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My New Employment with Encom!

Yesterday I came home and this was in the mail! I was very excited and decided whatever it was, deserved to be blogged about. So i took a few pictures to chronicle my first experience with an ARG!!


Inside the package was an Encom badge (with Group 7 Clearance). It is super freaking cool looking!


So i threw the badge in my scanner, so that i could get a clean image of that barcode to the right of my picture from 1982.


As my picture was scanning, i downloaded a barcode reader app on my iPhone. The barcode on the Encom badge sent me to this link! Damn i love technology!! Looks like i need to charge my phone.


I input the site listed in the barcode. I don't know the last time i actually typed out http://www, but i didn't want to screw this up. I logged in to the site using my Badge ID as well as my super secret FlynnLives.Com password.


Once i was in, this page was displayed.

This was the most interesting part of the main page. I wish i was going to Wondercon. On the main page there was nothing to click on, with the exception of my email inbox which is located on the upper right hand side of the page!



This is my inbox, which displayed the five emails i had received. Here they are in order.

This must be in reference to a pre St. Patrick's Day party. Who has a party on a Sunday?


Screw this "stick in the mud". I want my Tagalongs!


You will have to come grab them out of my cold dead hands!


Uh Oh! I think that the Flynn Lives supporters need to be more subtle.

And Finally....


This got me pretty freaking giddy!!

I will keep you updated on future events, such as these.

$1,516.23 in Two Hours!

BE SURE TO CHECK OUT MY SEGMENT ON SUNDAY 3/21/10
9:00-11:00am (est)!!

click here to listen to the announcement!

What is Rich Fields Doing Now?

GETTING THE PARTY STARTED

Shitty DVD Cover of the Week - Alessandra Celletti Paraphenrnalia

Big Brother Amazon

Amazon must be following my weekly searches, because i had received an email today from them that was littered with Shitty DVDs.

BOOM GOES THE DYNAMITE!

What is Rich Fields Doing Now?

SINGING GOOD VIBRATIONS

TRON Legacy: The Teaser Trailer

I haven't really posted a lot of TRON news up on this site, but anyone following me on Facebook knows that i am incredibly fired up for the sequel. For a while now, people have been able to look at the VFX CONCEPT TEST done for the film.

This past weekend i went and saw Alice in Wonderland (review to come?), but more importantly i saw the new trailer for TRON Legacy. Although it is just a teaser, it still shows a lot from the world of TRON and i am incredibly excited. I have a feeling that it wont live up to the hype that i am setting myself up for, but i also feel that it wont diminish the 1982 film. It looks like TRON and the music by Daft Punk is great. It is shaping up to be a cool looking movie!



CLICK HERE for HD and Downloadable versions!

Shitty DVD Cover of the Week - Boys of Summerville

Tomorrow Never Dies

Tomorrow Never Dies may be my favorite of the Brosnan films, even though i dislike all of the characters and the story. I wish that i could take the best moments of the Brosnan era and mix up the characters and story element to make one big average movie.

My excitement for Tomorrow Never Dies starts at the very beginning of the film. That's right, the famous James Bond 007 Gunbarrel Sequence. It is only like 15 second long, but is always the highlight of going to see any Bond movie in the theater. It is the film's way of saying, what you are about to watch is set in the history of the franchise. Since Goldeneye was the first 007 film i saw in the theater, you can imagine my delight hearing David Arnold's music played at the beginning as opposed to Eric Serra. David Arnold took elements of John Barry's orchestrations of the James Bond theme and did his own Gun Barrel motif. Hearing an actual orchestra play something that sounded like classic Barry was so refreshing. An i knew that this time around they were going to do things right, if not better.

The movie on the whole isn't very good. Go figure, but i do like that there isn't a ton of CG. There are some great sequences and all of the action scenes are well done, with the exception of the motorcycle chase, which feels slow and awkward. The movie also suffers from a huge lag in the third act. Not that the first two acts are fast paced, but it gets starts to get way overbearing. It doesn't help that Jonathan Price puts in a horrible performance as the main villain, Elliot Carver. On top of the shitty villain, you have two of my least favorite bond girls of all time, Michelle Yeoh and Teri Hatcher. I do not like either of them in this movie and the new characters are what usually make or break a bond film. At this point, we have already seen 007 in seventeen adventures, so a lot of the entertainment value lies in the supporting cast, which was just heinous.

Judi Dench returns in the role of "M" and once again talks about her balls. Why would they have two back to back Dench Testicle jokes? It's baffling.

Over all the movie is just so-so. So considering that this is my favorite of the Brosnan films, really shows you what you are in for on the next two outings.

Tomorrow Never Dies, although has an incredibly slick look, great action and an amazing score by David Arnold, is still forgettable and boring.

★ ★ ½

What is Rich Fields Doing Now?

EATING LUNCH

This Brings Me Joy.

Shitty DVD Cover of the Week - Broadway's Leading Ladies

Cop Out - Review

This past weekend i caught the new Kevin Smith directed buddy cop movie, Cop Out. As you all probably know by now, Kevin Smith did not write the film, but was hired on to direct it only. I have seen every Kevin Smith film, and every one since Chasing Amy in a theater.

I consider myself a fan of Smith, but i am not as enthusiastic about his films as much as when i was in high school. It seems as i have been maturing, Kevin Smith hasn't. His films have looked better over the years, but not by much. When i go into a Kevin Smith film i usually go into it with lower expectation. For a guy who i have been following for as many years as i have, you would think that my expectations would rise. There is something about Kevin Smith's films, that will always feel like an indie film from the 90's.

As soon as Cop Out started i could tell it was a Kevin Smith movie. A generic establishing shot, silent, with a shitty font is interrupted by some outdated song that is way too obviously trying to convey a message. In this case, it is a shot of what i assume was Brooklyn because after the the awkward pause and shitty font "No Sleep til Brooklyn" began to play. It is almost Smith's calling card, to let you know to take the movie lightly, because he is just that one guy who started as a clerk in a New Jersey convenience store. It was only ten seconds into the movie and i was already preparing for the worse.

Once i got through the first scene, in which Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis interrogated a perp, i was reminded that i actually can relax and enjoy Kevin Smith's newest movie. Of course that shitty font from before was blown up real big to reveal the title of the movie. Jesus dude, what is up with the shitty font? This is Kevin's Smith's most slick looking film, yet that font looks so fucking cheap! Why don't some movies just use the font from the posters? It's always baffled me.

After a couple minutes being frustrated with that font, i started to get back into the movie. As i said, the movie looked really slick. For a budget of $30 million, i thought he put together a really good looking film. I think that DP Dave Klein did a great job. He is to be commended for giving the movie some life.

Another key factor into making this movie really enjoyable was Harold Faltermeyer. Some of you might know Faltermeyer's work from such films as Fletch, Beverly Hills Cop and The Running Man. All of those movies, from the 80's, used nothing but synths in their scores and Cop Out does the same. The score, mixed with Smith's directing style, really make this movie have the feel and pace of an 80's buddy cop film, which is something i really enjoyed.

The story of Cop Out is really tough to convey in a short amount of time, but the real reason someone goes to see this movie is to watch the antics of Tracy Morgan and Bruce Willis. I have to tell you, every time these two were on screen together it was an incredible pleasure to watch. There are a few scenes where they are not together and it's just not that great. My only gripe with the characters Jimmy Monroe and Paul Hodges is that they were not up to "those wacky antics" throughout the entire movie. They are not the crazy cops that i was hoping for. Their methods are not as insane as you would think. It's not that the characters are straying from the comedy aspect of the story, it's just that the commercials lead me astray of who these two guys were. Tracy Morgan is funny as is Bruce Willis, i just hoped that the movie was "straight-laced cop and insane cop".

One of the highlights of the film was definitely Sean William Scott! Sean William Scott's Dave character is an annoying drugged out psychopath, who could have been way too annoying. I admire Kevin Smith for showing restraint on this character in particular. If there was too much of Dave, it would have killed everything. Another highlight was "the other cops" Hunsaker and Mangold. The two cops that are in direct competition to Hodges and Monroe was brilliantly played by Adam Brody and Kevin Pollack.

One misstep as far as characters goes, was Kevin Smith's use of bad guy "Po Boy". The character was all over the map and off-putting at times. The character should have either been all the way goofy, or all the way intimidating. I definitely blame this misstep on Smith. I wish he could have figured out this character more fully before committing it to screen.

My last gripe with this film is Kevin Smith's editing. I understand why Kevin Smith would want to edit all his movies, but this has always been my problem with Smith's films. You can tell by watching it, what scenes Smith loves. A lot of times, his scenes play out like a dvd director's cut, which always translates into poor pacing issues. I really wish that Smith would hire a professional editor to work with so that Smith could please the audience and not just himself. I just chalked up the weird pacing to "It's just like an 80's movie".

Other than the weird pacing issues and shitty font, me and Stevi found ourselves really enjoying the film, a lot! I had a blast watching these two guys interact. I would even go as far as saying i would love to see a sequel. Even though i am still a Kevin Smith fan, i would love to see someone different direct the sequel. If Kevin Smith showed some restraint in the editing room and less restraint on making Tracy Morgan stick to the script, this film could have been really amazing! As it stands it's just a good, entertaining movie.

All in all, i was really surprised about how much i liked Cop Out and would love to see a sequel that pushes the boundaries of the vulgar buddy cop action comedy.

★ ★ ★ ½

What is Rich Fields doing now?

POINTING AT YOUR BOOBS

Will The Dharmalars Return?

IT'S ALL UP TO YOU!

click here to listen to the announcement!

Formspring.me/casinoskunk

Do you have a burning question that you would like me to answer? I just set up a Form Spring account so you can scratch that itch. If you don't feel like heading over to that site, simply pose your question in the box on the right side of this blog! I look forward to answering your questions.

James Bond - The Attribute Havingest!

SEAN CONNERY - "The Boat Endingest"

Of the six 007 films that Sean Connery did, he ended on a boat five times.

Dr. No - Boat Ending (pictured above)
From Russia with Love - Boat Ending
Goldfinger - Non Boat Ending
Thunderball - Boat Ending
You Only Live Twice - Boat Ending
Diamonds are Forever - Boat Ending
_____________________________________________________

GEORGE LAZENBY - "The Winter Sportingest"

Considering that George Lazenby was only in one Bond film, it's insane that he participated in four different Winter Sports.

Winter Sports George Lazenby involved in:
Skiing
Bobsledding
Ice Demo Derby
Curling (pictured above)
_____________________________________________________

ROGER MOORE - "The Boatingest"

Damn, this dude loved to drive a boat! Roger Moore had two boat chases in one movie!

Live and Let Die - Speed Boat Chase on the Bayou
The Man with the Golden Gun - Boat Chase in the Canals of Thailand
The Spy Who Loved Me - His Car turned into a boat and there was a Chase (also rode a Jet Ski)
Moonraker - Boat Chase in a Gondola in Venice and Speed Boat Chase in the Amazon
For Your Eyes Only - Got dragged from a Boat
Octopussy - A boat shaped like an alligator (pictured above)
A View to a Kill - Drove a boat shaped like an ice burg
_____________________________________________________

TIMOTHY DALTON - "The Plane Hangingest"

Considering T-Dalt was only in two 007 films, he did plenty of hanging from air planes.

The Living Daylights - Hanging off the back of a giant cargo net (pictured above)
License to Kill - Hanging on the tail of Sanchez's Plane, Hanging off of Krest's Plane, Hanging off his own plane.
_____________________________________________________

PIERCE BROSNAN - "The Free Fallingest"

Brosnan started off his career as 007 by doing a bungee jump.

Goldeneye - Bungee Jump, Chasing a plane off a cliff
Tomorrow Never Dies - Falling from a building with Michelle Yeoh, The H.A.L.O. jump.
The World is not Enough - Falling out of an office building, Falling from a hot air balloon, Jumping out of a helicopter on skis, Diving off a cliff while chasing a submarine (pictured above).
Die Another Day - Falling off a cliff and parasailing to safety, Falling out of a plane in a helicopter
_____________________________________________________

DANIEL CRAIG - "The Object Tossingest"

Of the two movies he has done, he sure likes to get rid of things once they are of no use to him.

Casino Royale - Tosses Car keys of some douchebags he teaches a lesson to, He tosses poker chips as if they don't deserve his time.
Quantum of Solace - Tosses room keys, a cell phone, Vesper's love knot, an oil can (pictured above) and a door knob.

Shitty DVD Cover of the Week - Tarot Fantasy Bellydance

Avatar - Review

After a five month of not going to the movies, i finally broke down and went to see Avatar. Last saturday me and Stevi decided to go to Edwards at the Irvine Spectrum to check it out in 3D. I was hoping that there was an IMAX showing, but unfortunately there wasn't. Even though it was not IMAX the showing for both of us was $31. I now see why this movie is number one at the box office. Luckily we had Edward's giftcards, so we didn't feel the sting of paying that much for a movie.

There is not really much to say about the movie. The story was pretty basic. A man goes undercover to learn about a civilization only to befriend them and fight on their side against the corporation that sent him. It's kind of like Logan's Run, Minority Report and Equilibrium in that respect.

The 3d was pretty cool, but didn't seem to work that well when i was expecting it. I was really hoping to see these grand vistas in beautiful 3d, but those shots seemed the most flat. I wanted to feel like i could fall into the valleys and fly through trees, but all establishing shots were just plain flat. One of the problems with 3d, is that it makes the image look small, if that makes sense. With 3d glasses on, it made everything look weirdly small. I think that IMAX would have been way better. Watching it in a normal theater made it look like a small diorama in front of me.

The special fx were pretty good, but my main problem was the character animation. There were too many times where the NA'VI looked rubbery. I know they are aliens, but they did not move very realistically. The textures on the close ups of the creatures looked great! The faces looked really well, with the exception of the Sigourney Weaver avatar. Hers looked the most fake. I wouldn't be surprised if they added her character's avatar in at the last minute. It just didn't look real at all. Of course it didn't help that Sigourney Weaver's acting was absolutely atrocious.

Speaking of acting, i thought that it was pretty standard. There were no real standout performances, with the exception of Zoe Saldana. I thought she did a bang up job. She was the only real character that had any kind of interesting character arc. I don't think i have seen Sam Worthington in anything before, but i thought he did a good job, considering that his character was uninspiring. All of the characters were one dimensional. The bad guys were assholes, the good guys were nice. The corporate guy is greedy and doesn't learn his lesson. The movie is so cookie cutter and safe that it won't upset anyone, which is why i guess the whole thing works. If this challenged the audience whatsoever, it would not make the money it did. It is pure fluff.

Even though the movie does not challenge the mind in anyway, it is beautiful to look at. Because it is so safe, there isn't that much, story wise, to argue with. When you go to see Avatar, you will be treated to exactly what you though you would. It is definitely better than Titanic, but is not as good as any other James Cameron films.

I am glad i got to see it in the theater. Both me and Stevi had a good time and as far as escapism goes, Avatar definitely takes you to the world of Pandora and allows you to leave the real world for three hours.

★ ★ ★ ½

What is Rich Fields Doing Now?

APPLAUDING LIKE A SPAZ

Goldeneye

After six years without a James Bond film, 007 would return with an all new actor stepping into the roll. Pierce Brosnan was the perfect choice. Years before he appeared in Goldeneye, the producers had their sights set on him. During the making of For Your Eyes Only, Brosnan would visit the set, which starred his wife Cassandra Harris. The producers even wanted to have him replace Roger Moore in A View to a Kill, but he was still under contract for Remington Steele.

In 1995, the stars finally aligned and Pierce Brosnan stepped into one of the most boring Bond films of all time. Goldeneye was the first 007 movie that i saw in the theater and i was super amped! At the beginning of the film, there is this awesome bungie jump sequence that was super badass, unfortunately it was followed up by a bluescreen jump off a cliff. This is the worse part about the Brosnan era. There is too much CG. I am fine with space stations being special fx in 007 films, but when the stunts are cg, it's just lame! The whole point of James Bond is that he is a superman, who can do amazing feats. As soon as you put him in a cg world, it is just stupid. You lose any suspension of disbelief.

The best part of Goldeneye is that tank sequence, other than that the movie has little to no excitement. The villains are bland, the acting is wooden, the love interest is boring. Everything about this film is just bland. One of the worse parts is that "Q" is obviously reading off of cue cards.

One of the best things to come out of Goldeneye is the fact that Judi Dench played "M". I really like the direction that the series took the character "M", but in this movie they tried so hard to make her a ball buster, that she became so annoying and unbearable. I am glad that her character was fleshed out a little more in subsequent Bond flicks.

I do like Famke Janssen in this film. Even though she is the most single dimensional character, at least she brought some excitement to her role. Other than her, Sean Bean, Robbie Coltrane, Izabella Scorupco (who is way hotter without her Goldeneye haircut), Allan Cumming, Pierce Brosnan and Joe Don Baker are all BORING!! Don't get me started on the Eric Serra score.

Don't let the video game fool you. This movie is not an action fest, which would be fine if the story wasn't another "laser pointed at the earth" senario!

★ ★

Casinoskunk.Com

That's right folks, i just acquired the domain CASINOSKUNK.COM. As you can see it is just my blog, but maybe i will have a full blown site in the future.

One Of My Favorites!

BethanyShady.Com

My friend Bethany Shady has a brand new website that promotes all of her endeavors. When i checked out her site today, i noticed that there was a link to this very blog. To show my appreciation for adding me to her friends links i have posted a link to her page in my "Things i fully endorse" bar to the right. Check out her site as well as her book, "Matilda Turnip's Endless Belly Button".

Shitty DVD Cover of the Week - Tone Loc T.V.

"LA X" & "What Kate Does"

My theory is that the off island stuff is, for lack of a better term, Season 7 and has yet to happen on Jack and Kate's "timeline". I think they were placed on that plane in Alternate 2004, after being darted in the neck.

That is why jack had looked at himself in the mirror so long. He had a sense of deja vu and and noticed he was older. Kate started to get some of her memory back when she heard the name Aaron. Things are sparking past distant memories. Memories that they could only have if they have experienced them before on the island.

I have a hunch that Hurley dies on the island and the one we see on the plane is from this alternate reality in which juliet sunk the island. Boone, Locke and Arzt are on the plane, because that is their alternate reality versions and NOT the versions that died on the island in the timeline we are used to.

I also have a theory that in this alternate reality that Sawyer is going to get off the plane and go home to his wife, Juliet.

Charlie was "Black Shirt" and wanted to die on the plane because Black Shirt can't die on the Island and wanted to "Go Home" to some sort of afterlife, due to the fact that he and Jacob are banished gods. Think of it like Bartleby and Loki in Dogma.

Think of it in the same way that the season 5 premiere went down. The opening of that season had Faraday in the Orchid, then that scene came back later in the season.

492 Days Left

Another bit of casting news has surfaced for the Green Lantern film. Tim Robbins has now joined the cast as Hector Hammond's father.

So, here is the cast breakdown thus far:

Ryan Reynolds - Hal "Highball" Jordan/Green Lantern
Blake Lively - Carol Ferris
Mark Strong - Sinestro
Peter Sarsgaard - Dr. Hector Hammond
Tim Robbins - Senator Hammond

Shitty DVD Cover of the Week - Creating Karma

The Aeolus Adventure!

WHY HASN'T IT BEEN MADE?

License to Kill

Timothy Dalton returned tougher, faster and more brutal in the first PG-13 James Bond film of the franchise. Everything that was set up in The Living Daylights was heightened in License to Kill, with the exception of the humor. James Bond was tough, unforgiving, vengeful and stripped of his 007 status.

Originally titled License Revoked, Eon Productions took James Bond down a really dark path. Even though there is some humor sprinkled in this film, none of it involves 007 himself. He is a rogue agent who will stop at nothing to avenge the death of Felix Leiter's wife Della. This is only the third time since Tracy's death in OHMSS is mentioned in the series and it is a main driving force behind this story.

This movie is great because it doesn't have a huge world domination plot. It is essentially about James Bond infiltrating a drug lord's organization and creating chaos within. The downfall to this movie is yet another annoying american bond girl. Pam Bouvier is pretty obnoxious. I do not know why the Bond Franchise portrays American woman as annoying hardasses that always want to work alone. Why can't they accept that it's okay to work with Bond? Another thing that i am not fond of is Michael Kamen's score to the film, which is just to loud and obnoxious. It is pretty much a cookie cutter 80's action score.

All in all, License to Kill is a pretty good movie. It isn't the greatest, but it is true to Fleming. It's unfortunate that T-Dalt didn't get another shot at 007, but he made a pretty indelible mark on the franchise. Apparently the franchise was thought of as old and worn out. It wouldn't be another six years before 007 Returned!

"Don't worry - we gave her a nice honeyMOOOOON!"

★ ★ ★

Blarg Sketchbook - "OZ"

My friend Justin Shady has a website called THE BLARG. For the last few months he has been doing a feature called "Sketchbook". Justin sends out a key word or phrase to contributers, who use it as inspiration to show off their artistic talent. This month's phrase was "OZ".

CHECK OUT my piece titled "Be Careful what you Wish For" and let me know what you think!

A New Lost Podcast

If you are in the market for a new LOST podcast, check out my friends' podcast Geronimo Jack's Beard. They have been talking about this since the summer and it will finally drop tomorrow!

Because the first episode hasn't aired yet, the show will not show up in the iTunes' search bar. If you want to subscribe, go to iTunes go to the ADVANCED TAB then select SUBSCRIBE TO PODCAST and input the following link.

http://feeds.feedburner.com/geronimojacksbeard

Shitty DVD Cover of the Week - The Good Sisters

Guardian & Sinestro Concept Art?

Here are some more supposed concept designs for the Green Lantern film. Sinestro looks like Diedrich Bader in Office Space or A Vampire in Brooklyn. The Guardians look like tall retards, which would be the opposite of how they are portrayed in the book. I am beginning to suspect that all these concept design pieces are not actually from the movie. I liked the Tomar-Re, Kilowog and Abin Sure designs, but these look really dumb.