iZombie episode 9: Patriot Brains

This week's episode picks up right where last week's left us hanging - in the elevator. There were a lot of feelz in this one, and I gotta say - I hate just being left hanging when I know something isn't as simple as it seems. There was a lot more work done on the relationship between Liv and Lowell, and I was just starting to feel like maybe it had a chance - and then BAM. Maybe not.

The whole vibe for the episode this week was depressing, but in a good way. That touched me. I mean, the usual energy between her and Clive was there. It was a little weird between Liv and Ravi, but it was downright sad between her and Lowell. Major makes a mistake that nearly costs him his life, and still might - but he's closer to the truth than he realizes. The problem is, I don't think he can handle the truth! Meanwhile, Ravi is so far not a zombie after being bitten by the zombie rat - yet.

There wasn't a whole lot of focus put on the actual crime this week - a dead soldier, and a murderous computer geek. There was a lot of focus on Liv's new sniper skills. Passengers on the good ship Livwell are probably wondering what now, especially since something rather permanent seems to have happened with a fan favorite. But I've learned that things aren't always what they seem with this show, so I'm holding out for the hero to come riding back in on his steed later on - perhaps in season two.

Is Lowell gone for good? Will he rise again from the dead? Hit the jump for the recap, and tell us what you think in the comments!

iZombie Episode 8: Dead Air

iZombie fans rejoice! If you haven't heard by now, the series has been picked up for a second season! It's not known yet when it will premiere or how many episodes were ordered. The first season had a mid-season debut and 10 episodes were ordered for it, so let's all cross our fingers and hope we get a full 23 episodes out of it - or at the very least, a half season of 13 episodes. Now that the good news has been announced, let's get on with the rest of the good stuff!

Last week Liv turned into Zombiemom after eating the brain of a pregnant girl, and she gained an appreciation for her own mother. She and Lowell got to know each other better. We saw lieutenant Suzuki in action as Zombiecop, and Major got more than he bargained for when he found the Candyman. Ravi conducted a clinical study on some rats with Utopium and MaxRager drinks, with an interesting - if gross - outcome. And one of the rats gets lost again.

This week, things heated up for Liv and Lowell. Major got beat up and released from jail, and Ravi saw Payton in a different light. A radio host was murdered live on the air. Liv found the lost rat, and Ravi believes for a moment that he's created a monster. I need to say how much I am loving the prop and make-up department on this production! Major's bashed up face... the delivery boy's flayed open head on Jackie's counter from episode 6... the dead rats... They can come decorate my house and do my make-up for Halloween - or anything - whenever they want!

Another of the things I am loving about this series is the continuity. While the general theme of the show is "crime of the week," there's more going on than that. It looks like Lieutenant Suzuki's story is about to expand and mingle with the storyline between Major and Blaine - did I mention there's a twist this week? Oh - and there's a really huge OMG, too.

There's been a lot of speculation about whether or not Suzuki is in Blaine's pocket or not, and this week we find out what team he bats for. And it looks like next week's episode will be a rev-up for the season finale, judging by the way this week's episode wound up at the end. My guess (and fervent hope) is that the last episode of the season will go off with one hell of a bang!

So far, the Livwell ship is still afloat. But is it me, or does Lowell seem really insightful about what's going on with Liv? I mean, he comes to the exact, correct conclusions about her behavior every damn time - even before she does. And I'm not so sure yet that bringing Ravi and Payton together is a good thing.

I really wanted to kick Liv's ass for how she treated Ravi about the whole issue, and I think I fell in love with Rahul Kohli's performances even more. That particular scene was an emotional moment that was very well played. I felt Ravi's pain. Hopefully all this shipping doesn't take the focus off the whole premise of the show - crime solving and zombie research with our new Scoobie Gang.

What do you think - too much shipping going on?  Should they just stick to the storytelling, crime scene action, and brain eating? Hit the jump for the recap, and tell us what you think in the comments below!

Time to (Legally) Binge-watch Star Wars Rebels

If you haven't caught up yet on the excellent Star Wars Rebels, now is your chance. Star Wars.com has been nice enough to put the entire first season online from now until Monday, leaving your weekend with only one goal: Binge watch all thirteen episodes. As the episodes are only 20 minutes long, that leaves you at less than seven hours. So you can cram in a watch of the original trilogy right after and still not have taken up an entire day. Trust us, it's worth it, and you'll want to be caught up when Season 2 launches later this year.

Go watch the full season here!

iZombie Episode 6: Virtual Reality Bites

Hey everybody - sorry I'm late, but life the universe and everything happened, and I wasn't able to watch this on the night of the actual broadcast. I did pick up a few spoilers along the way before I did get to watch it, and they only made me want to see it even more. Now that I've finally watched it, I can say this: Holy shit! Oh - and, uh... ew?

With each episode, we are getting less of the vision-y type stuff and more deductive logic being used to solve the cases. I don't know if that's a good thing or not, though. I mean, a big part of the series premise is the whole "eat a brain, see what happened" thing. The characters are becoming much more cohesive as a team, and that's definitely a good thing. Each of the characters' skills contributes to a well-balanced group.

I'd really love to see Payton play a bigger part. I love Aly Michalka in this role. Sure, her character isn't absolutely necessary to the crime-solving part, but an attorney tends to look at the evidence in ways that a cop or medical examiner might not. That could provide some interesting flavor to the whole "whodunnit" angle. Besides - I'm getting attached to all of these characters, and it's not difficult for me to see them as real people that I would want to hang out with - hell, who am I kidding? I'm actually starting to wish I could be part of that team because they just have too damn much fun!

I can't help but wonder if Major is just bluffing about being able to move on. I think he still has it for Liv and he's just trying not to pressure her. Liv is clearly trying to move on with Lowell, but will she be able to? I hope we're not going to see her running back and forth from Major to someone else and then back again. Some things make for good drama, yes. But I don't think that would be one of those things.

I'd also like to see Major play a bigger role with the team, as well - and not just as the rejected love interest. As a social worker, there is so much potential to expand on the character. He could also transition into being a victim/witness advocate, or he could become a private investigator specializing in missing persons/cold cases. Hell, send his ass to the Police Academy and have him be Clive's new partner. Robert Buckley wears this role well, and the character seems well-suited to become more than just a recurring one.

Each episode has been better than the last, and there's so much potential for this to have a nice long run - as long as the character development keeps going the way it has been, the possibilities for good storytelling are endless, and y'all know how I love a good story!

What do you think will happen - will Evan actually get a job at the Meat Cute? Do you ship Ravioli, Livwell, or Limaj? How about the possibilities for Bliv? Any thoughts on the bromance ship Rajor? Hit the jump for the recap, and tell us how you ship in the comments!

iZombie Season 1 Episode 3 - The Exterminator Recap

Things get real on iZombie this week! Liv uncovers new evidence in a case that Peyton was prosecuting that connects to a case that Clive is working on, and what she finds puts Peyton's career in jeapeordy. It also puts Ravi in danger - but she just doesn't care, thanks to the brain of a guy who did some bad stuff.

This is developing into something so much better than I had dared to hope for! There were a couple of "Jeez WTF!" moments for me, and a few "AHA! Now it makes sense!" things. And there was a really fun zombie bash scene that had me going "YESSS!" It's a good thing I was watching this by myself, or I would have really annoyed someone.

There are some scenes and dialogue that aren't what I would consider suitable for younger viewers, but they definitely add to the context of the story and action. The voice-over narratives are becoming more relevant and less redundant, which is a good thing. There are fewer narrative break-ins, and the ones that do occur now bring more context and detail to the scene and storyline.

Like I said in my recap of the pilot episode, I wasn't a very big fan of Veronica Mars - but I am absolutely going to give it another go, after seeing the way iZombie is shaping up. I have the feeling I won't be disappointed.

Our recap starts after the jump!

iZombie episode 2 Recap: "Brother, Can You Spare A Brain?"

Last week's episode brought the funny and a little bit of ass-kicking. This week's episode worked, but was not as exciting and a little too much of Captain Obvious for me. An artist dies, and the cop figures out who did it right away. Buuuut they have to follow due process anyway and investigate. Along the way, Liv comes face-to-face with her nightmare vision from last week's episode, and she also goes somewhere she shouldn't have - and, of course, it ended in tears.

There is one thing that bugs me - the voice-over narratives. In last week's episode, it seemed like half the story line was recited in a narrative. This week, there isn't as much of it, but it's still annoying as hell. It doesn't do anything really to tie anything together; it just seems to serve as a segue point or unnecessary epilogue. It's not very useful otherwise. The information divulged in the voice-overs are easily deduced from the scenes preceding, under, or just after it. I hope that it is going away, and not becoming a regular thing.

There are also some things that I am really, really liking a lot. The Chief Medical Examiner Ravi Chakrabarti seems to take extreme pleasure in the fact that there are actual zombies in existence. Rahul Kohli brings a great sense of morbid humor and joy to the role. I wish that he had a bigger part. I also enjoy the dialogue a lot! It's a bit too much in some spots, but can be very witty and appropriate in others.

There does also appear to be a secondary story developing fairly quickly. There really isn't a whole lot of time being spent yet on the characters' back-stories yet. Last week, it was pretty much "Here's our zombie girl. This is how she got that way. And here's the good cop, here's the bad cop who also happens to be the bad guy, and here's the zombie girl's NPC's. Have at it." This week, it's "Here's the crime victim, here are the potential suspects, and here's the jerkwad from from episode 1 building his own story. Let's see what happens."

So... shall we? Hit the jump for the recap, and let us know what you think in the comments!

Star Wars Reveals Titles, Crew for Two New Movies!

StarWars.com released a ton of new details from a Lucasfilm shareholder meeting, and a lot of it is good! The first piece is a confirmation of something we reported way back when, that Rian Johnson will be writing and directing Episode VIII. This is fantastic news - Johnson's three films have ranged from good (Brothers Bloom) to great (Looper, Brick), and his episodes of Breaking Bad were some of the best in that show's run. We can't wait to see what he does with Star Wars.

The other piece of news concerns the title for Felicity Jones starring Star Wars standalone, directed by Gareth Edwards (Godzilla) and written by Oscar nominee Chris Weitz (About a Boy, Cinderella). The film is entitled "Rogue One," and was developed based on an idea that John Knoll, Chief Creative Officer at ILM, had. If that name doesn't excite you, let me explain why it should: Rogue One is the callsign for the leader of Rogue Squadron, the X-wing pilots that heroically led the charge for the Rebel Alliance and were immortalized in the series of X-wing: Rogue Squadron books. The books are no longer canon, but a film all about X-wing fighters could be amazing. And while she's not confirmed to be playing Rogue One, a film about a female leader of a group of X-wing pilots would be friggin' gold.

Also announced were the release dates for the films:

Star Wars: Rogue One: December 16 2016
Star Wars VIII: May 26 2017

Episode 135: Who is Jeremy Irons?

 This week, on the Ace of Geeks Podcast: We discuss American Sniper, and it's philosophy of Wolves, Sheep and Sheepdogs. We'll make sure everyone understands how good of a movie George of the Jungle is. Plus - this year's Oscar Snubs, what's it's like to be a Neilsen family, Star Wars, the Slow Regard of Silent Things, and so much more!

Episode 135! 

Star Wars Trailer to Debut in Select Theaters this Weekend!

As has long been churning in the rumor mill, we now know that the Star Wars: The Force Awakens trailer WILL debut over Thanksgiving weekend in select theaters. And when we say select, boy do we mean select. The full list of theaters that will be showing the trailer (before every movie) is here:

UPDATE: The list has grown SIGNIFICANTLY thanks to an update at StarWars.com. Here is the new, full list. This is a MUCH better cross section of the country. Original reactions still below.


AZ PHOENIX HARKINS TEMPE MARKETPLACE
CA LOS ANGELES AMC CENTURY CITY
CA LOS ANGELES Indep EL CAPITAN
CA IRVINE REGAL SPECTRUM IRVINE 21
CA SAN FRANCISCO AMC METREON 16
CA SAN JOSE CINEMARK OAKRIDGE 20
CA SAN DIEGO REGAL MIRA MESA 18
CAN TORONTO CINEPLEX YOUNGE & DUNDAS
CAN VANCOUVER CINEPLEX RIVERPORT
CO DENVER AMC WESTMINSTER 24
DC WASH D.C AMC TYSONS CORNER 16
FL MIAMI CARMIKE PARISIAN 20
GA ATLANTA REGAL ATLANTIC STATION
IL CHICAGO REGAL CITY NORTH
MA BOSTON AMC BOSTON COMMONS 19
MI DETROIT CINEMARK SHOWCASE 20
MN MINNEAPOLIS AMC SOUTHDALE
MO KANSAS CITY AMC STUDIO 30
NY NEW YORK AMC LINCOLN SQUARE 12
NY NEW YORK REGAL UNION SQUARE
OH CLEVELAND CINEMARK CINEMARK 24
PA PHILADELPHIA REGAL WARRINGTON 22
TN NASHVILLE CARMIKE THOROUGHBRED 20
TN KNOXVILLE REGAL PINNACLE
TX DALLAS CINEMARK WEST PLANO 20
TX HOUSTON REGAL MARQ*E STADIUM 23
TX AUSTIN ALAMO ALAMO S LAMAR
UT SALT LAKE CITY CINEMARK CINEMARK 24 WEST JORDAN
WA SEATTLE REGAL THORNTON PLACE 14
WI MILWAUKEE MARCUS BROOKFIELD 16


That's...not a lot of places. If you're in one of those areas, go see it and tell us how it is! If you're not, be like us and desperately hope they'll be releasing an official version online.

JJ Abrams chimed in with a note to make us all feel better over Twitter:

Thanks, JJ - I just wish more of us would get the chance to see it.


Thanks to our friends at Aggressive Comix for the heads up.

Star Wars: Rebels - First Episode Report. by Horatio

San Diego Comic Con International 2014 has been a great time already for Star Wars fans! Thursday night we attended the Star Wars: Rebels panel with Dave Filoni (writer and director), Simon Kinberg (creator and writer), Freddie Prinze Jr (voice, Kanan), Vanessa Marshall (voice, Hera), Steve Blum (voice, Zeb), Taylor Gray (voice, Ezra), and Tiya Sircar (voice, Sabine). I live tweeted the entire panel @horatiolikestoy on twitter, so coverage of anything said in the panel can be found there. 

It's what we did after the panel that warrants review and discussion. After attending the panel we buzzed across the Gaslamp to Reading Cinema for a private showing of the first episode of Star Wars: Rebels. This was the first showing available to members of the public, and it was not easy to access. We were invited as part of Saber Guild, a costuming group that we work with. 

For this review, I'm going to avoid spoilers, but still give details, so anyone who doesn't want to know anything about the episode should leave now. The episode opens on a tight shot of Ezra looking down on a Lothal (The name of his homewold. -Ed) street, while a group of Imperial Officers are harassing a fruit peddler. From the very beginning we're shown a very specific side of imperial tyranny. It's smaller than the wholesale destruction of a planet, and left in the hands of officers saying, "What are you going to do to stop us?" as they steal from the proletariat. At first I felt the inclination to describe my first impressions of Ezra as a Robin Hood type hero, but I very quickly identified him more along the line of Disney's Aladdin. Ezra rescues the fruit peddler, but takes a little extra fruit for himself. Hardly a major theft but definitely a notable character development. 

It becomes clear that Ezra is a conflicted character, he despises the Empire and everything they stand for, but is more interested in his own well being than acting as a Robin Hood - at first. "I'll stick it to the empire, but who's going to stick there neck out that far?" He asks Hera, who replies "We do." 

 
Hera acts as a mother type figure. She looks out for her crew and waits on the ship during missions to monitor the first signs of trouble. One of her most memorable quotes from the episode is "If you only care about your own life than your life means nothing." She is selfless, matronly, and commanding. 

Kanan is a stern character with not an exceptional amount of emotional development in the first episode, at least alongside the other characters. He is quick to act in the face of trouble, a strong lightsaber duelist, and an intriguing teacher. During the Rebels panel, Freddie Prinze Jr suggested that Kanan had a "adolescent dark side," and I'm curious to see how this develops. As far as the first episode goes it ends with the mysteries of a Jedi surrounding Kanan.

 Zeb is a gruff but lovable character, somewhere between Chewbacca and Jayne from Firefly. He tries to come across much crueler and hard-hearted than he actually is, and for a single episode he becomes a very sympathetic character for me. He chooses Ezra as a character he can pick on a little bit, but there is a burgeoning respect hidden behind the mild bullying. He picks on Ezra but respects his strength and character. I look forward to the development of Ezra and Zeb's relationship most of all. 

 
Sabine is a delight. There's a definite flicker of potential romance between Sabine and Ezra, which is clear with Ezra's clumsy flirtations, and by the end of the episode we can see Ezra begin to grow on her. My favorite trait of Sabine, and possibly one of my favorite moments of the entire episode, is when we see Sabine's propensity for tagging an Imperial ship... With a surprising result that to my knowledge had not been shown in any previous footage. I refuse to ruin the moment for any readers, but it definitely elicited applause from the audience. 

 
And finally, of course, we have Chopper, who primarily acts as a comedic foil for the other characters (especially Ezra in this episode). The only way I can describe Chopper is as a somehow sassier version of R2-D2. 

During the episode there are several name drops of characters and locations that we know, like Jabba the Hutt, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Kessel. These serve as a bridge to the original trilogy. We are introduced to a new recurring villain, Imperial Agent Kallus, and see minor character development with him. 

Overall the episode was fantastic. While we were told that it was technically unfinished, I saw few signs of this in the episode. The music is well paired with the scenes, the voice acting is ace, and the animation is stunning. Rebels was everything that I expected it to be, and I can't wait to watch it on Disney XD. 

 Horatio is a dorky toy reviewer who can be found on YouTube, Twitter, and Tumblr where she runs a Stargate SG-1 blog.

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Rian Johnson to Write and Direct Episodes 8 and 9?

Deadline is reporting that Brick and Looper director Rian Johnson is in talks, or possibly even confirmed, to take over the main Star Wars franchise after JJ Abrams' stab at Episode 7. Rian would both write an direct the last two installments of the trilogy, bringing the nine-film saga finally to a close. (Well, a close until Disney's stand-alone films by folks like Godzilla's Gareth Edwards and Chronicle's Josh Trank come out.)

It's an interesting choice, to be sure. Johnson's films are known for a dark, gritty style, that doesn't necessarily seem to fit the Star Wars mold, and he has no proven experience with the kind of giant set pieces these films will require. Still, if Brick is any indication, he knows how to have fun with a concept. I'll be interesting to see what he develops for the future of Star Wars.

UPDATE: Adorably, Rian just tweeted this video in response to the news:

Episode 105: Hoop and Stick

Jim Butcher's latest Dresden Files novel, Skin Game, came out and the Ace of Geeks are all over it. Mike, Mae Linh and Jarys spend the first three quarters of this podcast analyzing and gushing over this book. Then, the conversation turns to Star Wars, and how freaking good The Clone Wars is. Spoilers everywhere.

Episode 105!