Every once and a while a trailer comes along that makes you think, ok well WTF was that all about? The recent trailer for the movie “Baghead” does that exact thing to us over here at the Renerd offices.

The movie is described thusly:

While the Duplass Brothers were shooting their last feature film The Puffy Chair, a crew member raised the question “what’s the scariest thing you can think of?” Someone immediately said “a guy with a bag on his head staring into your window.” Some agreed, but some thought it was downright ridiculous and, if anything, funny (but definitely not scary). Thus, BAGHEAD was born, an attempt to take the absurdly low-concept idea of a “guy with a bag on his head” and make a funny, truthful, endearing film that, maybe, just maybe, was a little bit scary, too.

I don’t quite know what to make of it, expecially after seeing the trailer but it sure grabbed me enough to make me want to check it out.

Enjoy the lo res:

For a better version, come check out our Facebook group.

Every year when we attend the annual Toronto After Dark Film Festival, one of the highlights we HAVE to attend is always the Toronto Zombie Walk. If you have never had the opportunity to attend, it is something you REALLY need to see to believe. We are huge fans of all things zombie but attendees of this annual event go ALL out. It such a sight to see so many people gather and celebrate unlife. Many go for different reasons but some people really stand out every year. It takes all sorts of people and the organisers do a spectacular job every year.

The Toronto Zombie Walk has recently posted some details on their site:

This year’s walk is on Sunday, October 19th - starting off at Queen’s Park! The exact route and start time are still to be determined and they will be posted here and on the website as soon as they are official.

This year, in celebration of getting bigger and better, we hope to have some special treats for a handful of lucky attendees who are willing to show off their zombie knowledge. We don’t want to give too much away right now (mostly because we can’t) but rest assured that those with the most knowledge will benefit the most. In light of the Coming Zombie Apocalypse (or at least the most accurate simulation) we would like to present to you something we have not posted for quite some time.

May we present to you, Thea Munster VS. The C.Z.A. Q&A, a very different C.Z.A. Q&A than what we have become accustomed to!

1) Slow Zombies or Fast Zombies?
Slow zombies!! A zombies strength is in its numbers….it leaves alot more room for anticipation. Also, imagine how fast the zombiewalk would go if it was all speedwalking zombies…no fun!
2) If you had to pick one weapon in the Coming Zombie Apocalypse, what would it be?
HAHAH! Um…I think I may be the one resserecting zombies. But ok, if I had to pick a weapon I’d choose a switchblade…I think they are stylish.
3) Hole Up and Wait, or Roll Out and Regroup?
You can’t beat zombies…might as well just join them.
4) What would you rather face, Zombies or The Infected?
Zombies..hopefully re-animated by some toxic substance dumped by the military. Or caused by a comet/alien spacecraft colliding with earth.
5) Favourite Zombie movie of all time?
That is the hardest question ever. But, if I had to pick one I’d pick Night of the Living Dead! Then Return of the Living Dead….then Invisible Invaders.

For previous years’ antics check out our videos on YouTube and Vimeo

There are quite a few loves in my life. I will admit it. B.W.E. and The Boy aside, I love movies. I love video games. I love zombies. I love movies and video games ABOUT zombies. But I also love tattoos. Previously I had five tattoos, all relating to very important things in my life. That is the way I am with them. Each one has to mean something and be relevant to where I am in my life. I had planned for quite some time to get one in regards to The Boy. My son is very important to me, and as such, I had decided to get a tattoo that was relevant to me about The Boy. Well I got it started last night, thanks to the impressive Ronan down at Imperial Tattoo. This big tattoo was not the one that caused my great grief though. It was the OTHER little tattoo that I got. This little tattoo hurt like a sumbitch and actually I had to overcome a wave of dizzyness and nausea before we continued past the basic black outline, but in the meantime it still hurt like a sumbitch and I have a great amount of respect for people who get sleeves down to their forearms. Me? I think I’ll stick with this little one on my wrist and let that fly solo.

My video game tattoo:

“In 1945 the Nazis fled to the moon. In 2018 they are coming back.”

That’s the tag line from an upcoming film titled “Iron Sky“. If that alone doesn’t peak your interest then you are probably reading the wrong website. The thing about this movie is that it will be exclusively distributed online. No theatrical release and no DVD (for now at least); the only way for you to get a copy is through your web browser over the Internets.

According to the official site, the film is currently only in pre-production, however there is a teaser trailer available, which I’ve embedded below. I absolutely love everything about this teaser - the visual style, the music - it’s all perfect. In the press release they refer to Iron Sky as a “dark sci-fi comedy”, which is exactly the kind of thing I’ve been looking for since the rise of the “horror-comedy”. Eat your heart out Edgar Wright!

With all the big hooplah over the release of “Grand Theft Auto IV“, there are a few out there who must make the choice of whether to buy on PS3, or to buy on 360. I am not in that boat, but if I were I would find the following video helpful. The truth is however, that I don’t really see ENOUGH of a difference to decisively say which version is better. The 360 version does seem to be a little bit cleaner, but overall, the models, as Fearhurst and I were discussing earlier today, aren’t really all that spectacular visually. I will give the edge to the 360, but just barely.

While I am enjoying the game, I am not as blown away by it as I expected to be. Keep in mind this is not a bad thing. The quality of Rockstar games are really superhuman, and yes, I did cave and purchase the Special Edition which is really remarkable if you ask me. I also have yet to try the multiplayer which my cousin-in-law insists is spectacular.

Well it certainly has been a long time hasn’t it? It at least feels that way. With B.W.E., The Boy, and myself feeling much more settled in our new environs we can start swinging away at all the nerdy goodness that we have come to know and love. What better way to kick-start my reposting that to post another nomination to Renerd.com’s Trailers of Significance 2008 Edition. This nomination will fall under the category of “Best Red Band Trailer”.

But wait a second, you say, how can there be a sequel to “Hamlet“?

I can only answer that with four words: “Rock Me Sexy Jesus”

Don’t forget to hook up with our trailer loving facebook group and join / start a conversation on the discussion boards over here.

I was catching up on some old podcasts today and was listening to an episode of The Delta Park Project from a couple of weeks ago. The DPP is one of the great “couple-casts” out there hosted by married couple Jason & Anna. They mostly talk about pop-culture stuff like movies and TV, but also about their new baby.

Anyway, today they were talking about everyone’s favourite re-imagined series, Battlestar Galactica. Anna happened to mention her theory on who the final Cylon is, and as soon as she said it I was sold. It seems so obvious now that I’ve heard it and I can’t believe that I hadn’t thought of this before.

Last week Bishop wrote a post about the likelihood of some of the main characters being the final Cylon. Here’s his list: President Roslin, Bill Adama, Kara Thrace, Gaius Baltar, Callie Tyrol, and his personal pick, Tom Zarek.

Until today I was calling for Roslin to be the one. I thought she was a big character who wasn’t too obvious but had some signs pointing in that direction. I won’t go into my feeling anymore than that, cause I now know that it’s not her.

 So, I can hear you all saying “Get on with it jackass. Who’s the final Cylon?”

According to Anna from the Delta Park Project, with a guess that I now 100% agree with, the final Cylon is:

Zack Adama.

Son of Admiral William Adama, and brother of Commander Lee Adama.

It makes so much sense to me. The final Cylon has to be a character that will have a huge impact on the show and the lives of the remaining human characters. Of the current cast I think Bishop hit all the major players in his list, with the possible exception of Lee Adama.

But what about a character that we’ve never seen before, but who will have just as big an emotional impact? Zack has been referred to numerous times but we’ve never seen him on screen, and his sudden return would be a major shock to the Adama family and open a huge can of genealogical worms.

Lee and his father were talking about Zack as recent as a couple of episodes ago. I forget the details exactly but I believe it was just before Lee departed the Galactica for his new job. Talking with his father in the pilot briefing room, Lee asks “What if Zack came back now. What would he think of our situation”. I paraphrase, but I think the conversation is a foreshadow of what’s to come.

I can envision the scene in my head right now… Lee walks around a corner and suddenly stops dead in his tracks with an expression of shock and horror on his face. The camera cuts to the person he’s looking at - a face that the audience doesn’t recognize, and one that Lee has only seen in pictures. The unknown person pauses and finally speaks…

“Hello brother. It’s so good to see you.”

I got to check out Iron Man yesterday and loved it. John Favreau did a masterfull job bringing the second-tier Marvel character to life on the big screen. It certainly wasn’t a one man job however as Robert Downey Jr. was fantastic in the lead role. He played Tony Stark, the billionaire/genius/ladiesman who becomes Iron Man absolutely perfectly and I can’t honestly imagine anyone else in the part.

The special effects were some of the best, if not the best I’ve ever seen. IMDB has 7 special effents companies listed for Iron Man, and my hat comes off to all of them. Everthing was perfectly seamless and not once did I find myself thinking “that looks so fake”.

Downey Jr. stole the show, but the rest of the cast was great as well. Going in I was unsure about having Gwyneth Paltrow in the lead female role - not because I don’t like her (I do for the most part) - but I find that sometimes when you have a big-name actor in a supporting role to another big-name actor, the first big-name actor tries to do too much and ends up stealing focus from the main character. It’s not a hard and fast rule, but it does happen. I’m happy to say that Paltrow had an important part in the movie and she pulled it off very well.

If I had to find something negative about Iron Man, it would have to be the first act. It certainly wasn’t bad but I thought the movie took just a little too long to really get going.

I just had so much fun waching this movie and I am really looking forward to future installments. In the hirearchy of super-hero movies I put Iron Man above Hellboy and X-Men 2, but just below Spider-Man 2 and Batman Begins. On the Zombie Scale, I’d easily give Iron Man a Zombie Crisis.

P.S. - Stan Lee… Best. Cameo. Ever.

This is the final season of the most awesome show that B.W.E. just refuses to watch and/or like. It boggles my mind that she won’t watch this show but she will watch LOST, another great Speculative Fiction show. One of the big questions, if not THE big question of the entire show at this point is who is the Final Cylon. If you have not watched any of this season or even the end of last season you probably will not want to go on. Come back later, we’re open all night.

…

Ok all set? Great. As I was saying, perhaps the greatest question here is “Who is the Final Cylon”?

Everyone has their theories, and if you are at least a nominal fan of the show, you will have your own suspicions. I am here to not tell you the way it is, but to tell you my suspicions. Here is the thing about the show:
No one is safe, expect the unexpected.

I will list some of the most likely candidates.
President Roslin:
Perhaps an obvious choice. The leader of the last human colony is the Final Cylon. I know that many favour this choice but to me it just doesn’t jive. I see no clues that Roslin has any Cylon in her. I think if the people behind BSG made her the Final Cylon, it would be lazy writing. Roslin is a really great character and a wonderful foil for Adama Sr.

Bill Adama
I wouldn’t say that this choice would be as obvious, but if this were true, that would make Lee and his brother Hybrids and wouldn’t that mess with your head? The show needs a hero and Adama is that hero he is old, he is tough, and he is wise. He brings great balance to the Roslin aspect of the show.

Kara Thrace
This one would be the MOST obvious choice. She appeared to die, she came back, she is possessed with a drive to prove her humanity, she fears she is a cylon.

Gaius Baltar
The newly anointed spiritual leader of a small sect of people is another obvious choice. He has been such a perfect villain that it is natural to believe it possible that he COULD be the Final Cylon. He is the only character to have that aspect of his personality that only we (and he) could see. What I found interesting in the previous episode was when his 6 kept picking him up so that he could rally his followers after getting beat down by the guard time and again. We have never seen him appear to be physically manipulated by his visions, if you disregard the time he was “interrupted” back in Season One.

Callie Tyrol
After her death there are rumours that we have not seen the last of her. I say meh.

So out of all these who do I pick?

None of them.

Tom Zarek. Tom Zarek is the Final Cylon. Of course, this is all speculation but there was something that really drove the point home to me the other day. I was watching episode 3 as Tom and Lee sat in a boardroom discussing the nature of President Roslin. Zarek enters the room cloaked in shadow. He is clearly manipulating the Presidency as he says Roslin made him Vice President to keep him on the sidelines when we all know this to be untrue.

“Trust me. Better yet, trust yourself. Because that’s what I’m really counting on. That you’re not the kind of man who can ignore the truth when it’s staring you in the face.”

One thing the good people behind BSG have always maintained is that this iteration of BSG is not a remake. The mantra is:
“What has happened before is happening now and will happen again”.
What if the old series and the new are tied together? They have often made that allusion to the shows being related. What if what we used to see as Apollo is just another Skinjob? Here’s something that will mess you up even more. What if the skinjob ENDS UP being Apollo, not Jamie Bamber that is but Richard Hatch? What if the series we are watching RIGHT NOW happens BEFORE the Battlestar Galactica of the 70’s/80’s? As I said, I have no proof or evidence to back this theory up but man, wouldn’t that blow your mind?

I guess we’ll see in a few months time.

See you then

Back in 2004, a little movie came along that I expected very little from. The reason being I hate stoner comedies. There, now you know my dirty little secret. I hate them, I find them stupid and juvenile and a waste of film. I typically don’t watch them. With all that being said, my roommate at the time came home with a stack of videos, one of which was “Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle“. I rolled my eyes and moaned as I was forced to watch a movie about stoners searching for the elusive burger fix. Thing is, it was funny. It was bizarre. It had Kate Kelton.

By the time the movie was over I was howling with laughter. It was a funny movie that may not change anyone’s life, but it was surprisingly good. It was made better by the fact that I expected it to be so poor. Plus, it introduced us to the immensely talented Kal Penn, and the “why aren’t we seeing more of this guy” John Cho. Oh sure there was the sophomoric humour, and multiple drug references, but it was done in such a way, that I couldn’t help but laugh. Come on, how many movies do you know poke fun at having “Asian Clubs”. I laughed hard a that week I was introduced to the existence of such a thing.

B.W.E. and I typically have a Date Night set aside to keep the flame burning, so to speak. We agreed on this one, which, in case you don’t know, is NOT a horror movie. It isn’t too often that we watch a comedy, but this one was screaming out to be seen.

“H&K 2” starts out the day after the first with Harold reliving that moment of bliss he finally experiences during the first movie. We eventually learn that he is going to follow his dream girl to Amsterdam because he cannot wait to see her. In the real world, that is just creepy but it is a successful device in film and so our heroes are off to Amsterdam, “The Weed Capital of the World”. Mid-flight, however, sees Kumar (the least responsible of the two) get them in a whole whack of trouble and the pair are soon arrested and detained by a comically idiotic Rob Cordrry as head of National Security for the US and A. The movie pokes at all sorts of stereotypes and sometimes we are in on the joke and sometimes not. This one inconsistency is the one point of contention I have for this film, as I think I may have laughed harder at this one than the first movie.

As with a title such as that, one cannot help but notice the sequel is much more politically charged, but it still works in the context of the Harold-and-Kumar-verse. Additionally, the movie is a little sappier than its predecessor but I didn’t mind it so much due to its raucous nature. Of course, the other thing it had in common with its predecessor is Neil Patrick Harris, who took his stunning cameo in the first, built upon it, and blew the roof off as the over-indulgent NEIL PATRICK HARRIS of legend. There are scenes in this film that people will be talking about for some time to come, whether it be good or bad. In all, B.W.E. and I had one hell of a date night, and I would definitely recommend the film. I just wouldn’t recommend it if you are uncomfortable looking at both version of genitalia.

Alas there was no Kate Kelton.