BestofNetflix: Fawlty Towers

As there is entirely too much time on my hands, I'm going to start doing short reviews of my favorite items on Netflix streaming and Hulu Plus.

Although Netflix has grown its streaming catalog greatly in the past few years, one won't find a better and classic British comedy series as this.  Hopefully, they keep it around a while and it isn't one of those "here today, gone tomorrow" series.

Monty Python funnyman John Cleese stars as Basil Fawlty, the bumbling owner of a hotel named Fawlty Towers in Torquay, U.K.  Rounding out his rude character are his bossy and hard-to-please wife Sybil (Prunella Scales), maid Polly (Connie Booth), and Spanish waiter Manuel (Andrew Sachs).

The plots range from Basil trying to move up in social status and placing the hotel in a much higher regard than it should be.  He deals constantly with his wife, maid, and waiter in the most hilarious of situations.  However, his misanthropic behavior toward the guests is the star of the show.  In my personal favorite episode, the manner in which he treats a group of German guests is one of the single most comedic moments in any sitcom.  Ever.  I'm not going to ruin it by putting a video up here, but everyone has Netflix at this point, right?  Give it a try.

No, I haven't seen Django Unchained yet

I hope everybody enjoyed Christmas, Hannukah, Kwanzaa, or whatever end-of-the-year holiday you may choose to celebrate.

We returned from a trip home from Louisiana, and on the drive back my thoughts kept drifting to when I was going to see Django Unchained.  Today was going to be the day, however my girlfriend is working and wants to see it.

I'm patiently waiting until Sunday, which is the first day we both have free to see it.

The wait, however, is horrific.  One waits years for a new Tarantino film, it's just cruel to wait a few more days.

Cinema 2012

So, I was wondering how to wrap up a year in movies.  Thankfully, editor Kees van Dijkhuizen did it for me.  He has compiled a wonderfully edited piece including all of the year's best and worst (I'm looking at you, Twilight).

"On the Road" trailer shows promise

Although I was originally extremely skeptical, I believe that "On the Road" is showing a lot of potential to be a fantastic (or at least average, which is more than I hoped for) film.

Of course, I'm quick to admit that most of my previous criticism of the film is the fact that Kristen Stewart was set to play the role of Marylou.  Of course, her often dry performances receive criticism from most fans of film.

Additionally, the novel upon which it's based is going to be quite hard to pull off on the big screen.  The prose of the novel is going to make it quite difficult.  The director, Walter Salles, has pulled it off before with "The Motorcycle Diaries," so it can be done.

I'm going to be watching.  The trailer below finally got me at least the little bit excited about the new film.

Ingress: A different type of game

A few weeks ago, I downloaded something touted as a "new" type of game to my phone.  A few days back the authorization code was finally sent.

The game is named "Ingress"and happens in the real world.  Your task as a member of one of two factions, is to capture portals appearing multiple places in your city of residence.

So far, I am barely out of training, but the appeal is in the way you need to stay mobile to play the game.  You're not going to get anywhere sitting on the couch.

I think I'll go play right now.  The dog needs a walk.

"Alien" and "Blade Runner" art by Matt Ferguson

Artist Matt Ferguson has amassed quite the collection of alternate movie posters, and the work is exquisite.  Below are a few examples from "Alien" and "Blade Runner"

Of course, I never would have seen these great works without Geek Tyrant

How things change

It's amazing how things change.  Over the past six months I left my home in Louisiana for beautiful Austin, Texas.  A new job I tried as an experiment didn't work out, which doesn't surprise me.  Also, the geek world has changed as well.

Well, sales definitely isn't for me.  I'm currently looking for another writing gig at a newspaper.  If that doesn't happen, there's something out there.

Thankfully I'm in the great city of Austin, where there are actual jobs.  That's a far cry from Louisiana which is sorely lacking in that department.

That isn't all that has changed.  The world of geekdom has forever been changed by the purchase of the Star Wars properties by Disney.  Like anything related to the franchise, there are those in support and those opposed.  As shouldn't need to be stated here, I gave up on Star Wars many years ago due to the prequels.

This may be a good thing, as we are all aware Lucas had no idea what to do with the franchise.  Sure, they had the cartoon series (which I've never watched), but his idea of making Star Wars better was to simply tweak/rape the films most of us have loved since childhood.  With Disney, at least we will get something new, and hopefully see the universe expanded upon in a positive way.

By positive, I mean not insulting the intelligence of adults while maintaining interest for the little ones.  To save the franchise (for me, at least) this has to happen.