The Star Wars That I Used to Know

So I know it has been out for a couple of days, you’ve probably seen the amazing Gotye parody “The Star Wars That I Used to Know”. But really this is too brilliant not to share.

Teddie Films did an amazing job on this.  The end of the video gives thanks to all the people involved.  If the parody gets stuck in your head and you walk around singing it all weekend, it is available on iTunes.

Flash Friday: 5 Inch Flash

Happy Flash Friday everyone! This week I ran across an interesting DC line that I hadn’t seen mentioned anywhere else. I was at the local Target wandering the isles again when I found the Batman end-cap. There were all sorts of ridiculous versions of Batman, but sitting under all of that were two boxes of superhero plush that I had never seen before.

There were piles of these oddly shaped little guys. Odd shaped heads, tiny legs, and crazy sized chests. They almost look like they were supposed to be some kind of DC crossover with M&Ms, like the chocolates did with Star Wars a few years ago. They almost all look constipated too.

As usual, when I saw anything DC related I started looking to see if the Flash is included. To my surprise he is. The tag opens up and shows the entire 5 inch line; Batman, Superman, Green Lantern, and Flash. My Target had two boxes of these things and the only character sold out was the Flash. In hindsight I’m glad they were out of him. It would have been an instant buy, now I’m pretty sure I can live without this one.

The other thing I find interesting is that both the tags and the box on these guys sport the New 52 character designs. I think it is the first time I’ve seen them used outside something that was meant for a comic book store. From the way DC talked when the New 52 launched I thought we'd be seeing this look everywhere.

Hangover Thursday: Carlsberg's Best Ad

It’s Hangover Thursday, how’s your head? Despite having a couple of beers last night mine is pretty clear. It was a good stout night last night. I had a Left Hand Nitro Milk Stout and another stout that I thought I knew the name of but apparently I misheard what it is called because I can’t find any reference to it on the internet now.

Carlsberg has released what they are calling “Probably the best ad in the world.” It involves bottle openers, so it has my attention. I spend far too much time looking at different types of bottle openers for some reason. It’s even stranger knowing that I’m completely happy with my Brewzkey and I don’t really plan on buying anything new. Anyway, check out Carlsberg’s video about their magazine ad.

Dungeons and Dragons: The Ultimate Champions’ Series

Dungeons and Dragons is one of those things that is very near and dear to my heart. It was something I was fascinated by when I was really young. I was eight when we moved from Detroit down to Orlando. That was when I met people who were actually playing Dungeons and Dragons. I was hooked from that point on. I still play Dungeons and Dragons, although since we’ve grown up we’ve had to resort to using Skype and virtual tabletop software.

Because of my love for the game, I found this video by Roooster and Box of Danger hysterical. The other thing I really like about the video is that it skips most of the geek jokes about the show. The complaints about the unrealistic magic items, the lack of swords, and stuff like that. It isn’t a short video, but it is totally worth watching. Enjoy, I’ve got to go work on my character for tomorrow night.

Mass Effect Extended Cut

Today is the release of the eagerly anticipated Extended Cut DLC. If you aren’t familiar with Mass Effect I’ll sum everything. Through the course of three Mass Effect games, players become very involved with the characters and the setting. The ending was not put together well. The ending gave you three choices, but once you made that choice you were left with more questions than answers. The fate of your friends was left unanswered.

Today’s DLC was created after Mass Effect 3’s ending caused the internet to erupt into flames. This new ending doesn’t undo the dues ex machine at the end. It doesn’t get rid of the strange Buzz Aldrin bit at the very end either. It does expand on what happens to your crew and what happens to the galaxy because of your choice. From what I’ve seen it isn’t perfect, but it is a far better end to the series than what we were originally given.

Bwackest Night

Super busy today so I just leave you with this amazing picture.

It is called Bwackest Night by Charles Ettinger. I love how Daffy has the Orange ring, because Geoff Johns said that Larfleeze sounds like Daffy in his head.

Do you see your favorite character and think the color is right? (Mine is Wile E. Coyote and it makes sense that he is a black lantern, dude should have died a long time ago. What with all the falling off cliffs and shoddy ACME products) Let Your F'ing Voice Be Heard in the comments, our Facebook page, or hit the contact us button.

Warhammer 40K Sixth Edition

In the grim dark future there are only rules updates. Oh and limited edition items. In one of the worst kept secrets of all time Games Workshop is now taking pre-orders for the new edition of Warhammer 40K. In addition to the normal rule book, there are some limited edition items coming out too. The two limited edition versions are both “while supplies last” so if one of them excites you, you better get your pre-order in quick.

The most expensive version is the Collector’s Edition. For 132 dollars you get a 452 page book printed on parchment-like paper. You also get an 8 page fold out, two 8 page gatefolds, and gold foil end papers. The book comes in a magnetically sealed, wardrobe-fronted box. It is also individually numbered; there are only 4,000 of these bad boys. It’s a beautiful looking book. I’d love to see one. I have no intention of buying one though.

The Gamer’s Edition is more my style, but it still isn’t cheap. 123 dollars get you a copy of the rule book, 12 dice that come in a neat tin, and the satchel. The satchel looks pretty nice. It has a place for the book and three other side pockets. The Imperial Aquila can be removed and a Chaos star can be put in its place. If I had a bunch of disposable cash at the moment, I might be tempted by this one.

Even the regular rulebook doesn’t come cheaply. This hardcover 452 page book will run you 75 dollars. The rumor sites are already filled with rules leaks, so it looks like 6th Edition is going to be a very different game. Since all of these lovely books are just pre-orders, we’ll have to wait a little bit longer to find out all the rules changes.

Flash Friday: Speed Force Turns 4

Happy Flash Friday everyone! This may be a surprise to some people, but That F’ing Monkey is not the best place to get your Flash news. My strict one post a day policy and saving almost everything Flash related means that some important announcements get overlooked. The does not happen on Speedforce.org, they are the best place for Flash news. On June 15th the website hit its 4 year mark.

I know the majority of my website traffic on Fridays is probably familiar with Speed Force, Kelson and his crew have gone out of their way to send traffic here. Kelson, Devin, Lia, and Greg consistently put out great Flash content. Way back in 2010 Speed Force even ran an article written by yours truly! Congratulations to everyone over at Speed Force, may there be many more years to come.

I know this is a short update this week, but I felt this was important.  Thank you Speed Force for everything you’ve done for That F’ing Monkey, it is appreciated.

Broad Street Bullies

In the strangest, most exciting news I’ve heard in a long time it was released that Rob Zombie is working on a movie about the Philadelphia Flyers during the 1970s. Zombie is going to be writing, directing, and producing the movie. Rob has full support from the Flyers organization.

What is so exciting about the 70s Flyers? The Flyers started as an expansion team in 1967, they were not fantastic. That all changed in 1972 when their extremely physical play earned them the nickname the Broad Street Bullies. They were brutal on the ice and it earned them two Stanley Cups.

Expect to see Bobby Clarke and Dave Schultz as the major players in the movie. Bobby Clarke was made Flyers team captain at the age of 23, at the time he was the youngest player to ever be awarded the C. He was a scoring machine and holds was the first player from an expansion team to reach 100 points in a season. Dave Schultz on the other hand still holds the record for the most penalty minutes in a season, a staggering 472. There is a “Schultz Rule” that prevents players from using boxing wraps to protect their fists. There was a reason he was known as the Hammer.

It sounds like the movie is still in its early stages, but it has the chance to be amazing. Hockey is full of wonderfully odd characters and the Bullies exemplified that. I’m willing to bet a major highlight of the film is the 1976 game against the Moscow Central Red Army. In 75-76 the Russian team had beat the Rangers and the Bruins. The Canadiens had managed to tie the Russians. The Flyers were so brutal that the Russians left the ice halfway through the first period. They only returned after learning if they didn’t play they would lose their salary for all 4 games against the NHL. The Bullies won the game 4-1, that’s the kind of team they were.

Deff Skwadron

Last week Games Workshop’s publishing arm, Black Library announced that the collected of edition of the Deff Skwadron comic is back in print. This is fantastic news since when I first read it, it was from someone’s online scans. Now that I can get a physical copy in my hands, I’ll be ordering it. What is Deff Skwadron?

The comics are about an Ork air attack unit. They are lead by Kommanda Uzgo (Maverork) and narrated by his navigator Gimzod. The only other two squad members that get mention are Maverork’s second in command Raznuts (Da Goose) and Gorthunk (Killboy). Da Goose wants to take Maverork’s place and Killboy wants to rack up as many kills as possible, even if some of those are friendly fire.

The comics were originally published in 2004 and were part of Warhammer Monthly. The art and storytelling are frantic. Everything happens fast with little downtime. It’s funny, very funny. By the time you get to the third story it is a little formulaic, but it doesn’t matter. Gordon Rennie and Paul Staples Jeacock put together a frantic story that is a blast to read even if you aren’t full caught up on Warhammer lore.

Despite being out of print for a very long time, it isn’t a surprise that it would suddenly show up now. Games Workshop just released a bunch of new aircraft for their armies. One of those is a great looking Ork plane that can be configured three different ways. If I didn’t still have a two tanks and an attack bike to work on I might be wanting to put together my own Killboy and I don’t even have an Ork army.

Sidekickstarter

As of late Kickstarter has been experiencing a golden age. Lots of nerdy stuff has been funded to the extreme, such as the Shadowrun Returns campaign that hit 459% funding. Well right now friend of the blog (and reason I am known as "Cake Fucker") Chris Moreno and Paul Jenkins are looking to do a new Sidekick project. 

If you don't know Sidekick it is the "Benny Hill of Superheroes" and I would suggest reading this review by comiccritique.com as they sum it up much more eloquently then I ever could. They have already hit their first goal of $5000 bones and because of that we get to see this...

Now the funding must continue so we can see Paul run through Atlanta's Olympic Centennial Park dressed in an ol' time bathing suit and Chris dressed as a Klingon at DragonCon. This must be seen.

As always Let Your F'ing Voice Be Heard! In the comments, our Facebook, or the Contact Us button. And remember if you ever meet Chris he loves signing the nastiest porn comics you can find, just tell him That F'ing Monkey sent ya.

Piranhaconda

It’s been a long week, but I’m excited today. Tonight is the SciFi channel’s premiere of Piranhaconda! Yes, this is another of those cheaply put together movies where hoards of people are eaten by giant CGI monsters. Each of these movies has to have some kind of hook to make themselves different than the others. Are two kinds or monsters fighting, is there something super unique about this monsters, or in what is becoming my favorite, is the monster an amalgam of two other things.

Piranhaconda’s plot seems to be too good to be true. A low budget horror movie crew has traveled to the Amazon jungle to create a film. What they don’t know is they’ve picked an area inhabited by a enraged piranha/anaconda hybrid. What would make such a majestic creature angry? How about someone stealing its eggs?

Michael Madson (Vic Vega aka Mr. Blonde) is getting top billing in this one. It also starts Rachel Hunter famous for being on the cover of Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Editions and being the ex-Mrs. Rod Stewart. She’s been in other things, but I think her best acting has been in the video for Fountains of Wayne’s “Stacey’s Mom.” The rest of the cast, well it really isn’t important. The real star of this one is going to be the Piranhaconda.

If you have a lot of time to kill tonight, SciFi is following the showing of Piranhaconda with my all time favorite, Sharktopus. Both of these movies were produced by Roger Corman, maybe we’ll see the day where the two meet. Okay, I admit that this is just a desperate plea for more Sharktopus.

Also, I wanted to add this quick note. I had ignored Jersey Shore Shark Attack because I thought it looked ridiculous. It is ridiculous, ridiculously hilarious. The parody is so over the top that I was laughing through the whole thing. Totally worth checking out.

Flash Friday: Eaglemoss Mirror Master

Happy Flash Friday everyone! Once again we’re going to be looking at something I’ve had on my desk for a little while. I had really meant to have pictures ready and put his up last week, but real life had other plans. Today is all about the Eaglemoss Mirror Master.

Eaglemoss produce action figure sized lead statues that are hand painted. The statue is shipped with a magazine that details the history of the subject. You get a couple pages of their most known stories, information on their friends and enemies, and other things like that. It isn’t a lot, but it is very nicely put together.

I’m always happy to have another Rogue to add to the group, so Mirror Master was an instant buy. The proportions are a little wonky but I think the three still look pretty good together. Mirror Master’s paint job looks like it was given some kind of shading wash; it makes the suit look a dirty. It also saves the costume from being super bright. I think it is a pretty good look for him.

There is a reason you see a lot of Eaglemoss on That F’ing Monkey. They and Action League are my two favorite merchandise lines. I got bored of the action figure lines. DC Direct, DC Universe, Infinite Heroes, and whatever else all do the same characters. Sure the scale and quality differ, but you end up with 15 action figures of the same figure. I think the mini statues offer something a little different while still being around “action figure prices.”

I like to think in this picture that Mirror Master is gloating about what a criminal genius he is without knowing that he has two Flashes behind his back.

Last but not least, it has finally been announced how to get the Lego Villians Pack in Lego Batman 2. Gamestop is giving it to all of its Powerup Rewards members that pre-order the game. So not only will get the Hero pack, but you’ll also get the Villain one. I love the Lego games. It doesn’t take me long to finish them, so this was not going to be a day one buy. But that Captain Cold may make me change my mind.

Hangover Thursday: What’s This?

It’s Hangover Thursday, how’s your head? Today I have to bring an amazing video to your attention. Directed by Stephen Sotor this parody of the Nightmare Before Christmas song “What’s This?” takes a look at someone’s first drink on their 21st birthday.

Everyone involved should be thrilled by how great this turned out. It’s pretty unrealistic though, I don’t know anyone that liked the taste of beer the first time they tried it. I remember sneaking a taste of beer when I was pretty young and being disgusted by it. I remember wondering why anyone would drink beer when root beer tasted so much better.  Oddly enough I liked coffee the first time I tried it.

Wreck-It Ralph

Having lived in the shadow of Cinderella’s castle for a long time, I can be very critical of Disney. There are times they do something so brilliant, fun, or touching that I can’t find any fault in it. It looks like their new movie Wreck-It Ralph is going to be one of those things.

The trailer tells the story better than I do, but you have an old school video game villain tired or being the bad guy. Because of this he decides to leave his own game and goes in search of something new. It looks like a good number of video game genres are going to be touched on here. There are glimpses of racing games and shooters, but I’m sure there will be more than that.

Disney has also gone the Roger Rabbit route and filled the movie with cameos by other video game characters. Pac Man ghosts, Q-bert, Doctor Robotnik, Bowser, M. Bison, and Zangief are just the ones you see in the scenes that have been previewed. You know they are holding onto a couple big surprises to get the really big laughs.

So far my favorite bit of marketing for the film is that Disney has released a flash game for Fix-it Felix Jr. This is the game that Wreck-It Ralph is the villain of and it is fully playable in all of its retro glory. You can check it out for yourself HERE. It’s pretty fantastic, but it lets you earn extra lives far easier than you could in the games actually created in the 80s.

Stanley Cup Champions: The L.A. Kings

If you would have told me on the first day of the playoffs that the Kings would win the Stanley Cup this year I would have laughed at you. Even before the playoffs the Pacific Division practically had their own tournament with the qualifying teams changing often. Once the Kings were in the post season they came alive.

Their playing was amazing. They destroyed the President Trophy winning Canucks. The Canucks should have gone much further in the playoffs, but the Kings stomped them. The Blues were next, they get swept. The series is over as quickly as it began. Round Three was Coyotes and Kings. Phoenix was lucky to be where they were and stood no chance against the Kings. At the end of Round Three the Kings have only lost two games.

It looked like the Kings were going to make quick work of the Devils, but New Jersey managed to slow the tide by winning two of the games. There is already talk of some of the penalties called in the last game, but those calls have been played, there is no undoing them now. I don’t think any of the Kings care about that talk though; they are too busy celebrating a well deserved win.

Prometheus, Or No Cute Fire Pun

Prometheus opened in the US last friday. Directed by Ridley Scott and starring Noomi Rapace, Michael Fassbender, Charlize Theron, and Idris Elba. This is a movie that has a serious identity issue, it wants to stand on its own yet add history to the Alien franchise. In the end if it had picked one side or the other it would have been a much more enjoyable flick. 

Personally I would have preferred that all the references to Alien were removed and that it was set in its own universe. It does not add much to the mythology, and what it does is pretty lackluster and easy to ignore. The main problem with prequels is the removal of mystery from the original work. I really don't want to see what is under the helmet of the Space Jockey and when I do I am bound to be disappointed. Which I was.

I don't need to know the origins of the titular Xenomorph. Not knowing is the basis of fear. I understand that the facehuggers engage in non-consensual face lovin', I don't really need to see the penetration...

For the most part I like the film. The acting and direction were fantastic - Fassbender as the android David was a major highlight, Theron was great, and Elba is always a fun watch. The visuals are stunning and meant to be seen on the big screen. Taken on its own merit it is a pretty good movie, add in the Alien stuff and it falls behind. In the end it talks a lot, but does not end up saying much.


What do you think? Have you seen it and think I am off my rocker and that this is an amazing addition to the Aliens world? Let Your F'ing Voice Be Heard in the comments, our Facebook, or hit the Contact Us button.


 

Earth’s Mightiest Heroes Not Renewed

I’m very sad to say that Marvel’s Avengers cartoon, Earth’s Mightiest Heroes has not been renewed for a third season. Disney XD is still going to be showing all of the second season, so the show isn’t axed, but once they’ve finished with season two, the show is no more. I can’t remember the last time I’ve enjoyed a Marvel Cartoon as much as I’ve enjoyed this one.

So what happened? Disney did. Earth’s Mightiest Heroes was in the works before the studio with its own animation teams bought Marvel. We will be getting Avengers Assemble, a new cartoon that looks just like that movie that you might have seen. I’m going to try and give it an unbiased shot when it debuts, but killing a show I like to start a new one makes me want to hate it. Also head of Marvel TV Jeph Loeb has been quoted as saying he doesn’t like multi-episode arcs because he wants kids to be able to sit down and instantly understand the episode. Can we give kids some credit please? As a kid the multi-part stories seemed epic.

I’m going to enjoy Earth’s Mightiest Heroes while I can. I had talked about my love for the Hawkeye/Black Widow/Mockingbird episode. Recently they topped it by including my favorite Marvel character, Iron Fist. Actually they went the full Heroes for Hire route and we got Luke Cage and Iron Fist. On top of all that, they included the Scott Lang version of Ant Man. The first Avenger related comic I ever read was a story that teamed Hawkeye and Scott Lang against Taskmaster. It cemented Hawkeye as my favorite Avenger and Taskmaster as my favorite Marvel villain.

Sorry to break your heart Mightiest Hero fans. Just know I’m right there with you.

Flash Friday: The Day There Was No Flash Friday

Work and lack of sleep are still kicking my butt.  I've already got next week's Flash Friday planned, it was going to be this week's Flash Friday but I didn't take the photos I needed.

Until then I'll just up my coffee intake.  Sorry for the lack of a real update. 

Hangover Thursday: Periodic Beer Glass

It’s Hangover Thursday how’s your head? My head is swimming. Work got incredibly busy for some reason and my son is nocturnal. With those factors combined, I don’t have a whole lot of time to talk about booze today. I did find something that could save you some money, and would make a great Father's Day gift if you have a geeky beer drinking dad.

Think Geek is currently selling their Periodic Beer glass for half off. No codes or anything, just go to the site and the price is already reduced. For 4.50 you can afford to get a couple.

Watch Dogs

The video game expo E3 is in full swing. Unlike some of the past years, there really isn’t anything (besides the South Park RPG) that I was anticipating. I expect most the franchises that I follow to remain silent for a little while longer. So the highlight of the show for me so far was seeing a friend showing up for 30 seconds in G4’s live coverage. Then I saw the trailer for Watch Dogs. This video is almost 10 minutes and the majority of it shows off in game footage.

This thing looks pretty amazing. As more and more information comes out about the game you’ll be seeing it here. Also Capcom should ease my fears and just say Dragon's Dogma is getting a sequel, because it deserves one.

Eduard Khil

Russian media is reporting that Eduard Khil has passed away on Monday. He suffered a stroke back in April and has been hospitalized ever since. He was 77. The internet made him famous as Mr. Trololo.

Eduard and the song “I am very glad, because I’m finally back home” was a huge internet phenomenon about two years back. Before his death he embraced the resurgence of his popularity and there are numerous videos out there of interviews with him.

Bottom line, the song still makes me smile every time I hear it. There aren't a lot of things in this world that can do that.  RIP Eduard Khil.

The Thoughts, They Download Randomly

Welcome back to another Random Thought Download, wherein I have a few things that don't form into a post unto themselves.

Last week I talked about my school girl like crush on voice actors. Well here is a trailer for a well known voice actor's movie. Full disclosure on this one - I hate Family Guy, American Dad makes my eyes bleed, and The Cleavland Show is like watching a coat hanger abortion. However Seth MacFarlane is a pretty good voice actor. I loved his Johann Kraus in Hellboy II. "Ted" looks kinda funny, and the trailer has it's moments. Looks to be a fun change from the summer blockbuster season.

The finals for Lord Stanley's Cup are well underway with the Kings up 2 games to nothing on the Devils. I don't have a dog in this fight and these two teams are quite a ways off my radar. Still it is playoff Hockey so I am keeping up to date. Also if you had told me at the start of the playoffs that Los Angeles would be 14-2 going into game 3 of the finals, I would have had you put into Arkham for being criminally insane.

 And finally the post all 2 of you were waiting for. Last week DC stated that Alan Scott, the first Green Lantern, is ......no longer in radio broadcasting. Oh and he is gay, on Earth-2, in the New 52. I have been getting quite a few texts and messages along the lines of "I told you Green Lantern was gay!". This is a non-issue for me. For one I don't care that a character I like is gay. Two it is on Earth-2, the one no one cares about. From the looks of it they have de-aged him from his old JSA self. At the end of the day I still like Alan Scott and I just hope that him being gay is not his defining characteristic and that he stays a fully fleshed out character. 


As always Let Your F'ing Voice Be Heard in the comments, our Facebook page, or the Contact Us button.

Rub Some Bacon on It

I discovered Rhett and Link’s newest song on Wednesday and have been singing it ever since then. This is their second attempt at creating a song after getting a five word title from someone. The first song created like this was “Nilla Wafer Top Hat Time.” It’s funny, but they guys really destroyed with “Rub Some Bacon on It.”

The video is filled with hidden annotations. Also once the song stops do not stop watching. There is a fantastic cameo appearance at the end that you don’t want to miss. If the song gets stuck in your head like it has mine, you can go to iTunes and purchase it there.

Flash Friday: Big Bang II

Happy Flash Friday everyone! I’ve briefly mentioned that I don’t really care for the Big Bang Theory. I can’t seem to escape it though. For one, my wife loves the show. Now that it is syndicated it is hard to get away from. Wearing a Flash shirt out in public brings out the BBT fans too. We won’t discuss how many times I’ve been asked if Sheldon is my favorite character. Now you may be reading this and thinking, “Come on Ken, Sheldon isn’t that linked to the Flash.”

This is the Sheldon Wacky Wobbler Bobble-Head. I’ve never really understood bobble heads either, so this is like a double whammy. Despite wearing a Green Lantern shirt on the box, Sheldon is rocking the Flash shirt. As a side note, I don’t like bobble heads but I dig dashboard hula girls. It’s mostly the same concept, but the hula girl just seems cooler.

How about a Sheldon you can take to bed? Or turn into a Voodoo Doll. Yet again, that is unmistakably a Flash shirt. I feel bad for anyone actually buying this thing; the Flash shirt is the only thing that even gives you a clue that it’s supposed to be Sheldon. Even if I don't like the show, I can tell this is a pretty crappy product.  I've seen better likenesses from Claw Machine toys.

Eu Tu Funko? I’m a big fan of the Funko line. I have a Flash. I bought my wife a Beauty and the Beast. We have a plush Creature from the Black Lagoon. Of course their Sheldon is decked out in a Flash shirt. In their defense I think they are doing a couple different variants with different shirts. I couldn’t stay mad at Funko anyway.

Just recently stores started showing Big Bang costume shirts. Guess what Sheldon’s shirt has on it? Underneath the straps and other shirts is a Flash symbol peeking out. I think I probably need to stop at this point and say I have nothing against the actor playing Sheldon. Jim Parsons had a great cameo in the latest Muppet movie. I’m just starting to miss the days when everyone got Flash and Flash Gordon mixed up.