Vivendi hints at WotLK release date
I just stumbled across an official press release from Vivendi, the company that acquired Blizzard Entertainment last year, which has some information about the release date of the next World of Warcraft expansion.
Very good operating achievements were offset by non recurring or calendar impacts: the first quarter of 2007 included notably the successful launch of the first expansion set World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade (the second expansion set is anticipated to be released in the second half of 2008) and the favorable settlement of a tax litigation.
As an avid fan of WoW, I am pleased to see some sort of official statement on this, despite how vague it is. My personal suspicion is that it will be released in October or November of 2008, just in time for the Holidays.
Full press release is here.
The Incredible Hulk (4 of 5 stars)
Thank God for this movie! Not only because it was a legitimately good flick, but because I desperately needed something to cleanse my pallet after seeing “The Happening” last Friday.
This movie has a good story that feels true to the classic Hulk television show, impressive special effects, and lots of action. They actually do a pretty good job of quickly getting you up to speed as to what is going on, and how Bruce Banner has gotten to where he is. You could easily see this movie and enjoy it without already seeing the Eric Bana version, which if you’re lucky is the case for you… (they do a remarkably good job of redeeming themselves from that film). If you are an old-school Hulk fan or like comic book/superhero movies, you won’t be disappointed.
The Happening (1 of 5 stars)
Let me just start by saying that this movie really sucked. In fact, it was so bad it took me a week just to muster up the strength to write this. I saw this last weekend, on opening night, with my wife and parents. We are all fans of M. Night Shyamalan’s other movies, and as a result we had somewhat high expectations for this movie. It was shocking how lame it was.
If you’ve seen the previews, then you’ve probably picked up that something “happens” that causes people to start killing themselves randomly. At first they think it’s a terrorist attack, but later they determine it’s something else. It’s the discovery of what the cause actually is, that is most disappointing about this movie.
I’ll try to justify my comments without giving it away for any of you who may still want to see it, even if it is out of sheer morbid curiosity…
- Horrible acting: There was such an over-the-top campy feel to this film, that I have to wonder if it was intentional. If so, I’m at a complete loss as to why M. Night would do this… It was stupid.
- Weak special effects: There are a handful of CG scenes in the movie (mainly of people killing themselves in horrendous ways) that are pretty cheesy looking. You’ll know what I mean if you see it.
- Humor confusion: There are scenes that are clearly meant to be funny that just aren’t, while other scenes that would seem to be intended to be scary or intense are comical in their own weird little way…
- Retarded Plot: But above all, the worst thing about this movie is the whole premise of what “The Happening” actually is. It’s such an asinine idea, that I could hardly stand it.
Who knows. Maybe M. Night was trying to make such a bad movie that when people left the movie theater, they would be so disappointed that they would partake in their own little “happening” and brutally end their own lives in the parking lot…
I left the theater actually feeling betrayed by this movie. I’ve spoken to a number of other people who’ve seen it as well, and I was somewhat comforted by the fact that they were as disappointed as I was. I hope that if I’ve accomplished anything writing this review, it’s to lower your expectations so low, that if you see this movie you might actually like it…
Come Stumble with me
I have a habit of taking a half hour or so each week to Stumble websites using StumbleUpon.com. It’s been around for a long time, but it’s still a fun way to introduce oneself to some randomly cool, or really weird stuff online. Here are some things that I have recently stumbled upon that caught my attention…
- Park Seasons: This is fun. It reminds me of World of Warcraft for some reason.
- Vlad Studio Wallpapers: I downloaded a bunch of these.
- Politics Explained: This is funny and bizarrely accurate.
- Juggling Game: I have a set of juggling balls just like this. It reminds me of a former employee that used to always steal them from me and play with them. I miss her. QQ.
- Ice Cream Diet: This would probably go in my WTF category…
- Amazing African Photography: This guy is really talented. I’d love to get some of his prints.
You can keep up with my Stumbles here.
Internet Flashback - Kicked in the Nuts
I’ve been thinking about starting up a series of posts that focus on old Internet jokes, memes, etc. A tribute to all of the crazy stuff that has come through our in-boxes over the years. I was reminded of this one tonight, and just had to post it. The guys at my office and I have had countless laughs over this one. Maybe I shouldn’t admit it, but we are obviously easily amused…
More KITN goodness can be found at www.kickedinthenuts.com. Enjoy.
Iron Man (4 of 5 stars)
So it was pretty much a movie marathon weekend, if you haven’t noticed yet… I hooked up with a buddy tonight to see Iron Man for the second time, so I thought I’d write a quick review of it, since I didn’t have this site up and running when I saw it the first time.
This movie was a pleasant surprise. I was very skeptical after seeing the previews, and went into it expecting it to be pretty cheesy. I was actually shocked by how good it was. In fact the first time I saw it, I recall my wife and I looking at each other about 30 minutes into the movie and saying “this is really good!”. I know that if she likes a movie like this enough to want to see it again, it has to be pretty decent.
The movie is about a brilliant young scientist, Tony Stark (played by Robert Downey Jr.), who owns a large weapons manufacturing company. He has a traumatic experience that causes him to question whether or not his company is helping or hurting the world through the proliferation of weapons. After a bizarre turn of events, he ends up building a super-advanced exoskeleton suit that allows him to fly around and fight with super-human capabilities. It sounds kind of lame, but it had a little bit of the same feeling that Transformers did to me, with a great balance of action, humor and incredible special effects.
I would definitely recommend this movie.
Kung Fu Panda (5 of 5 stars)
We took the kids to see Kung Fu Panda today. It was really great! It’s a very fun and cute story about Po, a chubby panda that is a bit of a screw up and is unexpectedly chosen as the “Dragon Warrior”. Everyone believes his selection is a mistake at first, including himself, and the story unfolds to present a pretty good message about faith and believing in one’s self. I don’t have a single complaint about this movie. It also has some great “clean” Jack Black humor, lots of action, and the animation is really well done as well. All of us enjoyed it thoroughly, and I’m certain that this will end up in our personal collection when it is released to DVD/Blu-ray. I highly recommend this for kids of all ages.
You Don’t Mess with the Zohan (2 of 5 stars)
So… we actually saw this movie. I went into it with pretty low expectations, which was smart, because I wasn’t too disappointed. If you’ve seen the previews, then you probably have a pretty good idea of what you might be in for. Zohan is a superhero-like Israeli counter-terrorist who decides that he’s sick of war and wants to move to America to become a hair dresser. He does so, but while on his quest to “cut and style silky smooth hair” he still gets drawn into conflicts similar to back home. There is an underlying “why can’t we just all get along” message throughout the movie, that is pretty hard to take serious due to the ridiculous storyline.
There is a lot of really stupid and raunchy humor, but I’d be lying if I didn’t say that we laughed pretty hard throughout the movie. It had that “There’s Something About Mary” feel, where things are happening that you cannot help but laugh hysterically, yet feel utterly embarrassed to be watching at the same time… Unfortunately, they do push the raunchiness way too far in several scenes, which really takes away from the humor. I was hoping for less shock humor, and a little more of the clever humor that I know Adam Sandler is capable of. Good for a cheap and dirty laugh if you are into that sort of thing.
