'This Is The End' - Red Band Trailer: The Greatest Buddy Comedy Movie In The History Of Cinema!!!!!

I have been hearing some grumblings about this buddy film called 'This Is The End' for quite sometime now. It is supposed to be a collaboration of some of the great comedic actors of this generation, featuring the likes of James Franco, Seth Rogen, Danny McBride, Craig Robinson, Jay Burchel, and Jonah Hill. The coolest part about this movie is that all of these guys have worked together on multiple different films in a variety of combinations, and in this film they are all set to play THEMSELVES while in the middle of an end of the world apocalypse.  How hysterical does that fucking sound? Well Jeff sent me the red band trailer, and it was hysterical. But when I dug a little deeper I found an extended version of the red band trailer, with a full extra minute of footage! The movie comes out this summer, so stay tuned for more on an exact release date soon. Check out the extended red band trailer after the jump....

Star Wars by Gerard Keane

Gerard Keane, aka Onibatman on Deviant Art, is a young artists looking to get his work out to the world. When I saw his stuff for the first time, I was immediately impressed with the potential that he shows. Gerard uses a lot of colored pencils in his pieces, which gives them a sort of softness that compliments his cartoon-y/manga type styling very well. He is still adding more of works to his Deviant Art page, but his two Star Wars pieces jumped out to me and I had to share them. You can see much more of his work in weeks to come, but check out the two epic Star Wars pieces after the jump...

'Get To The Chopper'... We Got Toys To Buy!!!!

NECA, or National Entertainment Collectibles Association, have no problem bringing the heat when they release a new wave of action figures. They are known to produce the most articulate and realistic recreations of your favorite movies, TV shows, and cartoons for years. So when they revealed the upcoming 25th Anniversary 'Predators' toy line, I expected nothing but amazing figures. When the toys premiered at Toy Fare 2013 a few weeks back, NECA proved that they are the best of the best. There are 6 figures in the line, including four Dutch figures and two Predator figures that are amazing. You gotta love Jungle Encounter Dutch, covered in mud from head to toe. And the Water Emergence Predator has to be one of the most amazing figures I have ever seen. The electric lightning detailing around the body of the figure is just amazing, and I can't remember another toy that has shown such detail and depth in comparison to the source material. The toys should be rolling into stores soon, so make sure you are on the lookout for these if you are as big of a Predator fan as I am. I know my man Joe Fletch will be contemplating a purchase!!! Check out the pics after the jump...  

Everything You Ever Need To Know About The 'Die Hard' Franchise Of Movies

Like it or not, John McClane just won't go away. 25 years ago Bruce Willis brought the tough as nails cop turned hero to the big screen and we have seen 4 incarnations of him along the way. As we are in the midst of the 5th release in the film series, Collider decided to team up with 20th Century Fox to create a infographic poster each of the films in the series, detailing all the great stuff that McClane does from soup to nuts. The kill counts, the bad guys, the amazing physical feats and activities that Bruce Willis performs throughout the series... its all there. Before you take on the 5th installment of the movie, take a look down memory lane to remember just how sick of a franchise it is based on. Enjoy the posters after the jump....  

Ref Jeff: Mic Up!!!!

I am a big fan of Nick Kroll, as his character on The League may be one of the sleaziest and coolest characters on the boob tube ever. But his funniest work has come from his new sketch comedy show, The Kroll Show. The show airs on Comedy Central and has some killer skits, but so far my favorite has to be Mic'd Up with Ref Jeff. In the skit the TV production company behind an NBA game decides to mic up one of the referees instead of a player, and stuff gets interesting. He is out of control once he becomes the focus of the broadcast. Very, very funniest stuff. Check out the show on Comedy Central and the clip of Ref Jeff after the jump....

The 2013 Oscars: A Quick Recap & Small Rant by Mike CCD

I watched the Oscars again the day after (I had work last night, so I DVR'ed it even though I had it on at the bar last night, albeit on silent) and I must say I am pleasantly surprised! I am not one of those award show haters who criticizes the show based on who wins and who loses. That is just stupid. The show itself and the winners/losers are two separate entities, and should be viewed as such. The host, the songs, performances, and the presenters make up one aspect of the show, and then the awards themselves make up part number 2.  The actual awards part will always be debated after the fact and snubs will cause people to be mad at the results but, that can't be avoided when there is always only one winner. The first part, however, the REST of the show... that can be awesome and save the day all together for anyone mad about their favorites not winning. When Seth McFarlane was picked to host the show, I immediately began looking forward to it. How would he execute the hosting duties? Would he be as raunchy as we expect from his work? Would he use Ted & Stewie in the fucking Oscar broadcast?! Would he bash the celebs unmercifully the way Ricky Gervais did a few years back on the Golden Globes... or would he go even further? All of these things had me excited for the show for the first time in years, and sort of gave me hope after last years straight-forward Billy Crystal mop-up job of the previous year's Anne Hathaway/James Franco shit-show. So how did I think it went? Check after the jump....



So there were lots of things I liked, some unreal stuff that I LOVED, and a few moments I kinda hated. I'm not going to comment on the awards themselves too much. More about the production of the award show, itself, and added bonuses. Lets get to it, shall we...

The Bad:
There wasn't much I disliked about the show, not much at all. As a matter a fact, this must have been the FIRST Oscars that I have watched since I was 15 or so (when I started paying attention to things like production value and historical significance of events) that I had very little to complain about. So I'll start with the bad since there wasn't much....

1. I didn't really like the Musical singing number. I get it, Les Mis was a big deal this year. But why trot out Catherine Zeta Jones to rehash a boring 'Chicago' number and get another Jennifer Hudson performance of her 'Dreamgirls' hit all alone on stage, and then completely fast forward to the awesome performance of Les Mis's full cast? The two old performances were boring, pedestrian, and weak in effect ...and then they get blasted off the stage by a killer ensemble piece like the Les Mis cast performance. The Les Mis piece disparages the shit out of the first two glimpses back into Oscar history, and  serves as a kind of gloating moment as to what a real musical could be.
2. Why the fuck did every male celebrity (well not all, but at least 90% of them) have some crazy-ass beards? I rock a beard, and I love me some facial hair... but when this many usually clean shaven celebs are rocking something, then you know it is not by choice and because they were told to do so. I fucking hate when something I do, regularly, all of the sudden becomes a big trend. then people start looking at me like I'm the one who is trying to fit in when, all the while, I have had a beard for the last 10 years!!!! GRRRRR....
3. How about putting a banister on one side of the steps leading up to the stage? Would a fucking handrail really kill the aesthetics of the stage that much? I was so happy for Jennifer Lawrence when she won Best Actress. A moment that may prove to be the only one in her career in which she wins such a prestigious award in her field (I think she will win plenty more, but nothings a lock). So imagine how embarrassed and mad I was for her when she fell UP THE FUCKING STAIRS while going to accept her statuette. WTF set decorators!? Do you SEE some of dresses these chicks are wearing? Make a handrail happen you pricks....
4. Seth McFarlane... why didn't we get more of you? I wanted to see him dropping more one-liners, abusing celebs, and doing things I never knew the talented guy could do (this dudes singing voice is epic!)... and I guess that is selfish of me. I know he got the gig, but ABC was probably treading on the side of caution with such a wildcard as McFarlane. I hope he becomes the next decades Billy Crystal or Whoppi Goldberg, hosting the show multiple times to give us much more of what was a great thing!

And now for the things I loved. There were a lot of loves in this 4 hour telecast, but I will try to narrow it down to my favorite moments:

1. Seth Mcfarlane's opening was fantastic! Time travel, William Shatner, the three song and dance numbers from the future featuring real celebs (Charlize Theron killed that dance... she looked so gorgeous). Plus he absconded with the 'Flying Nun' in the 'Smokey and the Bandit' car!!! He was so awesome, and I thought it was a pretty solid opening. I thought he was good throughout the show, but the 20 minute opening was, by far, McFarlane's shining moment... and one that will go down in history as one of the funniest I can remember!
2. The Bond tribute was fantastic. 50 years of Bond, summed up through a crazy montage from all the films and the rendition of 'Goldfinger' by Shirley Bassey. Than Adele wins for best song and absolutely kills the live performance. Great tribute from one of my favorite film franchises ever.
3. The 'In Memoriam' tribute was amazing this year, especially since it included people like Ralph McQuarrie, Adam Yauch, and Herbert Lom... people who may not have been the biggest starts to die this year but were very important to me in my life as a film fan. especially Lom, who starred opposite Peter Sellers in my favorite films ever, the 'Pink Panther' movies. I am forever grateful to those who pass on, and the tribute is always a highlight for me. And to then bring out Babs for a little sing-a-long... yeah that was cool. 
4. I really liked the laid back atmosphere of the awards this year.  Previous years were a bit stuffy, but this year everyone involved seemed laid back, no one looked angry (even Tommy Lee Jones smiled!!!!), and they looked like they were having fun... and that has to have started with my main man Seth leading the charge. It made for good TV....
5. I also liked Seth McFarlane's intro of all the presenters. His comment that he was bringing out the cast of 'Chicago' as presenters because he felt the show wasn't "gay" enough yet, brought out Daniel Radcliffe and Kristen Stewart as a "boy wizard" and a "girl vampire" and said that they are "everything the Christian Right hates about Hollywood", or quipping that his next presenter (Sandra Bullock) "starred as a raging alcoholic in 28 Days... a role that (he) would be executing in an hour and a half"!!! Wow, all of them were pretty funny and well aimed barbs, but none really crossed the line.... well, maybe a little bit!
6. The Les Mis performance was amazing. I haven't seen the film yet, but the performance of that cast and knowing that they all sang their own parts in the movie makes me want to see it even more. Great live rendition, with the killer surprise performance of the night having to have come from Russell Crowe. This guy can sing, huh? Wow....
7. Quentin Tarantino's acceptance speech for Best original screenplay for 'Django Unchained'. No real reason for this making my favorite moments list other than the fact that I am glad he won and anytime I can hear the off-the-cuff comments of QT at such a prestigious event, it reminds me just how far he has come from the anti-establishment director he was known for to being accepted into the inner circle of filmmakers ...even though he didn't change at all. It is nice to see Old Hollywood accepting the inevitable. Plus he ended it with "Peace Out".. so great!!!!
8. The gorgeous women of the Oscars. The ladies looked great last night, with my top picks going to Anne Hathaway, Jennifer Lawrence, Kerry Washington, Salma Hayek, Sandra Bullock, Stacy Keibler, and Halle Berry. Adele looked great too! Charlize Theron was, by far, the most stunning of the night to me. Good lawd she looked great!!!! She is just getting hotter and hotter the older she gets... and her and Hathaway pulled off the bob perfectly, joining perennial short hair wearer Halle Berry as a trio of gorgeous women without an updoo.
9. Quenzhane Wallis. Wow. 9 years old, probably 7 when she filmed the movie. She is a tour de force. Can't wait to see what she does in the future. She killed in 'Beasts of the Southern Wild'. I loved whenever the camera showed her, and she flexed her muscles and smiled. great to see that kid enjoying herself. 
10.  It was really good to see Michael Douglas looking healthy. He is one of my all time faves, and he was looking very close to death a few years ago, thanks to cancer. He looked fantastic last night, and I hope he churns out many more movies for me and others to enjoy!!!! 

So that's it. I hope you enjoy my critiques and criticisms. Looking forward to next year with baited breath... now lock McFarlane up as host ASAP!!!!  

   

Grey Poupon: The Lost Footage

I have very fond memories of TV commercials from my childhood. After all, I grew up in the last era before cable TV took over, and networks were the only outlet for advertisers to get their message out to their prospective customers. If you talk to anybody who watched TV during the 80s they would instantly know sayings like "Where's the Beef?", "Pardon me, are those Bugle Boy jeans your wearing?" and "Mikey Likes It!!" from the commercials they appeared in. But one of the most well known catch line and commercials has to be the two proper English gentleman being driven in Rolls Royce's through the countryside when one asks the other "Pardon me, do you have any Grey Poupon?"Who doesn't know that one? Well, last night during the Oscars they aired a very cool update on that commercial, called 'Grey Poupon: The Lost Footage'. You can't just abscond with a man's jar of Grey Poupon and not expect repercussions... LOL. The new commercial is amazing, and it holds true to the spirit of the old commercial while poking fun at itself just enough to make us laugh. Well done Grey Poupon... well done indeed! See the commercial after the jump...

Here is the original:



And now the new one:

Fresh Guacamole: An Oscar Nominated Animated Short Film

One of the highlights of Oscar season for me has to be the animated portion of the show. The academy chooses a short and long animated film as a winner every year, but rarely do the 10 nominees ever disappoint. This is especially true of the animated shorts. One of the shorts that stood out to me last night was Fresh Guacamole, a very cool claymation short that chronicles the very simple task of making a bowl of fresh guacamole. The only problem is that all the ingredients are inanimate objects, and they constantly morph into cooler things along the way. Very well thought out and executed, this is a great way to spend two minute of your day! It did not win (Pixar's Paperman won the short animated film award), but enjoy the complete short after the jump...

Cereal Monsters by Phil Postma

I have been featuring a bunch of Phil Postma's art here on CCD, and I must make a disclosure. I do not know the man, and I have no hidden agenda when sharing his stuff. I do not make any money, and not using the posts to curry good favor from Phil, and don't know if any benefit will ever come of them. But I know one thing: The more I look through Postma's back catalog, the more unbelievable shit that I come across that I feel like I just have to share!!!! Take his Cereal Monsters collection for example. He did the 5 classic REAL cereal monsters (Count Chocula, Frankenberry, Boo Berry, Frute Brute, and Yummy Mummy), but he also added 7 of his own cereal creations that are just fantastic. You know how you know that they are good? Because not only id the art fantastic, but I actually would want to eat these fictional cereals! Check out all 12 after the jump....



The Classics:

Phil's Original Cereal Creations:

 Thanks to Cal from the Cave of Cool for putting me on to such a great artist!!!!

Kate Upton: Body Painted For The 2013 SI Swimsuit Issue

Kate Upton is the cover girl of this years 2013 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, and her polar bear photo shoot was spectacular (no clothes in Antarctica? Yup, we on that!)... but it is not even the hottest photo spread of her in the issue!!!! She has a body paint spread that is setting the world on fire... if not the world, than at the very least setting my pants on fire!!! Good Lawd, this is an amazing spread. Even though in some of these shots it looks like she is wearing bikini bottoms, trust in us she is not. All paint, all nude... but tastefully done. Check out the full pics, outtakes in all, after the jump...