Agent Coulson Rezzurection, Cheapens Things?

Hey Wanna "B's" we've all heard by now that Clark Gregg would be reprising his role as Agent Coulson on the new show Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. Earlier I read on Nerdapproved.com a theory of how he would be back. Now when I originally heard he was coming back I wondered how could he be back? I mean he was killed in the Avengers movie last year, wasn't he? Well B people might say "these movies are based on comic books, so don't think about it too much, just enjoy it". Yes you are right to feel that way, and I understand that, but I still need answers, and while I do enjoy the comic book movies, I've done very little reading of actual comics in my lifetime. So I did what anybody these days would do when they want answers, I did a search on google.

I did get some theories, one of which is based on LMD's which stands for Life Model Decoy's, basically these are android bodies that act as body doubles for their real life counter parts, in the film The Avengers Tony Stark even answers a phone call from agent Coulson with a joke line saying that the caller has reached his LMD. The other theory is from the above mentioned website and says that agent Coulson held his breath and this was part of an elaborate plan with Nick Fury to motivate the Avengers into working together. Between the two theories I like the Life Model Decoy one allot better. Of course in world of comics there are always other ways of bringing back the recently departed. He could always be an alternate version from and alternate Earth, or even a clone.

Okay so now that we have theories out of the way, the question is do you think he should be resurrected? Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed his character as much as the next guy in all of the recent films, he and Nick Fury are actually the link that binds all these movies together up until The Avengers movie. While Avengers was action packed, and funny at times, one of the most important scenes that had a real emotional impact on me was the death of agent Coulson. This was the part of the movie when all ego's had to be put aside and it was time to gather for a common goal, to save the world, and to avenge the guy with no super powers but the heart of a real hero. Now we are being told this was part of a plan, and I can tell you the next time I watch The Avengers I'm going to have a totally different view on how this scene plays out, and in a way it feels cheapened to me.

Such is the way of life and death when dealing with the comic book world I guess, and no matter what happens I am on board to watch whatever is put out, and I am sure I will enjoy the heck out of it either way. I just wanted to give a little back story, and explain how I felt about the whole thing, and if anyone out there wants to throw their thoughts into the mix, feel free in the comments section.

You can check out Clark Gregg talking about his death and more in the clip below:

Missed The Stage Coach On This One

 About two years ago I bought a game for the Xbox 360, not because I particularly wanted this game, but I found it used for $10 and had heard only good things about it. This game was a period piece set in the Old West and was from the creators of the ever popular Grand Theft Auto series. If you haven't guessed it yet, I'm talking about Red Dead Redemption from Rockstar Games. Funny thing is I hadn't even put the game into my Xbox until only this past weekend. So yes this review is for a game that's more than a few years old, but I'm sure some of you out there like me may have just skipped over this one for some reason, and you owe it to yourself to check it out.

So I've played more than a few hours of the game over the weekend, and so far I am thoroughly impressed. The game may have come out in 2010 but the production values are very high and to be honest could easily compete with games that have come out since. Right from the opening cut scenes I felt drawn into the game like I was looking through a window into a wondrous time full of danger excitement and discovery of the unknown. Rockstar has always excelled at creating living worlds, and this is by far their greatest achievement in my opinion. From the towns, to the people you interact with to the amazing soundtrack everything pulls you in.

I haven't gotten too far into the main story line at this point, I've spent allot of time hunting down bounties, which can be taken dead or alive, finding out I'm not very good at poker as I lost money playing Texas Hold  and assisting people that come up to me asking for help. You can also hunt down animals to skin for money, pick plants to sell, or go catch an animated short film at your local movie house. The combat in the game is also allot of fun, you can take cover behind rocks, and auto aim with the left trigger than fire with the right, you can also free aim while holding down the left trigger.

All in all this game is a true masterpiece and the fact that it only cost me $10 is amazing. There is also a multi player mode which I haven't yet gotten into, but I can only imagine it adds to the replay value of the game at least a little. If all that isn't enough there are several expansions to purchase, including one which adds an undead element such as zombies and ghost towns to the mix, I can't wait. I don't know why I had put off playing this game for so long, but in a time when I've been sought of burnt out in gaming, this game may have just extended my interest just a little longer. Now if you excuse me, I have a ranch that needs saving, and some cattle that need some herding.

  /tips hat to all his Wanna B's 

If Rumors Are True, Next Gen Xbox May Not Be For Me

 Hey Guys, there have been allot of rumors going around the inter webs these days about what Microsoft's next gaming machine will be and when it will come out. If the following rumors are true, I can tell you I won't be so eager to pick one up, at launch anyway.

These are Links to some sites with various info, but below are some of the reasons I'm thinking of holding off for a while.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/100674839

http://metro.co.uk/2013/04/08/next-gen-xbox-is-going-to-be-expensive-reveal-pushed-back-to-may-says-insider-3587027/



1: Pricing - Popular belief is that they will have two different pricing points. One will be $299 but you must sign up for a two year contract of Xbox live for $10 a month. Currently you can often find deals on year memberships for $50 or less if you wait for the right moments to buy. The other is that it will cost $499 if you get it without the contract deal. At that high of a price I would rather just get a decent laptop, or save the money for a gaming PC.

2: No Backwards Compatibility - A good chance the new system will be using a different processor AMD as opposed to IBM thus making Xbox 360 games unable to be played on the new system. I don' know about you but I really don't want anymore wires and boxes hooked up to an already cluttered area. Give us backwards compatibility.

3: Always On - Rumors suggest that in order to play on the next gen console you will have to always be connected to the Internet, similar to Diablo 3 and the latest Sim City game, this causes problems as whenever servers go down, or even your own Internet, your $500 gaming device becomes useless. Yes I know most of what we do with our current Xbox is online anyway, but why take away the choice for us to play offline or watch a DVD without being connected?

4 Whats the point of spending so much on upgrading a system with a statement like this which I grabbed from CNBC.COM   "The next-generation consoles present only a modest improvement in graphics quality over current generation consoles, suggesting to us that many gamers will be slower to adopt the new technology immediately," said Michael Pachter of Wedbush Securities.  

Of course these are all rumors at this point, and we will have to wait until May 21st 2013 for any official news. Add to the fact the first year or so of a new consoles release usually don't yield the greatest results in quality gaming as designers are still learning what they can do with the hardware, so as for me I think I'll give this one a wait, unless something mind blowing comes out that we don't yet know about.

TMNT 2: Secret of The Ooze

     So my girlfriend is a huge fan of the first Ninja Turtles movie from way back when, and I must admit I actually still like it to this day. The first book I ever read of my own volition, and not because I had to for a school project or something was the book based on the first movie. Of course I was nine at the time, but I still feel the movie holds up pretty well almost thirty years later. Anyway she told me she never had seen the sequels before and asked if I could buy the digital version off of Amazon. I told her personally the first one is probably the best but okay. So how did "Secret of The Ooze" hold up after all this time?

     Well it  is watchable, but very cheesy and definitely shows signs of the time when it came out (1991). The first film had a very dark and more serious tone with humor in the right places. This film feels like everything is just a big joke, there were never any scenes where you felt like things were going to end bad for our reptilian heroes. The banter between them was funny at times but just felt like a rehash of things from the first film. It was pretty cool to see a young Ernie Reyes Jr. playing the kick ass pizza delivery guy. The actress who played April was different than the original, and there were no signs or even a mention of Casey Jones, leaving me feel like there was not much connection to the original film other than the fact that they mention the Shredders so called demise into the garbage truck.

 Like I mentioned earlier the movie feels like a big joke, the final fight scene takes place in a night club with Vanilla Ice performing a Ninja Rap song as they battle it out with puppet looking mutants, and then a Super Shredder that basically destroys himself by bringing the docks down without ever touching the turtles. The movie ended up cosing me $10 and if it wasn't for nostalgia I probably wouldn't recommend it to anyone over the age of eight, but I enjoyed it for what it was, and anyway if your watching a movie about Mutant Ninja Turtles and are expecting Gone With the Wind material your a fool.

Changing things up a bit

Hey all, B here. I've decided to change the way I put audio and written posts out. Instead of a weekly or bi-weekly thing, I'm going to just put things out as they come up. It will still be about the same amount of content, which I know isn't exactly allot, but it will be spread out over time and you don't have to go through everything just to hear about one thing. Hopefully this is the start of a better way of doing things for me and everyone will benefit from my wise words of wisdom on a variety of things. Later my "Wanna B's".

Episode Title: To Oblivion and Beyond

Episode Date 04/24/13

Movies

Before I even get started with the review for the Oblivion, did you guys see the latest Man of Steel trailer? Holy $H#t, any doubts about the what to expect from this film are completely gone from my mind, this may be the Superman movie we've all been waiting for. If you haven't seen it yet, do it now! If you have seen it already, you owe it to yourself to see it yet again.  

Oblivion

    Hey all you wanna B's out there, how you doing? I had a chance this weekend to catch the science fiction film Oblivion starring Tom Cruise. Love or hate the antics of the guy, I personally feel he usually doesn't disappoint me when it comes to the sci/fi action genre, and this film was no different. I went into the movie not knowing more than what was shown in a trailer I had seen a couple weeks back, and without reading any reviews from critics or viewers, I think this is probably the way I will do things from now on, as I can name a handful of movies I skipped over due to reading other peoples opinions, only to watch it later on tv and find out I really enjoyed it.

    So what is Oblivion about? Well it takes place about 60 years in the future from now, and in our time the Earth was attacked by an alien race known as Scavs. During this attack the moon was destroyed causing mass destruction on Earth. We are told that the human race fought back with nuclear weapons and won the war, but in the process made the Earth inhabitable. So humans move on to a moon called Titan and establish a new colony. Cruise's character is Jack Harper and is stationed on Earth to monitor the extraction of water to bring back to the new colony.

    Without ruining the story I'll just tell you that things aren't what they seem and I would almost compare this movie to the first Matrix film, as you don't fully know what's going on until a certain point, and then there is this eye opening moment where it all makes sense. Actually The Matrix still doesn't make much sense to me, but you get the idea. Anyway I really enjoyed the film, it had a small cast but still had this epic feel to it, and the cinematography was amazing, I love films that show a post apocalyptic earth, and this movie did a beautiful job of showing such a world. I've only seen a few movies this year so far and I know the really good stuff is about to kick off next month with Iron Man 3, but as of the time of writing this is the best movie I've seen this year and recommend it to any fans of the science fiction genre.

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TV Shows

Defiance

    Okay so last podcast I talked about the new game Defiance I had picked up for Xbox 360, and how they were putting out a show with the scyfy network that ties into that same world. Well last week I had a chance to catch the series premier which was a two hour event, and if first impressions are any indication, it's actually not bad.

    Defiance takes place in an Earth of the future where Aliens have migrated from another planet and after a war a peace breaks out and the alien races and humans try to co-exist in an earth that has mutated creatures and landscapes due to a terraformed accident. The show focuses on Joshua Nolan a former marine who was at the battle of Defiance and now roams the world with his adopted alien daughter Irisa. Both the main characters are pretty bad ass, and when they aren't having family disputes they make a pretty good team. In the beginning of the show it seems they are primarily motivated by greed, but by the end of the premier they end up taking permanent residence in the the down of Defiance after making a sacrifice of fortune to save the people of the city. Joshua ends up taking the role of Lawman and that's where the first episode ends.

    Despite being a show created for tv, the special effects in a number of scenes looked movie quality at times, and there is even a pretty decent battle seen during the last part of the show that must have cost a bit to produce. The two main characters are likable enough and the support cast including Julie Benz as the mayor hold their own as well. I'm going to give this show a try, at least for a while longer, I do have a vested interest as I am playing the game, and the game lacks much of a story so I'm hoping the show will help fill that void.

Episode Title: Yes I'm Still Putting These Out!

Episode Date: 4/14/13


Audio

Show Notes:

It's Been A While

    I know I haven't put out anything in almost a month, but you have to understand I am a bit on the lazy side and find it much easier to sit on my butt playing video games and watching movies than to record the podcast and write the show notes. That being said as a treat I made this weeks podcast slightly longer than usual and go over a number of things. We recently had a death of someone pretty well liked in the work place, and I found it amazing that this guy had accomplished so many things in his life yet no one but those closest to him knew about these things. This gave me an idea for something I would call a living wake, where everyone who reaches midlife area, say around 35-40 years old would be given a sought of party where everyone would go over the impact and things accomplished by this person in their time spent in this world. It's a shame that most people don't get to be celebrated in this way until after they pass on and then it's too late, so I thought this living wake idea would be a good thing, however all but a few people I mention it too think it's kind of crazy and just laughed it off.

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Gaming

Defiance

     On the gaming side I picked up Defiance for Xbox 360, Defiance is an online shooter mmorpg with a sci-fi theme to it. Game play is from a third person perspective and is pretty generic yet quite fun. Yes mmorpg's are a dime a dozen, but what this game has going for it is the fact it is available on the consoles, and there is no monthly fee associated with it as well. The story so far is a little on the bland side, but to make up for it the creators of this game have teamed up with the Scify channel to create an original series that takes place in the same universe. Whether this is a gimmick or will actually be well done and well received only time will tell.

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Bitchin With B

    This is the segment on the podcast where you get to hear me complain about something, this episode I bitch about drivers who get to close and flash lights at you while going way over the speed limit.


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Movie Talk

    This weeks podcast I talk about two movies I had recently seen. GI Joe Retaliation and The Evil Dead remake. One of these films I enjoyed the other I thought was a piece of crap wrapped up in a package of gore and guts and was a complete waste of money.

To hear about all these things you can catch the podcast and all prior ones here.