 2 or 3 guys who should have even made it into the top 12 and that the girls overall are much, much stronger.

Three girls in the bottom 3 - I rest my case. 

Two of which were the judges wildcard saves.

Guys will start dropping like flies after they're gone.

Original post changed with top of page images.

Dark, reply to this thread with the same pic, and edit your top post with random pics.

whoops - didn't even see that I had started a new page and this is my first visit back to this thread (not a ton of activity here so i didn't see it).

I'll edit that post tonight (when I'm not at work)

Maybe the next movie will be named resurrection (trying to keep the theme going).

I always enjoy these films - so I'm in regardless.

Surprising my daughter by taking her to see it at the local fork and screen theater tonight

Wasn't sure about it but with all the good reviews - I'm willing to give it a shot.

The new case seems pretty damn hot. Part of me is tempted to upgrade just so I could get that, but otherwise I'm still very happy with my current iPad and will put the money back in savings for the iPad 3 (hopefully the rumors that it'll come out this fall will be true)

A little women of superhero movies theme

[Lynch Purge]

Lynch Purge

I'm hoping that the upgrade isn't significant enough to cause me to buy a new one.

+1.... although if it is, my wife has already said that she would like to get my current iPad if I wanted to upgrade.

I ran into a small snag with it last night. My wife's account is the Primary owner of our Prime subscription and so I cannot view the instant streaming service from my account (which of course is the account that our Tivo is registered with).

Might need to contact amazon this weekend about seeing if the primary ownership could be transferred to me or if there is a better solution.