RADICAL BEER COMMERCIALS OF THE '80s

We all know that Chuck Buk loved him some cheap hooch. In other words, beer. Lots of it. The cheaper the better. Found this on digg and just had to share...

The 1980s were nuts: cocaine, brick phones, Kirk Gibson and Reaganomics. But most importantly, it was the decade in which the campiest, and most ridiculous beer adverts were created. These commercials have a distinct playfulness to them, rather than the sex-laden advertising efforts of the 1990s, and the absurd or relatively high-brow commercials of today. They were also, overwhelmingly montage-based and very low budget, when compared to today’s standards. If you notice, each commercial also has a jingle, which is nice. Savor the cool, refreshing flavor of these sweet advertisments and feel free to pour some out for the brands that no longer exist...

Click HERE to check 'em out.

HAPPY HOLIDAYS!!

Here's hoping your 'HOs' are plentiful.

PRE-GOLDEN AGE BOOK COVERS

Just saw this on DIGG and had to share...

Via Joshua Glenn:

Some of the most gorgeous, evocative, and strange science fiction art you've ever seen comes from the covers of novels written between 1904-33, in SF's "pre-Golden Age."

Readers, here is the long-awaited second installment in my Pre-Golden Age SF series. I can't afford first editions of PGA SF novels, but I've managed to collect images of their dustjackets and "boards" (as bookbinders call the paper- or cloth-covered stiff cardboard forming a book's covers). The following 10 SF novels boast the most thrilling and evocative cover (board or dustjacket) illustrations and design from 1904-33.

To see the rest of the covers, click HERE.

DID THE 'DARK KNIGHT' SUCK?

Well, I don't think so... But it might not be the End-All Be-All of superhero movies as most people think.

I posted an item yesterday about The Guardian calling "The Dark Knight" one of the most ridiculous plots of the year. I wanted to take another stab at the flick after writing the post and came to the (probably blasphemous) conclusion that there are indeed more-than-a-few flaws with the lauded superhero flick. Here's what I think:

* It's WAY too long. There I said it. It goes on for at least a half hour longer than it should have. Imagine how effective it would have been in those final scenes of Bats zipping along on his Batpod vigilante-style had it clocked in at a lean and mean 120 minutes.

* It was way too dense. Kudos to the Brothers Nolan and scribe David S. Goyer on their multi-layered approach to make Gotham as realistic, relevant and current as possible, but geez, if there was ever a flick to watch with the captions on, it's "The Dark Knight." Every bit of dialogue, character nuance and glance means scores to the plot. My copy didn't have subtitles and I'm afraid that I may have missed a few things (even after a couple times in).

* It simply wasn't fun. I'm very well aware that Batman is the brooding James Dean superhero in the DC Universe, but man, talk about your downers. Even without the stunning and Gothic art direction of the Tim Burton Batman films, "The Dark Knight" is one bleak piece of moviemaking. And yes, before everyone goes all nuts on me, I'm well aware that this is "The Empire Strikes Back" of comic book films. The Godfather Part II" if you will... 'Empire' ended on a downer and I'm all for a downtrodden ending but there was zero, zilch, zip fun in the entire film.

While the action scenes were deft, precise and explosive, there wasn't that element of razzle-dazzle fun. The only iota of fun came when the Caped Crusader is chasing the Joker on his Batpod and literally scales a wall and turns around at 90 mph in a second or two. THAT was fun. We needed more of that. And for those who tell me the film was an allegory for what's happening in the world today, please... Get over yourselves. I don't want a comic book movie to do that. Entertain me. I have the news for all else.

* Is Clint Eastwood in this film? For the love of all that's holy, why in the world did Christian Bale sneer, whisper and growl his way through his Batman scenes? Honestly, most of the time I couldn't understand what he was saying. My call? Hands down, I'd say that Michael Keaton put on the best Bat voice in terms of menace. Bale was doing God knows what. Let's all pray he drops it or at least takes it down a few notches. Totally dopey.

* Never thought I'd be saying this but take a cue from Marvel. The once film-fledgling Marvel is going to great lengths to instill a sense of continuity in their films. Example? It builds excitement when Sam Jackson shows up as Nick Fury in "Iron Man" or when Robert Downey, Jr. shows up as Tony Stark in "Hulk." It's geeky yet cool. Would it kill WB and DC to do a little more of that? It's awesome that Christopher Nolan is going to great lengths to incorporate a massive sense of realism but take it one step further and mention Metropolis... Throw in a Lois Lane appearance... I dunno ... Something. Build their universe and the continuity. It'll work wonders.

* Again, as with most Batman films, there are simply too many characters, namely villains. Between Heath Ledger's awesome Joker, the duality of Aaron Eckhart's Two-face, Eric Roberts' stereotypical gangster, the Asian corporate invader/thief, and all the hoodlums and henchman and you've got a jambalaya of dare I say stock criminals (with the exception of the first two). Why does this always happen? The Bat cannon is full of great villains. Let's not use them all at once. Which leads me to...

* Nolan wrote himself into a pickle. What I mean by that is that his Nolanverse is so authentically realistic, writing in such A-List Bat villains as Catwoman, The Riddler and The Penguin (especially) will be near impossible. Take his Joker, there was no origin ala the Tim Burton film or from the famous comic book lore. I mean, it sorta worked in this instance -- a wacko shows up in clown paint and is a lunatic. But I don't think that ambiguity will work so much for the others. Hmmm, is that why he's yet to sign on for a third film? Has his Nolanverse run its course?

'DANTE'S INFERNO' VIDEO GAME TRAILER (LOOKS COOL)

Of all poeple, Kim Kardashian on Spike TV introduced the video game adaptation to the long rumored game, EA’s "Dante’s Inferno." Based on the first book in Dante Alighieri’s trilogy “The Divine Comedy,” it's an epic poem about Dante’s travels through the three stages of the afterlife, guided by poet Virgil.

In the first book, "The Inferno," Virgil guides Dante through nine rings of hell. Each ring houses different class of sinners. As you get deeper their crimes get worse. The trailer for the game breifly outlined each of the 9 rings and showed short clips of each ring.

It appears as though the player will be some sort of crusader that is traveling through the rings. Being that it is an incredible story you can bet that the game will already have an incredible storyline.

It was reported last week, that Johnny Depp is quite interested in appearing in a film adaptation. Would be awesome. In any case, check outthe creepy vid (which seems to have borrowed its look from David Fincher's "Seven."

A LIT CLASSIC HEADS FOR THE BIG SCREEN

... And not just any lit classic. Infinitum Nihil has acquired films rights to Nick Tosches 2002 novel "In the Hand of Dante" that will be developed as a potential star vehicle for Johnny Depp reports Variety.

The story revolves around Dante Aligheri's masterwork "The Divine Comedy," and tells parallel storylines involving Dante in 14th-century Italy as he tries to complete the work, and a contemporary storyline involving Tosches, who is asked to authenticate what might be Dante's original manuscript.

What's more, Depp also begins work in March on "The Rum Diary", an adaptation of gonzo journalist Hunter S. Thompson's work in which Depp will play the late cult figure (yet again). Bruce Robinson directs.

To read more, click HERE.