I’ve got three weeks of comedy for you!  A couple of documentaries, and then a complete series to round out the list.

Week 1: Joan Rivers: A Piece of Work

This is a fantastic documentary about the famous comedienne, who, at the age of 75, is still going strong. Being the youthful tot that I am, I only knew Joan Rivers as an uninteresting talk show host and a really awkward commentator on Oscar night, it’s incredible to see her open up into an incredibly funny, driven, abrasive personality. In the course of the film we see her put on a play, compete on “Celebrity Apprentice”, publish her new book, and continually complain about her lack of work. It’s inspiring to see her drive, and uplifting at the end.

And also, she’s really hilarious.

The documentary is available on Netflix Instant Streaming.

You have no excuse!

Enjoy!

Alex was unable to record with us this week (yeah, sure, we believe that). Since we’d planned a topic that pretty much revolved around his presence, we sent out a call for guests on the tubes and the Pimp of the Internet, Tony Mast, joined us for the episode.

Tony talks with us about Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions, comparing parts of it favorably to Batman: Arkham Asylum.  He’s also been playing Star Wars: Force Unleashed 2 on the 360, and while he bemoans the lack of motion controls, he’s still having fun with it.

Sam breaks out Forza Motorsport 3, and makes it sound like what Gran Turismo 5 should have been.  He’s also been pulling co-op sessions with listeners: Halo 3 with WilliamPall, and Resident Evil 5 with Zatala.  Silent girlfriend also gave Sam Two Worlds 2 for… some reason he can’t remember (way to be a good boyfriend!).

Jonathan compares Crysis 2 to Crysis 2, as he received both the PS3 and 360 versions from GameFly.  He also talks up the Hand Brotherhood, which, despite sounding like a gay porn title, is the group of Minecraft builders that’s been gaining traction on the RPG.net multiplayer server.

After that, as is tradition, we tear into Tony’s Top Ten.  He brings a surprisingly unique list to the table, and also manages to ruin Jonathan’s attempts to build up stats around the lists.  (Alphabetical order? What’s up with that?!)

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Netflix has a slightly different version of today’s film available on InstaFlix. It’s twenty minutes longer than the version I’ve embedded, features the original color filters used to differentiate the various time periods in the story, seems to have slightly less sharpness and clarity in the images, and (in my opinion) has a better soundtrack attached.

Title: Intolerance: Love’s Struggle Throughout the Ages
Director: D.W. Griffith
Genre: Historic Drama
Year: 1916
Review

Rapunzel’s Revenge written by Shannon and Dean Hale and illustrated by Nathan Hale (no relation).

Rapunzel’s Revenge is a reimagining of the classic fairy tale in an Old West-ish setting. A mean old witch Mother Gothel rules over the territory by controlling all the local crops. If you want to be able to grow food, you’ll do what she says and pay her taxes. Her “daughter,” Rapunzel, knows none of that at first. She just knows she’s been confined in the castle forever and ever. However, a kindly guard’s lariat lessons allow her to climb the walls and see what’s outside. Part of that is a slave mining camp where she finds her true mother. That leads to her reconfinement, this time in a giant tree tower in the middle of a swamp. She escapes again and begins a series of adventures that will hopefully eventually bring her back to Mother Gothel’s castle so she can free her mother.

The Hales’ Rapunzel is a feisty heroine with an imaginative way of using her trademark hair as tool and weapon. The pseudo-Old West setting fits well with the fairy tale origin. Rapunzel’s Revenge is an excellent re-telling of a classic story.

Jet Set Siempre – by Clive Tanaka

This is probably my favorite new album of 2011. The music is like a laid back, island Daft Punk. Its perfect pop and super infectious, with the just the right dashes of cool and dark to make you feel like a superstar as your rock back and forth to the beat. My favorite song by far is Neu Chicago, possibly the slickest track that’s ever glid through my ears.

The album was originally released on cassette(!), and later vinyl– but you can download it from the link above. That will take you to the free version– the A and B sides of the tape, mixed together into two MP3 files. This is not a bad way to hear these songs, and they’re well worth the download. For $5, you can get the full album, with all the songs separated and in higher quality.

This is fantastic music, and more than worth the tiny amount being charged. No matter what, you should hear this. And now you can.

You have no excuse.

Enjoy!

Headlines this week!  Of course, first, we talk about games.

Jonathan’s simply given up on intense RPGs (because of his classwork), and he’s picked up Minecraft again (despite his classwork).  He and Alex also argue about Full House Poker.

Alex talks about how he wishes Dynasty Warriors 7 was some other game.  He also gripes about AssBro asses, and gloats over his pre-release access to Portal 2.

Sam’s been re-exploring Mass Effect 1, and has similar gripes to Alex about Dynasty Warriors: Gundam 2.

Headlines:

• Vote manipulation in the XBL Indie marketplace.
• DARPA rolls out an online game that lets players try to catch elusive, quiet enemy submarines.
• Anonymous launches DDoS attack against Sony in revenge for PS3 hacking lawsuits.
• Minecraft To Officially Launch 11/11/11
• Bethesda bumps Brink up a week, now coming May 10
• The Sun conducts flawed 3DS experiment. Pocket Gamer conducts flawed The Sun experiment.

Finally, Alex closes out season 2 of Name That Game.  We’re not entirely sure who won this one.  Perhaps no one.

Next week, we have a special guest, as Alex cancelled on us because he “had to work.”

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Les Vampires isn’t a solitary movie.  Rather, it’s a ten-part serial lasting around 400 minutes in total.  I wasn’t exactly sure how best to share this, but as I was unable to find all the parts condensed onto one page, I decided to go with that.  Prior to the break you’ll find Part 1 and the usual information.  After the break, the other nine parts embedded for your viewing convenience.

Episode 1 – The Severed Head

Title: Les Vampires
Director: Louis Feuillade
Genre: Crime
Year: 1915
Review
Read more »

King of RPGs written by Jason Thompson, art by Victor Hao

Shesh Maccabee is a freshman at the University of California, Escondido and a recovering World of Warcraft/World of Warfare addict. His friend Mike is also a new freshmen and a fan of Japanese console RPGs, cosplay and all things otaku. His job is to keep an eye on Shesh and watch for relapses. The two get roped into Theodore, a fanatical Dungeons & DragonsMages & Monsters gamemaster. Soon Shesh and Mike are part of the strange world of tabletop gaming, collectible card games and LARPing and running into obsessed anti-gaming cops, black market card smugglers and LARPers…

*shudder*

Vampire LARPers… one step above Furries, I tells ya!

There’s a twofold purpose to You Should Watch This. One is to draw attention to films and shows you might not know exist, and link you to it so you don’t have to hunt it down. The other is to draw attention to shows you might already know about, but didn’t know they were available online.

Rocky and Bullwinkle are about as iconic as cartoon characters can get, and even if they haven’t been on TV in a couple decades (save rerun networks), the sheer quality of the original shows still holds up. Sure, the actual animation on the cartoons is… nonexistant. That doesn’t matter. If there ever was a show that proved good writing can make up for bad visuals, it’s Rocky and Bullwinkle. Essentially, what you’re getting is one of the best radio shows ever written– not only funny at face value, filled with puns and gags, but also still remarkably sophisticated, heaped with satire on politics, human nature, and everything inbetween. I just found this on Instant Streaming, and within five minutes I was laughing out loud in a public workstation.

Each episode opens with another installment of the latest Rocky and Bullwinkle serial adventure, then two standalone cartoons (usually a Fractured Fairytale, Dudley Do-Right of the Mounties, or Peabody & Sherman), and finally another R&B installment, ending with a huge cliffhanger. What’s fantastic is that these serials can be tremendous– some only 8 episodes long, but the first stretches out to 40 episodes long!

The first two seasons are available for streaming on Instant Netflix– Season 1 clocks in at a standard 24 episodes; Season 2 at a staggering 52!. This makes for a great palate cleanser material or late night watching. And no matter what, every episode is going to be good.

You have no excuse!

Enjoy!

On Netflix:

• R&B&F: Season 1
• R&B&F: Season 2

This week, we talk about game features we want to see more of.  (If Churchill can end his sentences in prepositions, so can I!)

Alex’s banter is quick this week.  He’s picked up Blur (Bizarre Creations, you will be missed), and has established a rotation.  He’s also out of wall space for all his gaming decorations.

Sam’s also quick, with a discussion of the Da Vinci’s Disappearance DLC for AssBro, and isn’t sure he’ll finish another playthrough of Dragon Age II or Mass Effect.  He’s also been playing Halo 3 co-op with a listener.

Jonathan tries to be quick, but Alex decides to pick a fight over Tiger Woods ’12.  He’s also finally hooked up his OnLive console, and approves, mostly.

Then we move into our topic of the week: Features every game should have, but doesn’t.  We talk about camera controls, loading screen distractions, skippable cutscenes, and more.  We also spontaneously decide to run a contest based on the topic.  Head over to the forums to see what’s up.

Finally, Sam brings us a kinder, gentler Name That Game.  Somehow Alex and Jonathan still only manage to score a point a piece.

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