Category Archives: Video

New ‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 trailer ups the ante (again)

Television, Video, , , , , ,

In exactly two weeks time Game of Thrones will back, and if these next round of trailers have anything to prove it’s that the show is ready to elevate to entirely new level of epic. Today HBO released the second full-length trailer hyping the third season of the network’s fantasy series; and if you thought the first trailer was unbelievable, you just wait. Trailer numero dos is thirty seconds longer and manages to pack in more action, more dragons, and a freakin’ bear! The score behind it all, of course, is Daft Punk’s “The Game Has Changed” (how appropriate a title here) as made famous in Tron: Legacy. The marketing gurus behind Thrones sure know how to ignite a fire under a fanboy’s flittering heart.

Game of Thrones returns Sunday, March 31 at 9PM on HBO. After the break, catch two new teasers titled “War” and “The Beast.” Continue reading New ‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 trailer ups the ante (again) →

‘Kick-Ass 2’ red-band trailer reintroduces the amazing Hit Girl and a vengeful Red Mist

Movies, Video, ,

Three years later we are finally getting a sequel to the breakout superhero flick Kick-Ass. Jeff Wadlow (Never Back Down) replaces Matthew Vaughn as director (Vaughn is still onboard as a producer) and stars Aaron Taylor-Johnson, Chloë Grace Moretz, and Christopher Mintz-Plasse reprise their roles as Kick-Ass, Hit Girl, and the vengeful Red Mist, respectively. (Red Mist, however, bestows a new name unto himself in the sequel but I’ll won’t spoiler the reveal here.) Joining the cast is Jim Carrey as Colonel Stars and Stripes, the leader of the city’s band of vigilante superheroes. A spectacularly red-band trailer packed with gory action and a foul-mouthed (not-so-little anymore) girl awaits.

Kick-Ass 2, based on Mark Millar and John Romita, Jr.’s graphic novel, hits theatres August 16.

Justin Timberlake & Jimmy Fallon team up for another “History of Rap” mega-medley

Music, Television, Video, , , , ,

To promote his upcoming new album The 20/20 Experience, the versatile Justin Timberlake visited Late Night with Jimmy Fallon for an entire week. So when Friday rolled around and viewers hadn’t seen a new installment of “History of Rap” yet you knew it had to be coming. And it did!! Fallon, Timberlake, and The Roots collaborated for a fourth time to span the history of rap to produce one entertaining medley that you never want to end. Before the performance begins, JT admits “But this is the last time…” and JF finishes his sentence “until the next time we do this” and then JT echoes that hopefully meaning that this in fact won’t be the final musical trip around the beat-driven genre.

And now, without further ado, I present “History of Rap Part 4.”

Watch parts 1, 2 and 3 at the links provided.

Netflix introduces a social recommendation engine with Facebook friends

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Netflix already does a great job at recommending to its users TV shows, movies, and documentaries based on what you watched in the past and the ratings you give the content you watch. This week the streaming company launched a new way to discover content with a social spin. Subscribers can now link their Facebook account with Netflix to see what their friends are watching. Once the accounts are linked, Netflix users will notice a new “Watched by your friends” row in the streaming site’s main menu as well as a row called “Friends’ Favorites” that features content watched by friends that they have rated with four to five stars. Additionally, friends will be able to see what you watch and rate highly; but if you’ve got a guilty pleasure you don’t want to be shared you can easily click the “Don’t Share This” button in the player. Netflix notes that by default all this social sharing with Facebook friends happens on the Netflix side of things only. If you want your Facebook friends to see what you’re watching on Facebook, you have to dig into Your Account, Social Settings to flip the switch on; there you can also stop sharing altogether if you don’t want to take part in the new social recommendation engine.

Currently the Netflix/Facebook cross-sharing initiative is live in the U.S. Netflix says they will “continue to experiment and improve our social features over the coming months and years.” Click after the break to watch a brief demonstration of this at work across Netflix.com in the browser as well as on the PlayStation 3.

[Via Netflix] Continue reading Netflix introduces a social recommendation engine with Facebook friends →

Movie trailer round-up: ‘The Hangover Part III’, Joss Whedon’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2’, ‘Iron Man 3’, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, ‘After Earth’ & ‘Oblivion’

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So many trailers, so let’s get right to it. First up is our very first look at the final installment of director Todd Phillips’ Hangover trilogy. The Hangover Part III brings back Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, and Zach Galifianakis as the three best friends that anyone could have and they’re going back to Vegas where it all began. The overall plot is still being kept under wraps and this teaser trailer doesn’t reveal much except that Alan’s dad played by Jeffrey Tambor passes away and John Goodman shoots someone in cold blood in front of the guys. The official terse synopsis goes like this: “This time, there’s no wedding. No bachelor party. What could go wrong, right? But when the Wolfpack hits the road, all bets are off.” A laugh-out-loud teaser and the promise that this one won’t mimic the wedding/get drunk and blackout/wake up and remember nothing formula from the first two films should have you extra excited for the Wolfpack’s last hurrah. The Hangover Part III opens May 24. (After the break check out the movie’s official poster that parodies the eighth and final Harry Potter “It All Ends” poster.)

Jump after the break to view more trailers. Continue reading Movie trailer round-up: ‘The Hangover Part III’, Joss Whedon’s ‘Much Ado About Nothing’, ‘Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs 2’, ‘Iron Man 3’, ‘Star Trek Into Darkness’, ‘After Earth’ & ‘Oblivion’ →

New changes coming to Facebook: the News Feed gets a “clutter-free” redesign

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Heads up, Facebookers; there’s a new design update coming to the ubiquitous social networking site. Before it lands in your lap, get a quick overview of what to expect right here, right now.

After overhauling profile pages and search, Facebook’s next task is to revamp the News Feed by reducing clutter and making the site’s main portal even more personal. The site promises “you [will] see all the stories you saw in your News Feed before, but with a fresh new look.” Each story (or post) that your friends share will show up in your News Feed will be highlighted in new ways to make content discovery easier; for example, photos, news articles, maps, and events will appear larger and brighter and more colorful and vibrant. Also new is the addition of several feeds users can choose from. There’s a new drop-down menu in News Feed that allows you to dig deeper into specific content your friends are sharing. For example, the Photos feed filters out everything except for the photos your friends are posting; the Music feed tells you what your friends are listening to and provides you information about the artists you like; and the Following feed will show you the latest news from the Pages you like and the people you follow. Mark Zuckerberg says the enhanced News Feed aims to “give everyone in the world the best personalized newspaper we can.”

The new and improved News Feed is inspired by Facebook’s mobile presence. For example, the left-hand menu that users are used to exposing with a flick from the left-hand side of a tablet or smartphone’s screen will soon be accessible in desktop browsers. Also, users will have the ability to jump right to the top of News Feed whenever new stories trickle in. The main reason for porting over these mobile functions is to unify the overall Facebook experience across all devices. The “same clean look” will soon be present on our phones, tablets, and desktop browsers.

When is “soon” exactly? Facebook isn’t providing a hard date for the switchover, but the new News Feed will slowly roll out over the coming weeks on web and mobile, so says the company. If you’re itching to get your hands on the new design, you can join the feature’s waiting list right here; that site will also give you a visual rundown of it all. Facebook employees discuss the inspiration and vision for the News Feed redesign in a brief video embedded after the break.

[Via Facebook 1, 2] Continue reading New changes coming to Facebook: the News Feed gets a “clutter-free” redesign →

The 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model is…

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American Kate Upton, again. The 20-year-old model and actress graces the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue for the second consecutive year from Antarctica. The blonde bombshell needs no further introduction, so if you can do it drop your gaze from the cover shot to the gallery below that is jam-packed with booby-busting shots of Upton surviving the sub-zero temperatures of the Antarctic tundra in style and on a boat. A steaming hot video hangs after the break.

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Continue reading The 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue cover model is… →

Sony introduces the PlayStation 4

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On Wednesday Sony took the stage in New York to formally introduce their next-generation console, the PlayStation 4. Though the company failed to show industry developers, members of the press, and gamers watching a live stream from all around the world what the actual console looks like, it did reveal two new PS4 accessories (namely the DualShock 4 wireless controller and the PlayStation 4 Eye motion sensing camera) and it did go into some detail about how powerful and socially integrated the system is. Read on to learn everything there is to know about Sony’s next-gen vid-game console. Continue reading Sony introduces the PlayStation 4 →

Google Glass, future wearable technology, exposes its simple user interface (new video & pictures inside)

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This week Google launched a new online portal that sheds more light on its wearable technology previously labeled Project Glass, now called Google Glass. The search giant and Android maker first unveiled Glass in April 2012 to much fanfare in the tech crowd. Later in July at Google I/O 2012 the company brought it back on stage to keep the hype going. Pictures were posted and some specs floated around, but Google kept its intriguing concept still truly under wraps. And although it still hasn’t announced a hard release date or price, Google has officially lifted the veil on what exactly Glass can do in its current stage of production and the company is giving ordinary people the chance to experience Glass first-hand this year. Continue reading Google Glass, future wearable technology, exposes its simple user interface (new video & pictures inside) →

The ‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 trailer has arrived [Update: extended trailer]

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At last, HBO has released a trailer featuring actual footage from the upcoming third season of the epic fantasy series Game of Thrones. Was it worth the wait? Although it’s merely a 60-second spot, the answer is a resounding yes.

Flying dragons. Fire. Dick Joffrey (“Everyone is mine to torment.”). Sexy Daenerys (with her very own army?). A grown up Bran Stark weilding a mighty bow-and-arrow. Our favorite Imp.

Game of Thrones is back March 31. And because I know you want the pulse-pounding background track I’ll save you the trip: it’s “Bones” by MS MR available at iTunes.

Update: HBO has released an extended version of this trailer featuring even more brand new footage and it’s embedded after the break. Continue reading The ‘Game of Thrones’ season 3 trailer has arrived [Update: extended trailer] →

Behind the scenes: Movie magic places the Avengers in “New York City”

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Did you know…

Although roughly a third of “The Avengers” is set in New York City precious little was actually filmed there. ILM crew members photographed 7-miles of city streets from a variety of heights and at different times of day totaling 250,000 images. The crew then digitally recreated roughly 20 square blocks of mid-town Manhattan using a variety of techniques. Live action shoots were held primarily on sound stages in New Mexico and in the streets of Cleveland.

Too many words for ya? Go “behind the [movie] magic” and discover how exactly the Industrial Light & Magic visual FX team assembled the Avengers in NYC without even being there. Incredible stuff.

John Noble readies an emotional performance in upcoming short film ‘Friend’

Entertainment, Short film, Video, , , ,

Since Fringe ended, nobody has swept us off our feet and into the heart of a man like John Noble did. His powerfully emotional character Walter Bishop is certainly one of the most memorable fictional portrayals to grace television. Need your weekly Walter fix now? Unfortunately that character has been put to rest as Fringe aired its series finale last month, but I have for you the next best thing.

John Noble is set to star in a mysterious short film that goes by the name of Friend. Noble’s daughter Jess wrote the script and together they produced the project. Noble called upon Fringe‘s director of photography David Geddes to direct.

Collider scooped a synopsis: “A lonely, grief stricken man of wealth finds a new lease on life after an unusual ‘friend’ is mysteriously delivered to his door. A unique and unexpected relationship quickly forms, bringing hope and color to the man’s bleak existence. But will tragedy strike again?”

Noble had this to say about his daughter’s short: “Friend was a labor of love. During the turbulent last stage of filming the Fringe series finale, my Fringe colleagues gave their precious time and amazing talent to realize my daughter Jessie’s beautiful short film. Two intense and fun filled days of filming, and then over to Ari Margolis and Jeremy Little to weave their magic with the editing and score.  It was an unforgettable experience. I adore the film. Sad, and funny, and special.”

Check out tantalizing trailer for Friend above; it was put together by Ari Margolis, the guy behind all of those incredibly epic Fringe promo trailers. The short will play at film festivals this year and will hopefully release in full to the public in the coming months. I wonder who’s behind that door… could it be, dare I say, September?! I kid.