Leave a comment Posted on by J Entertainment, Link-Off

Entertainment Link-Off: All Roads Lead To This

gal gadotThis weekend at the theatres is a face-off between two big franchises. On one end is the return of the Wolfpack in The Hangover Part III. On the other is the actioner Fast and Furious 6. Funny enough, despite having six installments in the bag, the Fast and Furious gang still got some fuel in the tank while the Wolfpack is left behind sniffing the fumes. Anyway, kicking off this entry is one of the ladies from the FF flick, Gal Gadot.

After the jump, some Fast and Furious related news items, another look at The World’s End, Arrested Development relied heavily on the green screen, a Fresh Prince reunion and Superman delivers the ultimate ball busting move. Continue reading →

Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Humour

Caption This: May 18 – 24, 2013

Inspired by the Globe and Mail’s caption writing person, we waste our time writing funny picture captions for some of the more interesting photos we come across when blogging. So here are some of the best pictures from the past week with a funny (-ish) caption. Continue reading →

3 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Columns, Video Games

Nintendo, Let’s Plays and the Power of Free Marketing

nintendo-youtube-ad-revenueNintendo has always had this reputation as a friendly sort of company. Their big anchor franchises aren’t M-rated shooters but family-friendly adventure and platformer games that appeal to all ages. Nintendo of America boss Reggie Fils-Aime’s public appearances show him as a charismatic and knowledgeable leader of the video game industry. They’re the little underdog up against the power of conglomerates like Sony and Microsoft.

Yet, Nintendo has been on the back foot lately. The terrible results of the Wii U launch has put Nintendo on the back foot and now they’re trying anything to reverse course. Unfortunately, their latest move has struck a nerve with gamers online. Nintendo is targeting “let’s play” videos on YouTube and making copyright claims so they can scoop the ad revenue from the videos.

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2 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Columns, Video Games

Console Wars: The Xbox One’s Failure to Launch is a Marketing Failure

playstation-4-vs-xbox-one-controllersHaving had a few days to digest the two very different launch events for Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One, I’ve come to a realization. As much as people don’t seem to like the Xbox launch, it wasn’t a failure in and of itself. In fact, I believe that Microsoft successfully accomplished what it set out to do.

The Xbox One and PlayStation Four both play video games. However, if you were to watch the two launch events, I’d understand if you were a little confused by that statement. While the PlayStation 4’s launch emphasised how it plays games and how it augments that with the social networking and sharing features, the Xbox spent comparatively little time talking about the games.

The difference in the launches was an example of how the console manufacturers are positioning their next-gen consoles in the market.

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Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Sports

F1 Power Rankings: Monaco Grand Prix

Sunday is the single greatest day of the year to be a racing fan. If you live in the Eastern Time Zone of North America, you can get up at 8:00 AM for the Monaco Grand Prix, fill your afternoon with the Indianapolis 500 Mile Race and finish with the Coca-Cola 600. It’s almost 15 straight hours of racing action.

It all starts with the most prestigious race in the world. The Monaco Grand Prix is the crown jewel of the top motorsports series in the world. The only downside is that passing is virtually impossible. As such, qualifying is going to be vitally important to success this weekend.

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2 Comments Posted on by Steve Murray Video Games

Microsoft Launches the Xbox One; Here’s What We Know

xbox-one-console-and-logoMicrosoft didn’t hide that yesterday’s big announcement would be for the next-gen Xbox but they sure did manage to surprise with that name. The third-generation Xbox console is the Xbox One whose name represents that it’s an all-in-one system for the living room.

It was that all-in-one nature of the Xbox One that formed the majority of Microsoft’s presentation. Unfortunately, that emphasis on the all-in-one Xbox came at what was essentially the de-emphasis of games as the core of the Xbox One.
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Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Video Games

What to Expect From Today’s Xbox Announcement

xbox-720-logo-conceptWe’re just a short few hours from the big next-generation Xbox console. I’d like to say that it’s going to be the Xbox 720 but we really don’t know what it will be called yet. Heck, two weeks ago, we were all convinced that it would be called the Xbox Infinity before we found out that the name and logo was a hoax.

Before we all gather ’round to watch Microsoft’s big show, we take a look at the news and rumours about the final next-gen console to be revealed.

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Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Sports

IndyCar – Indy 500 Qualifying: Long Day and Long Shots

indycar-2013-indy-500-qualifying-ed-carpenter-poleA week of practice led us to believe that the Chevys were going to be fastest but the Hondas could stay in touch and star up front. However, when wheels were turned in anger, it was all Chevy, all day. Surprisingly, though, it wasn’t the Penskes or Andrettis who had been dominating practice who won the pole but Ed Carpenter who will start P1 for the Greatest Spectacle in Motorsport.

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Leave a comment Posted on by Steve Murray Link-Off

Sunday Link-Off: Cracking News

jessica-stam-oysho13-01Well, the week might have started quietly but it sure as hell ended interestingly. After all, it’s not every day that the mayor of Canada’s biggest city gets caught in a crack scandal. Right, so it’s time for the end of the week links. Let’s start with Canadian model Jessica Stam.

It’s not often that a Canadian news story garners international attention but here we are all talking about Rob Ford smoking crack on camera. He’s the gift that keeps on giving to the Canadian news media. (Gawker and Toronto Star)

With the owners of the video holding it for ransom, crowdfunding efforts are popping up left and right to buy it and post it online. (National Post)

If you haven’t heard of Rob Ford, you’ll probably enjoy this comparison of mayoral quotes from Toronto’s Rob Ford and Springfield’s “Diamond” Joe Quimby. (Slate)

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Leave a comment Posted on by J Entertainment, Link-Off

Entertainment Link-Off: Into Darkness

alice eveThis weekend marks the release of Star Trek Into Darkness. Given that The Great Gatsby has not been able top Iron Man, perhaps Captain Kirk and crew can. Anyway, kicking off the latest ELO is a new addition to the Enterprise crew, Alice Eve. 

After the jump, some Kickstarter related stuff, Avengers stuff, Modern Family gets a cable network makeover, a few movie trailers to see and JJ Abrams takes some suggestions for the next Star Wars movie. Continue reading →