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Announcing the Twilight contest winners!

Posted on 13 July 2010 by admin 3 Comments

We here at Geeking Out About… are pleased and proud to announce the winners of our very first contest ever.

To recap, the rules of the contest were as follows, and liberally liberated from the LiveJournal Daily Quiz:

On Monday, June 28, we posted 10 trivia questions pertaining to the Twilight movies, the books, and/or the fandom.
Entrants were to answer those questions in the most entertaining way possible. These answers didn’t necessarily need to be correct.
All of those answers were emailed to us on or before July 9 and myself, co-editor Jillian Pullara and lead movie reviewer Lyssa Spero each chose an entry whose combined answers we liked the best. We also chose Honorable Mention answers to feature in this announcement post because hey, we like publishing funny things.

At this time we’d like to thank LJDQ co-moderators Angledge, Chaosvizier, and LoveLlama for going on hiatus last week and driving traffic towards us.

Each grand prize winner will each receive a $15 gift certificate to either Amazon.com, iTunes, or the online retailer of their choice. In an additional change from the previous rules, we will also be selecting six honorable mention winners who will each be receiving a little “surprise” gift by regular U.S. Postal Service mail as a thank you for participating.

So without further ado, let’s start the show!

1. What was the inspiration behind the Twilight series of novels?

“It was underwritten by a grant from British Petroleum, proving that even years ago, they were able to take something deep, dark and oily and turn it into something truly horrific.” – CaptainsBlog

“My Immortal” – Andrew Shumway

“A bored Mormon housewife’s secret desire for necrophilia and bestiality, apparently” – Doug Bean

“A middle-aged Mormon woman’s somewhat unhealthy obsession with pale teenagers, sequined jumpsuits, and adverbs. Lord, the adverbs.” – Duke

“One evening, after going on a bender of Caffeine Free Diet Coke and Mentos, Stephanie Meyers had a fever dream about abusive sparkling douchebags running around and trying to be chivalrous towards vapid airheaded bitches. She did this bender because she also knew that Anne Rice was a raging alcoholic when she wrote most of her vampire novels, but being a Mormon housewife, she wanted to water it down so she could show her face at church the next day.” – Tim K.

“Too many margaritas on a hot day during that time of month, after re-reading Anne Rice and Fred Saberhagen.” – Ginger

Correct Answer: “The most boring sex dream ever.” – Helloooonurse

2. Each “vampire” in Edward Cullen’s family has a special power. Name at least three.

“Telekinesis, the ability to set fire to things with one’s mind and turning into a bat… no wait, I mistake Twilight for something awesome!” – Alex

“The ability to transcend every vampire stereotype and still be called a vampire. “ – Calusmacn

“1) The ability to stare, unblinking, for hours on end. 2) The ability to replace a broken disco ball and keep the party going. 3) The ability to make even a turtleneck sweater look awesomely goffic.” – Andrew Shumway

Correct Answer: “Edward Cullen has the ability to sparkle gayer than any other man around(or he can read minds that aren’t Bella’s. Whatever.), Alice has the ability to be the only one people can stand to be around for more than 2 seconds (or she sees the future. Which probably is what helps her be not annoying.), and Jasper has the ability to look like he constantly has to shit and is holding it in (or he can manipulate emotions..)” – Faberry

3. What are the things about Bella Swan’s personality which make many people claim she’s a Mary Sue?

“Bella has a personality? Who knew?” – CaptainsBlog
“Bella Swan has a personality? C’mon that’s just… am I being ‘Punked’?” – Duke
“Bella has a personality? I though she was an empty shell into which impressionable young women could insert themselves and live out their fantasies vicariously” -Alex

(And apparently, wealthy male investment firm owners as well. – TL)

“Her ability to win friends and alienate people like she’s the freakin’ Fonz. Also, she is horribly clumsy. But worry not! Edward carries her everywhere, so she’s never in danger.” – OMGItsSarah and Theremin

Correct Answer (complete with spoilers): “Personally, I felt she was a Mary Sue due to the following: She immediately has Edward fawn all over her, she constantly has men tripping over themselves trying to impress her while she believes she is the ugliest person alive, she automatically has the ability to not nom on a human because she understands its wrong, she controls her powers almost immediately and she is immune to (almost) all other vampires skills. Oh and did I mention how “incredibly beautiful” she saw she was after she was transformed and how she didn’t die after a baby chewed its way out of her uterus and how she managed to get Jacob to follow her around until she had her kid because “he was in love”? Yeah. Mary Sue.” – Faberry, who is totally awesome and nice

(Extra credit reading, courtesy of Kamilla. – TL)

4. How many guys at Bella’s new high school asked her to the dance, and in what order did they do it?

“I have no idea. I didn’t pay attention because I was too busy trying not to vomit when reading about it.” – Faberry

(At least you’re honest about it. – TL)

“I’m a little unclear on the plot here, but I don’t think “kidnapping someone on your motorcycle” means “asking someone to the dance.”” – Doug Bean.

(Alas, it’s not kidnapping if the girl willingly mounts your motorcycle in order to make her hallucinations more real. – TL)

Correct Answer: “Three. The 1st was Gumpy White Comic Relief Dude, the 2nd was Nerdy Asian Camera Guy, and the 3rd was Bad Boy African American Who Can’t Seem To Drive Safely. This order was determined by the appearance of each one’s racial stereotype on Disney’s “It’s A Small Small World” ride. Mmm, that’s good diversity.” – Duke

“Seriously, if a guy I barely knew almost ran me down, and I went on a date with him, how would that lovely conversation go? “So, haha, you almost killed me, but you seem like a nice guy.” “Yeah, haha, sorry about that almost killing you. I’m a total douche when it comes to girls. Here, have some artichoke dip.” “I’m allergic to artichoke…”” – Kamilla

5. The treaty between Jacob Black’s tribe and the Cullens can be breached in at least two ways. Name one.

“All things can be breached with a battering ram. And some explosives. If those fail, a ‘yo momma’ insult does wonders to start a war.” – Bart H.

“By trying to be interesting.” – George Marriott

“If either Jacob or any of the Cullens ever wear plaid, play the bagpipes, or eat haggis, the one member of the other side is allowed to whack them with a gold-plated golf club.” – Alfaven

“The wolves just want the vampires to stay off their lawn. Oh, and not eat anyone.” – Helloooonurse

Correct Answer: “They remembered the “no biting humans, mmkay? That’s bad,” clause, but forgot the “no sparkling,” clause. Without that clause, the werewolves are in serious danger of the Cullens taking the town by storm in the form of a twinkling, blood suckling Partridge family stage act. “ – Kamilla

6. What was James’ plan to lure Bella away from her protectors?

“I’m just going to quote from the book because it’s a very complicated scene, “Disguised as a cool goffic guy in the mall James shouts “Hey Bella! look over their! Hot Topic is having a clearance sale on its clearance items!” and she falls rite into the cleverly disgized hole in the floor that she didnt see becauxe she was looking at all the cool goffic stuff like skulls and hairclips that look exactly like spiderswebs.”” – Andrew Shumway

(-1, for tricking my copy-editing skills. – TL)

“Hang something shiny in a tree, she’d think it was Edward and she’d blindly walk into any trap he laid out. One can say many thinks about Bella but “She’s intelligent and has common sense” isn’t one of them.” – Bart H.

“Be a cold-hearted dick and treat her like a piece of meat. Oh, wait, sorry, that was Edward. ZING!” – Duke

“Two words: snack cakes.” – Tim K.

Correct Answer: “Use her Mother against her. Which she was stupid enough to fall for. What would a person with two brain cells to rub together do? CALL THEIR MOTHER AND TALK TO HER! “ – Faberry

(In Meyers’ defense—I can’t believe I’m actually defending this!—in the movie we almost never see her mom with a cell phone so it’s not like Bella could have verified that James had kidnapped her by calling it. And even if Bella’s mom had a cell, wouldn’t it stand to reason that the evil nasty vampire would have broken it? – TL)

“Bee-tee-dub, I always run away to my childhood ballet class, hundreds of miles away, when I know super fast, super strong vampires are out to kill me. It just makes sense.” – Kamilla

7. For how long does Bella mope during New Moon, and how does this passage of time get portrayed in the novel?

“Bella only mopes for about five minutes but Stephenie Meyer is so awesome that she turns it into fifteen pages of heart-wrenching teenage angst that should totally win the Pulitzer or something.” – Andrew Shumway

“Using a daring new form of literary expression, Meyer emulates the feeling of monotony that Bella experiences during this period by opening a speech bracket, and then mashing on her keyboard for approximately seventeen pages before closing the speech bracket.” – OMG It’s Sarah and Theremin

“12 years. Portrayed in an agonisingly prosaic day by day account of her sitting under a tree, pining.” – Alex

(+1, bad pun – TL)

“If the film follows the novel at that point the correct answer is “a fucking long time” and it is portrayed like in any other book: with loads of text on loads of pages saying stuff like “twas winter” or “months later”” – Bart H.

Correct Answer: “By writing the month down on the page, and nothing else. I would say by an ellipsis but that’s a bit advanced. But Bella never stopped moping. In fact, she’s moping while I’m writing this. “ – Calusmacn

8. What is Jacob’s secret, and how does it get revealed?

“When Bella accidentally steps into their kitchen during dinner and discovers that Jacob isn’t getting Alpo but just the regular brand.” – CaptainsBlog

“He is actually an alien. Bella found E.T.’s number and a whole bunch of texts and pics on Jacob’s cell phone and confronted him about it. This is by far my favorite part of the series because Bella totally keys “GO HOME” on E.T.’s ride as revenge.” – Andrew Shumway

“*cough*gay*cough* — He hangs out with only shirtless boys. You figure it out.” – Doug Bean

“He, unlike all the other guys in the book, is straight and it is revealed when they find him having sex with a girl. Pre-marital sex even.” – Bart H.

“Jacob’s secret is that he’s actually the ancient guardian of the island, which is revealed during that episode with Allison Janney” – Alfvaen

(+1, “LOST” – TL)

“His secret is that he was a child actor in a really bad 3D movie about a young Aquaman wannabe and his older sister trying to save the school from closing down by forming a choir of misfits to revamp sacred choral pieces while fighting off Dissociative Identity Disorder which is forcing them to get into fist fights with themselves. This is revealed by searching IMDB.” – Tim K.

(FULL CREDIT – TL)

Correct Answer: He fursplodes after Bella smacks one of his fellow werewolves across the face, and the creature understandably gets upset and starts threatening her.

9. Bella performs “thrill-seeking” acts in to try and become closer to Edward Cullen. Name at least one.

“You really want me to say masturbation here don’t you? Pervert. She probably sacrifices cats or something… while masturbating. DAMNIT” – Alex

“She went to a Harry Potter gathering yelling “Twilight is, like, so much better than, like Harry Potter”” – Bart H.

“Cage fighting, cliff diving, shark boxing. Cliff diving while shark boxing.” – Calusmacn

(One out of three ain’t bad. – TL)

Correct Answer: 1) Accepts a ride from a leering man on a motorcycle, 2) Rides off on her own motorcycle without a helmet, c) Jumps off of a cliff into the Pacific Ocean.

10. Of all the lines from the novel to include in Twilight the movie, which is the one that fans have actually tattooed on their bodies and why? (Extra points if you send pictures; there may be multiple correct answers, but we’re thinking of one in particular.)

“Yeah, there is no way I am even going to contemplate any of the possibilities… I’d like to keep my sanity intact.” – Bart H.

(+1, self-preservation – TL)

“”I DID IT WITH A VAMPIRE AND A WEREWOLF”” – Doug Bean

“Heghlu’meH QaQ jajvam” – Ginger

“Be safe (I actually know a girl who got this tattooed on her wrist. we laughed behind her back for a good month and a half)” – Shana

— “This poor girl apparently got the entire novel tattooed on herself” – OMGItsSarah and Theremin

— CaptainsBlog

Correct Answer: “Being a constant troll of Ugliest Tattoos.com, I can say that there are oh-so many—usually horrendously, hilariously misspelled—but the one I’ve seen the most, which, ironically, is still the dumbest—is the one about pedophilia and Noah’s ark animals. That’s right, “So the lion fell in love with the lamb.” This quote pretty much gets everything right—Edward is a big pussy obsessed with a baby sheep” – Kamilla

“And why not? It’s profound as shit. It’s bound to go down in history as one of the great Biblical paraphrases, along with “And so God was like, ‘Yo, let’s turn the lights on.'” – Duke

Thanks again to our many entrants, but of course, there can be only three. So it’s with great pride that we announce the following grand prize winners:

Lyssa’s Pick: Bart Hulsman
Jill’s Pick: Calusmacn
Trisha Lynn’s Pick: Kamilla

I will be contacting each of you (and those six surprise honorable mention winners) via email to get your full contact info for either the gift certificate ordering or the mailing and you should be receiving your prizes within a week.

Look for our next contest in August and always remember to play the LiveJournal Daily Quiz!

Keeping Tabs: Avatar sequel unlikely to win animation Oscars, and other stories

Posted on 11 July 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Ever since Spirited Away was the second movie to win the Best Animated Feature award and the first anime (and non-English language) movie to win, anime and animation geeks have been keeping a close eye on this Academy Awards category. The newest change in the rules of the category, amongst other rules changes, were announced, including this death blow for films like Avatar which featured extensive use of new technology: “”Motion capture by itself is not an animation technique.” (Source: ANN)

In the “We Can Do It!” department, Josh Tolentino gave a brief update and provided screenshots from studio Ordet’s Black Rock Shooter, a 50-minute OVA whose source material comes from a one-year old illustration, a song recorded using the Vocaloid software, and an ensuing music video. The OVA will be released in Japan on July 24 as “special pack-in DVD with the newest print editions of Animedia, Hobby Magazine, and Megami. Two questions: 1) If James Cameron combined Vocaloid usage with his mo-cap technology for his next movie, how much money would that make? and 2) Is that really a string bikini top that the underaged-looking protagonist is wearing in the image above? (Source: Japanator.com)
And finally, if you’re a gadget geek and/or a comics geek but wanted to know which of the iPhone or Android apps to download in order to get the most comics for your bucks, Johanna Draper Carlson and Glen Weldon have got you covered with Draper Carlson providing a very succinct update on the status of the currently existing ventures and Weldon providing a very nuanced editorial on the current Digital Age of Comics.Is this enough to put a nail into the coffin of the “local comic book store” or increase comics readership? Let me put it this way: if I had an iPhone or ‘Droid (or an iPad) and knew that I could pay $5 or less for comics, you betcha I’d be reading some of them more often (Source: Comics Worth Reading, NPR’s Monkey See blog)

Trisha’s Link of the Day: Who Stole My Twilight?

Posted on 9 July 2010 by admin 2 Comments

In preparing for our Twilight-themed trivia contest—you have only 8 more hours to turn in your submission!—I read up as much as I could about the saga; however, I think I’ve just discovered the very last article I will ever read about it.

Enter one Tom Barrack, the head of a $16 billion multi-national investment firm whose hands are deep into pockets the Station casinos you see off the strip in Las Vegas and whose firm may even be still in the running to buy the troubled Miramax studio. Apparently Barrack was bored on his yacht off the Turkish shores one day and ended up reading the first three novels when a business meeting was unexpectedly canceled.

He was so inspired by the tale that he fired off a lengthy internal memo to all his employees, which was leaked to the Wall Street Journal and posted for all to see:

As I sat there with nothing to do the [Twilight] book kept taunting me. I began to think that there must be something I don’t understand. What could it be? What is it all about? Women don’t just read these books, they live them. They become each paragraph. I picked it up, but then immediately dropped it like a hot coal. What if someone saw me reading this? My macho reputation would be finished! I would be kicked out of the bench press section of the gym. My polo compadres would send me packing to the pony rides and my surfing buddies would exile me to the kiddie pool.

But it was a long night and there was absolutely nothing, and I mean NOTHING else to do. [Ed. note: You’re rich; couldn’t you have called some of your buddies in town over for a high stakes poker game?] Long story short—not only did I read Twilight, I read the other two as well!! I was fascinated, captivated even. However, what intrigued me was not the same thing that hooked the millions of women whose lives and had been changed by this series, but something else entirely.

For you male [Colony employees], here is a brief synopsis. Stubborn teenage girl meets a handsome but moody vampire and against all odds they fall in love.

Here is my macho take—Stephanie Meyer is a total genius.

Barrack’s main point is that he and his employees shouldn’t be afraid to think “outside the box” when it comes to finding inspiration to guide them in their work:

Once I ventured into the books I learned something. I now understand why some women are emotionally altered from merely reading a book. I have also gained a deeper realization that understanding the circumstances and points of views of those with whom we are negotiating, working, living, loving or fighting is the key determinant factor in an enduring relationship.

In every day business, we think we know it all. We are the captains of our industry and we possess all the global knowledge. That which we don’t understand we push a button and it appears before us. We are lacking creativity…. it is hard for us to dream… harder for us to change our lives… hard to live in a situation that other people view as unconventional. And for sure, we all have no idea on how to be satisfied with the status quo.

I totally can get behind something like that, and if more “titans of the industries” thought that way, then maybe we would see more people of color in science fiction and less Hollywood remakes of existing franchises. One big question lingers in my mind, though: “How would Tom Barrack have reacted if someone had left Ender’s Game on board that boat instead?”

Geeking Out About… presents: Twilight: New Moon the Commentary and Discussion Notes

Posted on 9 July 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

As of this posting, you have a little over 15 hours left until the deadline to submit your answers to the trivia questions posed in our very first contest ever here at Geeking Out About.com. The trivia questions are here, the rules are here, and if you’d like a little insight into what we thought of the second movie and the Twilight phenomenon as a whole—although by now, I think you can hazard a guess that our thoughts are not in favor of it—you can download our commentary and discussion notes, below:

http://www.geekingoutabout.com/wp-includes/Podcasts/New-Moon-Commentary.mp3

http://www.geekingoutabout.com/wp-includes/Podcasts/New-Moon-Discussion.mp3

Over the weekend, we’ll be busy busy choosing the finalists and recording yet another podcast; good luck to all!

Geeking Out About… presents: Twilight the Commentary!

Posted on 7 July 2010 by admin 1 Comment

As of this posting, there are a little over 48 hours left until the deadline to submit your answers to the trivia questions posed in our very first contest ever here at Geeking Out About.com. The trivia questions are here, the rules are here, and if you’d like a little insight into what we thought of the first movie, you can download our very first podcast ever, below:

http://www.geekingoutabout.com/wp-includes/Podcasts/Twilight-Commentary.mp3

Tomorrow (because it’s still about 15 minutes to midnight over here!) I’ll post up our shorter commentary to Twilight: New Moon, and over the weekend, while we’re busy choosing the finalists and recording yet another podcast, you’ll be able to listen to our thoughts about the first two movies.

Good luck to all!

Former wrestler, director’s son get their hands on Manos sequel

Posted on 7 July 2010 by admin 1 Comment

Back in June, it was reported by MST3Kinfo.com that one Rupert Talbot Munch, Sr. was going to be arriving at this year’s San Diego Comic Con in his usual cosplay attire as Torgo from Manos: The Hands of Fate with a special announcement in tow: Munch is producing a sequel to that infamously bad movie. Featuring original cast members Jackey Raye Neyman Jones (Debbie, the young daughter) and Bernie Rosenblum (the guy in the make-out car), the film has also recently added three more cast members.

According to Stephen J. Pytak of the Pottsville Republican Herald, former WWE wrestler Gene Snitsky, the grand marshal in that town’s Independence Day parade, will have a starring role in the film, which is slated to begin filming in El Paso, Texas in early 2011. This report confirms the news announced by Munch, Sr. via Twitter where he also mentioned that original director Hal Warren’s son Joe would also be joining the cast as well as Benton Jennings, a character actor and the son of a man who played one of the cops in the movie.

I remember the first time I saw Manos; I also recall that one of the favorite things my geeky circle of friends loved to do back in the day was to inflict it upon the unwary. I think that part of its appeal is just how horribly bad it is, but it never actually becomes a So Bad It’s Good movie, no matter what the editors at TV Tropes say. It’s just bad.

Looking at Munch’s video announcement, however? I think I may have to re-think my analysis of what exactly “bad” is.

Keep up with all the sequel news at TorgoLives.com.

Trisha’s Video of the Day: The Swingin’ Spider-Man

Posted on 7 July 2010 by admin 2 Comments

While I am not a total dance geek or nerd, I loved watching the ballroom dance competitions on my local PBS affiliate as a kid; Strictly Ballroom is one of my favorite movies as a result of this childhood fascination as well.

The best part of watching the ballroom dance competitions were the exhibition dances where notable pros and amateurs got to “go wild” and show off their more fun routines, flips, spins, and aerial lifts. And just like in competitive ice skating, if there are costumes, it’s even better.

Well, I believe I’ve found one video that not only exemplifies the fun of watching ballroom dance, but also adds in an additional geeky flair, courtesy of dancers Orion Hall and Colleen Vernon:

Johnny Depp to become next Doctor?

Posted on 7 July 2010 by admin 2 Comments

Not exactly.

On one side, you have Chris Greenland, a blogger from science fiction publishing house Tor.com who said last week that Johnny Depp will be the star of a movie adaptation of the quintessentially British TV series.

After citing a deleted article from content mill PubArticles.com which said that the reason that new series creator Russell T. Davies moved on from the show to work on the movie, Greenland went on to say, “[I]t was with even greater surprise that movie studio sources confirmed with Tor.com today that, while it can’t comment on possible story elements, the casting of Johnny Depp as the Doctor for a 2012 film is confirmed.”

On the other side is Charlie Jane Anders from io9.com who went straight to the BBC and reported back that there is no plans to adapt “Doctor Who” into a movie franchise and that any talk was pure speculation.

Since Greenland’s article is still up and a redaction has not been printed, it makes me wonder exactly who his source is and how high up the chain he or she is. However, that’s the extent of the baseless speculation I’m going to be doing here as no one else has been able to independently verify this news through their own sources.

Twilight trivia contest deadline extended!

Posted on 2 July 2010 by admin 1 Comment

So after peeking into the geekingoutabout@gmail.com Inbox and seeing three entries to our first-ever trivia contest, I thought it was perfect because there are three prizes to be won (a $15 gift certificate to Amazon.com, iTunes, or online retailer of your choice). Then, I thought that maybe that was making it way too easy for the three who submitted to win a prize; therefore by fiat, I have decided to extend the contest deadline by one more week. (Sorry, folks!) That’s right, you have seven more days (or until midnight on July 9, whichever comes first) to enter the first-ever GeekingOutAbout.com contest by answering 10 trivia questions in the most entertaining way possible (which may also involve being wildly inaccurate).

Did I forget to mention that in addition to winning this fabulous prize, selections from the winning entries and runners-up will be published for everyone else to enjoy? Or that if this contest goes well, future contest will feature better prizes?

If you have questions about the contest, ask ’em here, and I’ll be glad to answer them.

Trisha’s Video of the Day: You’re gonna need headphones for this… (NSFW)

Posted on 2 July 2010 by admin 3 Comments

…especially if you choose to view this at work, because courtesy of British film editor Harry Hanrahan, I present The 100 Greatest (and Profane) Movie Insults of All Time:

(Special thanks to the gang at Pajiba.com, who hunted down the names of all the movies in the clip.)

LEGO movie builds up steam with announcement of directors

Posted on 29 June 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Lego Platoon — Will these guys be the next to make it big in Hollywood? (Source: Dunechaser)

After two years of blogging about upcoming movies, I thought that I’d seen all of the most ludicrous things you could adapt into a movie actually get the green light and funding to become a movie. Yes, even the upcoming Candyland and Battleship films.

Until this exclusive from Borys Kit over at The Hollywood Reporter‘s Heat Vision blog which announces that there will be a movie based on the LEGO franchise, that is.

According to Kit, Phil Lord and Chris Miller (Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs) are in final negotiations to direct a blended live-action/animation movie featuring the ubiquitous building bricks for Warner Bros., under the supervision of producers Dan Lin and Roy Lee with Jill Wilfert handling the money and creative contributions on the LEGO side. And there is bound to be lots of creative influence from the LEGO folks, who are shrewdly and wisely protective of their brand, trademark, and copyright.

There is no word yet what the plot will be, but Kit reveals that Lord and Miller will be working on this film the second they’re done with the upcoming remake of 21 Jump Street .

Twilight: The 10 Trivia Questions

Posted on 28 June 2010 by admin 3 Comments

As promised in the rules to our very first contest here at Geeking Out About.com, here are the 10 trivia questions that you must answer in as humorous a fashion as possible before July 9 for your entry to be considered for one of three fabulous prizes:

1. What was the inspiration behind the Twilight series of novels?

2. Each “vampire” in Edward Cullen’s family has a special power. Name at least three.

3. What are the things about Bella Swan’s personality which make many people claim she’s a Mary Sue?

4. How many guys at Bella’s new high school asked her to the dance, and in what order did they do it?

5. The treaty between Jacob Black’s tribe and the Cullens can be breached in at least two ways. Name one.

6. What was James’ plan to lure Bella away from her protectors?

7. For how long does Bella mope during New Moon, and how does this passage of time get portrayed in the novel?

8. What is Jacob’s secret, and how does it get revealed?

9. Bella performs “thrill-seeking” acts in to try and become closer to Edward Cullen. Name at least one.

In a brief change from the original rules, the best answers will funny but they don’t have to be exactly correct. But to paraphrase pop culture blogger and “Movies in Fifteen Minutes” author Cleolinda Jones, the reality of what happens in Twilight is far more hilarious sometimes.

Send in your “answers” to geekingoutabout@gmail.com with the Subject header “Twilight Contest” to enter to win one of three fabulous prizes: $15 gift certificates for either Amazon.com (or your preferred equivalent, if they’ll let us buy them) or iTunes. The winners will each be chosen by myself, co-editor Jillian and lead reviewer Lyssa. Selections from the winning entries and some select honorable mentions will be announced sometime before July 20 here on the blog.

If you have any questions about the contest, ask them here, and we’ll try and get them answered in as prompt a fashion as possible.

Good luck!

Trisha’s Take: Le Concert review

Posted on 27 June 2010 by admin 1 Comment

Le Concert

Directed by Radu Mihăileanu
Starring Aleksei Guskov, Mélanie Laurent, Dmitri Nazarov, Miou-Miou and more

On Midsummer Eve, I was walking through a park in Brooklyn with some friends on our way to get some artisanal ice cream. As we neared the park’s exit, the unmistakable sound of a piano wafted towards us in the summer air.

There at the crux of two paths stood an upright piano, and a bushy-haired hipster was coaxing out a very familiar classical tune. No, not Für Elise or the Moonlight Sonata, but Chopin’s Nocturne in E flat (or Op.9 No.2 for the musical geeks). A crowd had formed, and everyone applauded with verve as the final notes died away, the pianist acknowledging the applause briefly before melting back into the crowd. A friend who was visiting from L.A. said later that it had been the fourth time that day he had encountered spontaneous music that day coming from people who weren’t busking.

It’s that idea of making music for the pure joy of making music or the beauty of it that permeates every frame within Le Concert, and I’m afraid that if you don’t understand that, you’re definitely not going to understand or like this movie.

This isn’t to say that only classical music geeks will understand or like this movie. I loved this, and as I’ve mentioned before, the only musical training I’ve ever had is a few 300-level courses as my commuter university over a decade ago. I will say, though, that having maybe just a bit of that knowledge in your background somewhere will definitely help.

Our protagonist is Andreï Filipov (Aleksei Guskov), a former conductor for the Bolshoi Ballet’s orchestra whom after a very humiliating experience at the hands of a Communist Party leader, is forced to endure work as its janitor 30 years later. However, after shamelessly prying into his boss’ fax communications, he gets the wild idea to gather up his old musicians to play one last hurrah at the Théâtre du Châtelet along side a French virtuoso named Anne-Marie Jacquet (Mélanie Laurent, who was last seen as Shoshanna in Inglorious Basterds) with whom he shares a mysterious connection.

There are several things this movie gets right. As a heist film—because they’re stealing the concert away from the real Bolshoi Orchestra—it works because you get to watch the formation of the team and learn what quirky talents they’ll bring to the endeavor. As a music film, it works because there are some scenes here and there where it’s just all about the philosophy behind the art of music. Guskov is so believable in his love of the art that it’s hard not to stand up and shout, “Yes, yes!” as he gives this unforgettable monologue before the climax of the movie. Also, kudos to Guskov and Laurent for all of the non-verbal acting they had to do while the central mystery was revealed in a montage/monologue with a Tchaikovsky concerto playing in the background. Sadly, I’m not musically geeky enough to tell you whether or not any of the music in the climactic scene is any good, but it’s my hope that it is.

As a French farcical comedy, it works because of fantastic performances by the supporting cast, especially Dmitri Nazarov as the the put-upon best friend, Valeriy Barinov as their former manager (who incidentally was the one who doled out the humiliation), and Anna Kamenkova as Andrei’s wife, a crowd-wrangler who gets paid to bring people to political rallies, weddings, and funerals. Special recognition goes to Kamenkova and Guskov for portraying such a wonderful loving married couple as well. Also, as long as I’m handing out kudos, I have to give several to Romanian writer/director Radu Mihaileanu who along with screenwriters Alain-Michel Blanc and Matthew Robbins and original story writers Thierry Degrandi and Hector Cabello Reyes crafted an engaging plot that definitely had its fair share of twists and unexpected turns.

If there are any areas where I did feel uncomfortable about the movie, it was during the scenes where two of the people in the trumpet section skip out on rehearsal to try and make some extra money selling Russian caviar to French bistro chefs. Yes, they’re Jewish and trying to make a buck. Also, there are a few scenes which take place in Gypsy camps where the stereotypes of them being completely uncouth and unethical get played out, mostly for laughs. I’m not sure how to feel about those scenes, though, as two of Mihailenau’s previous films have dealt with an Ethiopian boy who gets sent to Israel as a Jew by his mother in the search for a better life (Live and Become) and the attempt by a group of Jews in a French village to escape a coming Nazi invasion (Train of Life), and it’s not my place to say if it’s prejudicial because I am neither Jewish or a Gypsy. (If it helps, both movies were well reviewed.)

For all their efforts, Le Concert picked up a Cesar Award in 2010 for Best Sound and Armand Amar picked one up for Best Music Written for a Film, which says to me that the committee in charge of submitting French films for Academy Awards consideration won’t be putting it’s hat into the ring with the more acclaimed A Prophet winning all the awards. Still, if you’re in the mood for a movie about music that’s less sappy than August Rush, you really ought to buy a ticket for Le Concert.

Unrated at the time of this publication, Le Concert is going into limited release in the U.S. on July 23, courtesy of the people at The Weinstein Company always wants to remind you that they’re the guys who unleashed Quentin Tarantino and Kevin Smith onto the world, dammit, which means we really know our movies—now would someone help us get out of debt, please?

Trisha’s Link of the Day: Holy mix of parody and sex, Batman!

Posted on 25 June 2010 by admin Leave a Comment

Back in May, the Internet was a-buzz with the release of the Batman XXX: A Porn Parody trailer. And while I’d normally link it here because I’m not a prude and I’m assuming you all are adults, I won’t because even if the version on the BoingBoing site is totally “safe for work,” I still feel guilty even writing about it while I’m at my desk.

However, what I really wanted to link you to is this oh-so-clever review of the film done in comic-strip form by by Ward Sutton, mostly because he manages to take every visual incarnation of Batman there ever was (including the LEGO version) and put them all into one strip. That takes a lot of artistic talent, and reminds me of the Batman: TAS episode called “Legends of the Dark Knight” (yes, the one with the poke-in-the-eye for Joel Schumacher), which did the same thing, but animated (they stuck to Dick Sprang and Frank Miller’s work).

The review alone—especially Sutton’s assertion that they used the actual 1960s TV series Batmobile—is pretty damn awesome and has firmly placed the movie into a “Rent if you’re secure enough not to download or pirate porn” list.

Trisha’s Link of the Day: Hooray for Aussie ingenuity!

Posted on 23 June 2010 by admin 1 Comment

If you’re in Australia and are afraid of the “spams coming through the portal,” Kogan has got you covered.

The Australian online electronics retailer is marketing a top-notch, state of the art “filter” which will protect you and keep you from being infected by the spams and scams.

With a thread count of 8000, our product provides direct physical protection from threats coming through the internet portal. Annoying spams and scams will be deflected away using our innovative technology.

Setting up the Kogan portal filter is simple. Create a protection barrier using our portal filter and you’re instantly protected. If you need to protect the family and the Government’s red panic button isn’t helping, simply apply the barrier to your home internet area. This is the best portal protection available in the world.

Thanks to Techdirt for the heads-up!