Oh, Smurfs, why must you torment me so?
From the "oddly disturbing yet oddly accurate" file comes these images of Hank Azaria as 'Gargamel' for the upcoming "Smurfs" movie. It looks like we're going to get a little medieval time with the blue boys (and presumably, girl, though I wonder if they're going to explain where she came from), but then they're going to time-zap them into the present. I smell a bit of "Enchanted" here (which was a very funny send-up of Disney movies, and made me aware of Amy Adams, who I admire for being able to be a walking cartoon character). The deeply cynical part of me wonders if this isn't a back-door way of testing a future "Smurfs" movie where the added costs of re-creating the middle ages is offset by how well a cheaper modern-day version does in theaters. I do find it interesting that they'd set it in the modern day, yet they appear to have re-created Gargamel's outfit down to that gray patch at waist-level. And returning to Enchanted, does Azaria's Gargamel remind you of anyone from that film who starred in another fantasy franchise? It's almost uncanny. He also reminds me of a younger version of Hoggle, the uglier peasant brother of Londo Mollari, or one of those ubiquitous "troll" dolls.
In good movie news, the 'Thor' costume looks pretty sweet, at least, the bits we can see. Marvel's taking a big leap, building up several film franchises with the hope of an "Avengers" home run. Dare we hope they make it?
Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't the SciFi channel do this once before in its pre-SyFy era? They've bought some WWE Smackdown programming (as opposed to WWE "Raw" which ran previously). I get that the channel is for fans of, in essence, make-believe with a taste for robots and lasers, though we'll take swords and sorcery, too. If they're going to show made-up sports, why not go whole hog and basically invent some kind of LARP-style combat show with a heavy emphasis on physical conflict? Toss in some Laser Tag that allows the combatants to score points at a distance in addition to pretending to hold the other one down or knock them out with an aluminum turkey pan. Style it like the Thunderdome and add some electrodes built into the costumes to simulate being hit (Note: I'm not advocating inflicting pain for fun, but when compared to some of the things I've read that wrestlers do to themselves to simulate injury, a zap that would make you flinch is pretty small potatoes). In the end, a bunch of nerds (with backgrounds as game masters) judge the combatants on points scored, role-playing skills, and who "leveled up" in the rankings.
Actually, just a LARPing show alone could have been brilliant, though perhaps more of in a "trainwreck" kind of fashion, depending on the group profiled.
Again, a spoiler-free look at this week's UK episode of Doctor Who: They appear to be building up to something, perhaps a season-long something. They're also truly dealing with time travel, inserting characters who have knowledge of their past which is the Doctor's future. I really hope they can pull it off without making any temporal mistakes. Also, Matt Smith is getting better at muttering while under duress, delivering several very good lines you almost have to rewind (replay? What is the proper digital term?) to catch. And Amy Pond is shaping up to be a decent companion, often demanding of the Doctor what we think we would demand were we in her position: "EXPLAIN!" :)
And "Stargate: Universe" has finally had a story that we knew was coming: Some folks got left behind. Though I'm 99% certain they'll be reunited; I just hope it's interesting. And we'll have to see how the on-board pregnancy is handled. While dramatic and all, I've noticed that kids tend to find ways to age rapidly on these shows, or vanish for a while until they can read lines from a script. I also hope the writers don't plan on a plot where the ship can just barely make a wormhole gate that would allow something, say, the mass of a baby to make it back to Earth. But I'm getting ahead of myself, and them, but I thought I'd toss it out there so they might read this on a Google search or something, crumple up that script, and start over.
I guess since it's May, I should take down my Christmas decorations. While I peel the wreath off of our door, have a look at these:
- I feel better about eating unhealthy stuff if I make it myself. Take Pop-Tarts, f'rinstance.
- I think I may have posted one of the images from this artist's collection before, but the whole thing looks like a collection for the baby that's true Klingon.
- For anyone who finds most online flash games too easy, here's Poto and Cabenga, a single-button game (your spacebar) where your holding and releasing of it controls two characters at once. I stank at it, for the record.
- If you need more surrealism in your life, this text generator should fit the bill.
- So is this a webcomic, kind of? It's called Surviving the World, and consists of one man, his chalkboard, and life lessons of deep significance... :)
- Dare we say the best Dalek poster ever? At least this week?
- While I have no idea what the flavor is like, this recipe for a Resident Evil T-Virus shot at least looks accurate. Side effects may vary.
- I apologize to dog owners, pug owners especially, for this one, but it made me giggle.
- You can't go wrong with a simple platformer: Pixel Knight 2 is a simple jump-n-slay game that reminds me a bit of a low-rez "Ghosts 'n' Goblins."