Read: Marvel Zombies 5.....

Ok, so it's not like I wasn't going to get it anyway, but take a look who has joined the zombie fray for the fifth series of Marvel Zombie comics....

Howard the F'N Duck! That's who! *SOLD*

Listen: Retro Flick Fillet #7 recording Saturday Jan 21st 2011!!! SPECIAL GUEST!

Very excited to announce that Brenden Creecy aka Brendoman of Bagged & Boarded podcast, Popsickles podcast and brendoman.com will be a very special guest on tomorrow's RetroFlickFillet!  It is our "Out of Body Experience" episode, which is going to be the movies, Trading Places, Vice Versa, and Like Father Like Son.  Should be a fun episode!

Episode will record tomorrow, and should drop sometime Monday.  As always, you can find the feed to the podcast on the right of this blog, or you can go to www.idiotpod.libsyn.com and snatch it directly from the website, in addition I always post a link to it here as a blog entry once it has been posted.

Finally, as always, you can send any and all comments/feedback on the show, whether it is on the show itself or movies we have reviewed, or suggestions, general comments, anything to our show's email which is retroflickfillet@hotmail.com

Cool!

Watch: Need some cool names for these drawings!

Monica drew these pics of a would-be superhero chick and villian chick.  In need of some ideas for names...have a gander and start spitting names out...

Watch: Das Experiment vs. The Experiment

Sometimes you watch a movie you think you are going to enjoy and it ends up being a mediocre flick. A movie that had potential and a very interesting premise, but you were left disappointed. Then you find out it was a remake and the original happens to be available on netflix instant right now. Well if you are like me, then your first priority in life now becomes to watch the original and compare the two.

2010's The Experiment

Adrien Brody and Forest Whitaker star in this movie based on the Stanford Prison Experiment. (for more on that click the link) The premise is that a bunch of people volunteer for a experiment on the psychological effects of becoming a prisoner or prison guard. The group of volunteers will be divided into prisoners and prison guards. They will then have to live out their roles in a mock prison for two weeks.  If the experiment lasts to the end, everyone will be paid $14,000.  There are rules for the prisoners to follow and the only big rule for the prison guards is that they are to use absolutely no violence to handle any situation that may arise.  Everything starts out normal as you would expect, everyone getting the fact that it is just  role-playing, however it doesn't take long for people to start getting a little too comfortable in their roles, and the situation heads south pretty fast.   

2001's Das Experiment

Nine years earlier, the German flick "Das Experiment" came out. Based on the same prison experiment. The original starred Moritz Bleibtreu as Prisoner #77 and Justus von Dohnányi as Berus the main prison guard protagonist. The Main plot remains the same being that both movies are based on the same true life event, however a lot of the similarities end there.



Like most cases I am really kicking myself for not having seen the original first. A lot of the "twists" in the story are seen coming a mile away in the American version of the film. Something I have found peculiar and often times annoying in American remakes is that the film makers often feel the need to over-explain the situation.  Everyone is doing what they were pre-destined to do because of a very specific back story or reason. The easiest target for this is Forest Whitaker's character. You realize within about five minutes of meeting his character how he is going to turn out, because the writing and over explanation of who he is as a person makes it a no-brainer.   Compare this with the German version, besides the main character, no one else really gets too much of a back story. Everyone else's character simply develops under the situation at hand. It makes it more interesting and more of a shock to see exactly what unfolds ahead. Because I did see the American version first however, much of the spoilers were already known going in, but I found it didn't matter when watching a superior film all that much.

The longer running time of the German version(114 vs. 96) also helped flesh out the story more. Situations escalated a lot slower and in a more realistic manner.  There was a lot more questioning and subtlety to the solutions before it became chaotic. The metamorphoses from rational thinking people just trying to get paid for an experiment, into power-hungry bullies with weapons.  Honestly I am not sure which movie kept true to the actual event more closely, but I am guessing neither.  Of course when it comes to making an entertaining movie, we should all know by now that "based on a true story" is something to be taken with a grain of salt, and you really have to pay attention more to the "based" part than the "true story" part.

The biggest element where I feel the German version excels over it's American counterpart is that the viewer is in regular contact with the scientists the entire time.  We can see and hear their horrified reactions and how much they become conflicted with the entire experiment when signs start showing that not only are things inside the mock prison going south, but they themselves, are starting to lose control of the situation.  Later on in the movie they even get involved a little more intimately with the experiment, which is probably where even the German version jumps the shark a bit too.

Overall, I highly recommend the German version, and make sure you see it first so it is not spoiled, and the American version is merely looked at by me as a companion piece I guess.  It is mediocre, but Forest Whitaker is decent I guess.  Even though you see where he is headed from the get-go.  So there you have it.  Have you seen these flicks? Only one of them?  Leave me a comment!

Watch: No way this movie can't be good!

I quite often enjoy movies that don't take themselves seriously.  This one looks to be a riot, especially with some "visual enhancement"

Play: EA Sports Active 2.0

I'm going to say up front, I am not a fan of "working out." There are a few activities and sports I enjoy playing casually which can be considered working out, but working out for the sake of working out has never been my thing.  Hell, even "it will make you healthier" has never been much of a motivator, although now as I enter my thirties that statement kind of raises my eyebrows a bit more.  I am not quite close to be old enough to where I can't do the things I enjoy, but have reached the age where my body reacts a bit differently when I am doing those same activities.  I have been in the market for a little while for an exercising game, that for one, I can do in the comfort of my own home, and two, at least makes it somewhat "fun" to do.

Previously I considered wii fit, which seemed like an acceptable option, but the main criticism of that I heard was it was more like an activity than a workout.  If I am going to invest money and time into a workout game, I at least want it to work me out and make me feel like I am not wasting my time aka FEEL THE BURN!

A couple nights ago, we decided on EA Sports Active 2.
 We bought also the fitness bundle which includes a jump rope, floor mat, extra hand weights and more resistant exercise stretch bands. The game includes heart monitors for your arms and leg.  I must say they work pretty well.  The motion detection is pretty spot on.  This really comes in to play when your legs start to get soar and you try and not bend or squat all the way down, the trainer will let you know you aren't doing it right.(fitness bundle pictured below)

After the initial setup where you enter in all your info you can either do a pre-selected workout or choose from a list of 75 workout options.  I went with a pre-selected, trainer-driver workout.  It will also setup a workout schedule for you and some goals to meet for the next six days.  I enrolled in the 9 week program.  So this is really the beginning for me.

I am two workouts in and let me tell you, this game is no joke. The workouts are legit, and they can also be customized depending on how in shape you already are(or aren't in my case).  The interactive aspect helps push you and keep you motivated, the way it reacts to what you are actually doing. It isn't simply a workout video playing in the background where you can stop and cheat whenever you feel like it.  If you aren't following the instructor or doing the movements right, he or she, will let you know and they will wait on you or ask if you need to be re-shown how to do it properly.  Of course like any motion control game, I am sure you can find ways to cheat the actual workouts on certain ones, but what would be the point really?  Why even get the game if you are going to do that?

The one thing I am going to need to look into and recommend anyone else with the same predicament is to invest in a better floor mat.  I happen to have hardwood floor in my living room and the mat, while providing a tiny bit of relief, is really not adequate for some of the ground-based exercises.  Especially when you need to be on your knees.  I often finding myself getting pillows for extra comfort.(and no I wasn't cheating the exercise, just making it bearable, lol )

Once your scheduled workout is done, you have the option to continue to workout on your own, making a custom workout. I did those both days so far.  I added the boxing workout, where you are basically throwing punches.  I think I might add the wrist weights next time I do this to add some intensity.  So far I have done everything at "easy" level, but for someone in my situation, it wasn't easy at all.  Like I said I am in the nine week program so from time to time I will update on my progress...(maybe).

Whether are you looking for a little exercise or want the full workout, this game looks like it is going to get the job done.  I am hoping to see some DLC released in the near future with even more different types of workout. I would really love to see more of the boxing/sparring type exercises expanded because to me that kind of workout is fun on top of being good for me. And anytime you can get me to say "workout" & "fun" in the same sentence, you have a winner on your hands!

(I totally forgot to snap a post-workout pic of me looking exhausted but fulfilled, maybe next time, haha)

Misc: Are the days of a single "Must have Phone" over?

With the latest news of the iphone finally becoming available as an option to Verizon customers, comes a couple questions.  For starters, is this a case of being too little too late, but more importantly, is the iphone still the "Must have" head and shoulders above the rest, cell phone it used to be?
(iphone 4 pictured below)

There is no question about it, when the iphone first hit the market so many years ago, it was a revolution. Hot off the succes of the ipod and other various apple products, Apple put out another bit of technology that would take the tech world by storm.  The features offered some brand new functionality for cell phones. It was one of the first signs that cell phones were truly on their way to becoming little computers we could fit in our pocket.


However, it is 2010 now. The iphone is hardly alone anymore in tricked-out phones with an abundance of geeking-out type features. In fact there are other phones out there now that some would argue run a lot of the similar features smoother and better than the iphone itself.(Not to mention the continuing call-dropping issues that still persist with a lot of iphones to this day)
(Palm pre plus pictured below)
With other phones such as the Palm Pre Plus, Samsung Galaxy,Android, HTC Touch Pro II(among many others) currently on the market, and the Google phone, Playstation Phone, Palm/HP's next phone and even a newer model of the iphone on the horizon, does the iphone itself hold the same exclusive luster it once did.  I am not anti iphone. I think it is a wonderful piece of technology and will continue to be regardless of the competition.  It will only result in an even better iphone in the future as well as better phones from the competition. I am simply posing the question, as to whether the iphone is as coveted as it once was.(Samsung Galaxy pictured to the right)
Truth be told, the majority of smartphones within the same price range all do about 98% of what every other similar phone can do.  It might merely come down to which features your particular phone does the best.  Are you someone who is an apps-hoarder. Do you like to play games on your phone? Do you use your phone mainly for emailing & messaging? Is a feature such as multi-tasking(and I mean legit multitasking not the watered down version). Personal preference is probably what it is going to come down to in the future for cell phone purchase.

With that said what do you think? Am I crazy? Do you think the iphone is still way ahead of the pack? Do you think it has fallen behind the pack? I am somewhere in the ballpark here?  Let me know!