Cult Spark http://cultspark.com Essays and podcasts on the movies, TV and games you obsess over. Tue, 21 May 2013 19:17:36 +0000 en-US hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 Essays and podcasts on the movies, TV and games you obsess over. CultSpark.com yes CultSpark.com bobtaylor52@yahoo.com bobtaylor52@yahoo.com (CultSpark.com) Essays and podcasts on the movies, TV and games you obsess over. movies, TV, videogames, books, comics, cultspark Cult SparkCult Spark http://cultspark.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/Cult-Spark-Podcast-2013-logo-1024x1024.jpg http://cultspark.com Ride or Die: Gauging the Fast & Furious Franchise, Part 2 http://cultspark.com/2013/05/21/ride-or-die-gauging-the-fast-furious-franchise-part-2/ http://cultspark.com/2013/05/21/ride-or-die-gauging-the-fast-furious-franchise-part-2/#disqus_thread Tue, 21 May 2013 15:53:17 +0000 Stewart Smith http://cultspark.com/?p=2709
Ride or Die: Gauging the Fast & Furious Franchise, Part 2

In the intro to part one of this retrospective, I stated that the Fast & Furious franchise is bizarre. The series’ third entry is why … THE FAST AND THE FURIOUS: TOKYO DRIFT (2006) This is the point where the franchise probably should have starting cranking out direct-to-DVD entries. This is where everyone expected the [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/05/21/ride-or-die-gauging-the-fast-furious-franchise-part-2/feed/ 2 Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness (Colossal Team-Up Edition!) http://cultspark.com/2013/05/20/movie-review-star-trek-into-darkness/ http://cultspark.com/2013/05/20/movie-review-star-trek-into-darkness/#disqus_thread Mon, 20 May 2013 17:01:05 +0000 Tim Kelly http://cultspark.com/?p=2716
Movie Review: Star Trek Into Darkness (Colossal Team-Up Edition!)

Rather than one of them writing an individual review for Star Trek Into Darkness, Tim and Bob thought it might be fun to team up Kirk-and-Spock style to discuss J.J. Abrams’ second Trek film. Major spoilers to follow … Tim: I’m going to break a cardinal rule in film analysis and admit I’m of two [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/05/20/movie-review-star-trek-into-darkness/feed/ 5 Ride or Die: Gauging the Fast & Furious Franchise, Part 1 http://cultspark.com/2013/05/17/ride-or-die-gauging-the-fast-furious-franchise-part-1/ http://cultspark.com/2013/05/17/ride-or-die-gauging-the-fast-furious-franchise-part-1/#disqus_thread Fri, 17 May 2013 13:35:26 +0000 Stewart Smith http://cultspark.com/?p=2660
Ride or Die: Gauging the Fast & Furious Franchise, Part 1

The Fast & the Furious franchise is nothing short of bizarre. I mean, sure, it’s mostly straightforward. Fast cars. Exotic locations. Hot women. That’s about as surefire a formula as any for successful popcorn fun, but there’s something about this particular string of movies that strikes a nerve in a way that most other action [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/05/17/ride-or-die-gauging-the-fast-furious-franchise-part-1/feed/ 4 NBC’s Hannibal deserves to be saved http://cultspark.com/2013/05/15/nbcs-hannibal-deserves-to-be-saved/ http://cultspark.com/2013/05/15/nbcs-hannibal-deserves-to-be-saved/#disqus_thread Wed, 15 May 2013 14:13:48 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2662
NBC's Hannibal deserves to be saved

By all accounts, NBC’s Hannibal should not be a show I’m even watching, let alone breathlessly anticipating every week. For starters, it’s a prequel, that laziest form of storytelling that offers much in the way of fan service but little in the way of drama or surprise, as the audience always knows exactly where the [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/05/15/nbcs-hannibal-deserves-to-be-saved/feed/ 14 Honoring Ray Harryhausen http://cultspark.com/2013/05/07/honoring-ray-harryhausen/ http://cultspark.com/2013/05/07/honoring-ray-harryhausen/#disqus_thread Tue, 07 May 2013 18:14:32 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2653 Stop-motion wizard Ray Harryhausen, one of the great titans of fantasy cinema, died today at the age of 92. His legacy will last for as long as there are monster movies, and we would be remiss if we didn’t do our part to help commemorate his life and work. So go watch this video compilation [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/05/07/honoring-ray-harryhausen/feed/ 1 Movie Review: Iron Man 3 http://cultspark.com/2013/05/06/movie-review-iron-man-3/ http://cultspark.com/2013/05/06/movie-review-iron-man-3/#disqus_thread Mon, 06 May 2013 22:05:39 +0000 Tim Kelly http://cultspark.com/?p=2638
Movie Review: Iron Man 3

Let’s talk numbers. Three: The number of Iron Man films that Disney outfit Marvel has produced. Seven: The number of films Marvel has released in theatres. Five: The number of films Marvel currently has in production. Two: the number of films that Shane Black has now directed. 1,000+: Movies about robots. This is where context [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/05/06/movie-review-iron-man-3/feed/ 1 Marvel gets ballsy with their big-screen take on the Mandarin http://cultspark.com/2013/05/04/marvel-gets-ballsy-with-their-big-screen-take-on-the-mandarin/ http://cultspark.com/2013/05/04/marvel-gets-ballsy-with-their-big-screen-take-on-the-mandarin/#disqus_thread Sat, 04 May 2013 19:52:03 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2621
Marvel gets ballsy with their big-screen take on the Mandarin

Massive spoilers of Iron Man 3 to follow. Seriously, don’t read this if you haven’t seen the movie yet. In the Marvel Comics universe, the Mandarin is Iron Man’s greatest villain — an Asian scientist and fighter who gains superpowers courtesy of ten alien rings constructed using technology far more advanced that even Tony Stark [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/05/04/marvel-gets-ballsy-with-their-big-screen-take-on-the-mandarin/feed/ 2 Episode 10 — Tough Guys Skip 3D (Our Summer Movie Preview!) http://cultspark.com/2013/05/03/episode-10-tough-guys-skip-3d-our-summer-movie-preview/ http://cultspark.com/2013/05/03/episode-10-tough-guys-skip-3d-our-summer-movie-preview/#disqus_thread Fri, 03 May 2013 14:09:12 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2606 The Cult Spark Podcast crew is back to preview the 2013 summer movie season, walking you through all the films you should be excited to go see during the next four months. Additionally, Tim outs himself as a Scott Pilgrim vs. the World hater. Bob cops to having never seeing a single Fast and Furious [...]

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(Our Summer Movie Preview!) appeared first on Cult Spark.

]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/05/03/episode-10-tough-guys-skip-3d-our-summer-movie-preview/feed/ 0 Before Midnight,Elysium,Iron Man,Kick-Ass,Only God Forgives,Pacific Rim,Podcast,Star Trek,Superman,The Fast and the Furious,The World's End,This is the End The Cult Spark Podcast crew is back to preview the 2013 summer movie season, walking you through all the films you should be excited to go see during the next four months. Additionally, Tim outs himself as a Scott Pilgrim vs. the World hater. The Cult Spark Podcast crew is back to preview the 2013 summer movie season, walking you through all the films you should be excited to go see during the next four months. Additionally, Tim outs himself as a Scott Pilgrim vs. the World hater. Bob cops to having never seeing a single Fast and Furious movie and concocts a plan to watch them in reverse chronological order, Memento-style. Stew laments the J.J. Abrams mystery box but gets all excited about Pacific Rim. And Terrence shows up late, wondering if Joss Whedon's Much Ado About Nothing is part of Marvel's phase two. Our podcast crew this episode is Bob Taylor (Cult Spark & CHUD), Stewart Smith (The Shelf & Cult Spark), Terrence Aybar (Cult Spark) and Tim Kelly (Cult Spark, formerly of CHUD). To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Cult Spark Podcast via iTunes or pick up our podcast feed at CultSpark.com. This episode’s music: Sizofrejmija (Ljudske Potrebe) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 CultSpark.com yes 57:15 Van Dammage Report: Kickboxer http://cultspark.com/2013/04/29/van-dammage-report-kickboxer/ http://cultspark.com/2013/04/29/van-dammage-report-kickboxer/#disqus_thread Mon, 29 Apr 2013 14:47:52 +0000 Stewart Smith http://cultspark.com/?p=2592
Van Dammage Report: Kickboxer

Kickboxer might be the quintessential Jean-Claude Van Damme movie. He’s got other films that are more outrageous, more action packed, more filled with ridiculous one-liners and films that are bigger in scope. But few of them seem to encapsulate so fully the things that Van Damme gravitates toward and prioritizes as an actor. It has [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/04/29/van-dammage-report-kickboxer/feed/ 0 Movie Review: Pain & Gain http://cultspark.com/2013/04/26/movie-review-pain-gain/ http://cultspark.com/2013/04/26/movie-review-pain-gain/#disqus_thread Fri, 26 Apr 2013 20:43:47 +0000 Tim Kelly http://cultspark.com/?p=2562
Movie Review: Pain & Gain

There’s a sort of kneejerk reaction to Pain & Gain that makes you want to cast Michael Bay in a different, better light. His latest film, a longtime passion project masquerading as a true crime opus, is a prime example of the right director marrying into the right material. But Bay’s always been capable of [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/04/26/movie-review-pain-gain/feed/ 2 Movie Review: Oblivion http://cultspark.com/2013/04/19/movie-review-oblivion/ http://cultspark.com/2013/04/19/movie-review-oblivion/#disqus_thread Fri, 19 Apr 2013 17:36:45 +0000 Terrence Aybar http://cultspark.com/?p=2536
Movie Review: Oblivion

Attempting to sum up director Joseph Kosinski’s Oblivion after walking out of the screening this past Tuesday, I came up with the following equation: Wall-E + Tron: Legacy + The Matrix = Oblivion Looking around online since, I’ve seen people make similar comparisons, so I know my formula is sound. And though it wears its [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/04/19/movie-review-oblivion/feed/ 0 The Movie Villain Hall of Fame: Wez http://cultspark.com/2013/04/16/the-movie-villain-hall-of-fame-wez/ http://cultspark.com/2013/04/16/the-movie-villain-hall-of-fame-wez/#disqus_thread Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:06:42 +0000 Terrence Aybar http://cultspark.com/?p=2517
The Movie Villain Hall of Fame: Wez

I’m willing to bet that, for most people, The Road Warrior – George Miller’s diesel-fueled sequel to Mad Max — was the first glimpse they’d ever gotten of the fearsome presence of Vernon Wells. That was the case for me, and it’s a performance that I can’t quite shake for a number of reasons. Wells [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/04/16/the-movie-villain-hall-of-fame-wez/feed/ 0 Movie review: Evil Dead http://cultspark.com/2013/04/09/movie-review-evil-dead/ http://cultspark.com/2013/04/09/movie-review-evil-dead/#disqus_thread Tue, 09 Apr 2013 17:55:26 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2491
Movie review: Evil Dead

Evil Dead, the reboot of Sam Raimi’s 1981 horror classic, isn’t the abomination you might have feared. It’s respectful and technically solid, and there are stretches where director Fede Alvarez shows he possesses some of the raw skills Raimi himself was putting to good use more than 30 years ago. But none of this makes [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/04/09/movie-review-evil-dead/feed/ 0 Episode 9 — Kickstarter, Veronica Mars and Banana Popsicles http://cultspark.com/2013/03/26/episode-9-kickstarter-veronica-mars-and-banana-popsicles/ http://cultspark.com/2013/03/26/episode-9-kickstarter-veronica-mars-and-banana-popsicles/#disqus_thread Tue, 26 Mar 2013 14:43:10 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2472 The Veronica Mars movie Kickstarter project — a new way for entertainment corporations to drain your wallet or a nifty solution for sidestepping soulless movie studios entirely? Our podcast team tries to find an answer in this installment of the Cult Spark Podcast. (Spoiler alert — they mostly end up just fighting about it.) Also [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/03/26/episode-9-kickstarter-veronica-mars-and-banana-popsicles/feed/ 0 House of Cards,Kickstarter,Podcast,The Shield,The Wire,Veronica Mars The Veronica Mars movie Kickstarter project -- a new way for entertainment corporations to drain your wallet or a nifty solution for sidestepping soulless movie studios entirely? Our podcast team tries to find an answer in this installment of the Cult ... The Veronica Mars movie Kickstarter project -- a new way for entertainment corporations to drain your wallet or a nifty solution for sidestepping soulless movie studios entirely? Our podcast team tries to find an answer in this installment of the Cult Spark Podcast. (Spoiler alert -- they mostly end up just fighting about it.) Also on the agenda are the pluses and minuses of television binge-watching, as well as some thoughts on classic TV dramas The Shield and The Wire. You know ... just because. Oh, and one last thing: If you haven't yet watched Breaking Bad but still plan to, a major season-four spoiler gets dropped repeatedly in this podcast's second half. You've been warned. Our podcast crew this episode is Bob Taylor (Cult Spark & CHUD), Stewart Smith (The Shelf & Cult Spark) and Tim Kelly (CHUD). To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Cult Spark Podcast via iTunes or pick up our podcast feed at CultSpark.com. This episode's music: Blondes Behaving Badly (Means) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0 CultSpark.com yes 50:59 Van Dammage Report: Cyborg http://cultspark.com/2013/03/18/van-dammage-report-cyborg/ http://cultspark.com/2013/03/18/van-dammage-report-cyborg/#disqus_thread Mon, 18 Mar 2013 16:56:07 +0000 Stewart Smith http://cultspark.com/?p=2396
Van Dammage Report: Cyborg

There are, generally speaking, two kinds of Jean-Claude Van Damme movies. The first kind being the ones that, while still not what one would consider a “quality film,” are still rightly entertaining and fun and have a certain flair to them. The second kind being those that are just flat-out bad, with almost nothing in [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/03/18/van-dammage-report-cyborg/feed/ 0 In defense of the Veronica Mars movie Kickstarter project http://cultspark.com/2013/03/14/in-defense-of-the-veronica-mars-movie-kickstarter-project/ http://cultspark.com/2013/03/14/in-defense-of-the-veronica-mars-movie-kickstarter-project/#disqus_thread Thu, 14 Mar 2013 04:28:09 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2430
In defense of the Veronica Mars movie Kickstarter project

Good news, people. There’s going to be a Veronica Mars movie, a continuation of the mostly great 2005-07 TV series that featured Kristen Bell as a whipcrack-smart pixie detective who solves crimes while navigating the hells of high school and later college. Though the second season was a little bit of a comedown after the [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/03/14/in-defense-of-the-veronica-mars-movie-kickstarter-project/feed/ 1 Episode 8 — Oz, Raimi and “The” Two-Face http://cultspark.com/2013/03/08/episode-8-oz-raimi-and-the-two-face/ http://cultspark.com/2013/03/08/episode-8-oz-raimi-and-the-two-face/#disqus_thread Fri, 08 Mar 2013 14:52:25 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2417 Oz: The Great and Powerful, the first new Sam Raimi film in four years, comes to theaters this weekend, and our podcast crew seizes the opportunity to dissect the Evil Dead maestro’s full filmography. CHUD’s Tim Kelly gives us his take on Oz, and then the whole team dives into Darkman, Drag Me to Hell, [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/03/08/episode-8-oz-raimi-and-the-two-face/feed/ 0 Evil Dead,Podcast,Sam Raimi,Sony PlayStation,Spider-Man Oz: The Great and Powerful, the first new Sam Raimi film in four years, comes to theaters this weekend, and our podcast crew seizes the opportunity to dissect the Evil Dead maestro's full filmography. CHUD's Tim Kelly gives us his take on Oz, Oz: The Great and Powerful, the first new Sam Raimi film in four years, comes to theaters this weekend, and our podcast crew seizes the opportunity to dissect the Evil Dead maestro's full filmography. CHUD's Tim Kelly gives us his take on Oz, and then the whole team dives into Darkman, Drag Me to Hell, the Spider-Man trilogy and more. Then, once they're done with Raimi, they show Sony some love by offering up their thoughts on the big PlayStation 4 reveal. Our podcast crew this episode is Bob Taylor (Cult Spark & CHUD), Stewart Smith (The Shelf & Cult Spark) and Tim Kelly (CHUD). To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Cult Spark Podcast via iTunes or pick up our podcast feed at CultSpark.com. This episode’s music: I'm On (Means) / CC BY-NC-SA 3.0   CultSpark.com yes 1:01:27 Reboot Court: Mad Max: Fury Road http://cultspark.com/2013/03/06/reboot-court-mad-max-fury-road/ http://cultspark.com/2013/03/06/reboot-court-mad-max-fury-road/#disqus_thread Wed, 06 Mar 2013 14:31:20 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2397
Reboot Court: Mad Max: Fury Road

Welcome to Reboot Court, where we drag an upcoming film remake in front of the judge — that would be me — and determine whether or not a do-over is a good idea. Court is now in session … The original film: Mad Max (d. George Miller, 1979) The story: In a dystopian world bled [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/03/06/reboot-court-mad-max-fury-road/feed/ 0 Van Dammage Report: Bloodsport http://cultspark.com/2013/02/26/van-dammage-report-bloodsport/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/26/van-dammage-report-bloodsport/#disqus_thread Tue, 26 Feb 2013 15:12:06 +0000 Stewart Smith http://cultspark.com/?p=2322
Van Dammage Report: Bloodsport

Though he was at one point one of the biggest action stars on the planet, Jean-Claude Van Damme never seems to quite get the due he deserves. Sure, he never was and never will be the icon that, say, Bruce Willis or Stallone or Schwazenegger are, but there’s something about Van Damme’s output that has [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/26/van-dammage-report-bloodsport/feed/ 1 Celebrating “That Guy” — David Costabile http://cultspark.com/2013/02/22/celebrating-that-guy-david-costabile/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/22/celebrating-that-guy-david-costabile/#disqus_thread Fri, 22 Feb 2013 14:58:10 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2345
Celebrating "That Guy" -- David Costabile

The first time I ever actively noticed David Costabile was in season one of Damages, where he played Rick Messer, a crooked, murdering police detective responsible for doing Ted Danson’s dirty work. The guy was pure scumbag. You couldn’t help but feel your stomach lurch whenever he was on screen. Costabile was so good in [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/22/celebrating-that-guy-david-costabile/feed/ 1 Movie review: A Good Day to Die Hard http://cultspark.com/2013/02/18/movie-review-a-good-day-to-die-hard/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/18/movie-review-a-good-day-to-die-hard/#disqus_thread Mon, 18 Feb 2013 15:30:19 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2299
Movie review: A Good Day to Die Hard

In our podcast we recently released as part of Die Hard Week, I remarked that, to me, the Die Hard franchise was still creatively viable as it had yet to put forward an installment as creative bankrupt at, say, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. Well, that was then … A Good [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/18/movie-review-a-good-day-to-die-hard/feed/ 0 Retrospect Hard: Finding silver linings in Live Free or Die hard http://cultspark.com/2013/02/15/retrospect-hard-finding-silver-linings-in-live-free-or-die-hard/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/15/retrospect-hard-finding-silver-linings-in-live-free-or-die-hard/#disqus_thread Fri, 15 Feb 2013 15:25:13 +0000 Terrence Aybar http://cultspark.com/?p=2287
Retrospect Hard: Finding silver linings<br> in Live Free or Die hard

Let’s face it, there’s quite a bit wrong with Live Free or Die Hard. Everybody’s got one bone or another to pick with the film, and, in most cases, they’re justifiable. Still, Live Free has enough working for it that it winds up being a completely serviceable action flick, just one that sadly falls short [...]

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in Live Free or Die hard appeared first on Cult Spark.

]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/15/retrospect-hard-finding-silver-linings-in-live-free-or-die-hard/feed/ 0 The simple joys of a well-sweded Die Hard http://cultspark.com/2013/02/14/the-simple-joys-of-a-well-sweded-die-hard/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/14/the-simple-joys-of-a-well-sweded-die-hard/#disqus_thread Thu, 14 Feb 2013 16:40:29 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2168 “Sweded” movies were born from the 2008 cult movie Be Kind Rewind, and novice filmmakers are busy making home-brewed versions of their favorite flicks still today. It’s no surprise that Die Hard is a popular target, with a bunch of sweded versions floating around the Net. These three are our favorites:

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/14/the-simple-joys-of-a-well-sweded-die-hard/feed/ 0 Retrospect Hard: Championing Die Hard With a Vengeance http://cultspark.com/2013/02/13/retrospect-hard-championing-die-hard-with-a-vengeance/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/13/retrospect-hard-championing-die-hard-with-a-vengeance/#disqus_thread Wed, 13 Feb 2013 21:09:18 +0000 Stewart Smith http://cultspark.com/?p=2115
Retrospect Hard: <br>Championing Die Hard With a Vengeance

Pulling off a sequel is hard enough. But pulling off a threequel? Even harder. Expectations are either insurmountably high (assuming you’re one of the lucky ones who has a sequel better than the original) or people walk in pessimistic, having been burned and are even more inclined to compare you to the original. Every now [...]

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Championing Die Hard With a Vengeance appeared first on Cult Spark.

]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/13/retrospect-hard-championing-die-hard-with-a-vengeance/feed/ 0 Die Hard: Beyond the movies http://cultspark.com/2013/02/13/die-hard-beyond-the-movies/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/13/die-hard-beyond-the-movies/#disqus_thread Wed, 13 Feb 2013 15:49:02 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2001
Die Hard: Beyond the movies

Did you know the first two Die Hard movies were based on pre-existing novels? Or that eight videogames based on the Die Hard franchise have been released? Or that Al Powell once showed up on an episode of Chuck?! If not, settle in, as we’re going to take you through the inspirations for and spinoffs [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/13/die-hard-beyond-the-movies/feed/ 0 Retrospect Hard: In defense of Die Hard 2 http://cultspark.com/2013/02/12/retrospect-hard-in-defense-of-die-hard-2/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/12/retrospect-hard-in-defense-of-die-hard-2/#disqus_thread Tue, 12 Feb 2013 21:14:07 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2134
Retrospect Hard: In defense of Die Hard 2

The smartest thing Die Hard 2 does is acknowledge how preposterous it is that John McClane has found himself once again involved in a life-or-death situation against a well-armed militia with nefarious plans. Or as McClane himself puts it: “How can the same shit happen to the same guy twice?!” And then later, while inside [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/12/retrospect-hard-in-defense-of-die-hard-2/feed/ 0 Episode 7 — Welcome to the Party, Pal http://cultspark.com/2013/02/12/the-cult-spark-podcast-episode-7-welcome-to-the-party-pal/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/12/the-cult-spark-podcast-episode-7-welcome-to-the-party-pal/#disqus_thread Tue, 12 Feb 2013 14:52:04 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2141 It’s Die Hard week at Cult Spark, and we’ve brought our podcast along for the ride! Join the gang as they talk the original action classic, the Die Hard sequels, the upcoming A Good Day to Die Hard and the ten million Die Hard on a ____ ripoffs that were released in the first film’s [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/12/the-cult-spark-podcast-episode-7-welcome-to-the-party-pal/feed/ 2 Die Hard,Podcast It's Die Hard week at Cult Spark, and we've brought our podcast along for the ride! Join the gang as they talk the original action classic, the Die Hard sequels, the upcoming A Good Day to Die Hard and the ten million Die Hard on a ____ ripoffs that we... It's Die Hard week at Cult Spark, and we've brought our podcast along for the ride! Join the gang as they talk the original action classic, the Die Hard sequels, the upcoming A Good Day to Die Hard and the ten million Die Hard on a ____ ripoffs that were released in the first film's wake. Our podcast crew this episode is Bob Taylor (Cult Spark & CHUD), Stewart Smith (The Shelf & Cult Spark) and Terrence Aybar (Cult Spark). To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Cult Spark Podcast via iTunes or pick up our podcast feed at CultSpark.com. This episode’s music: Ludwig van Beethoven (1770-1827): The Symphony No 9 in D minor, Op 125 "Choral" (1824) -- Concertgebouw Orchestra conducted by Otto Klemperer, Live Performance May 17, 1956 / Creative Commons   CultSpark.com yes 57:17 Retrospect Hard: Celebrating the original Die Hard http://cultspark.com/2013/02/11/retrospect-hard-celebrating-the-original-die-hard/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/11/retrospect-hard-celebrating-the-original-die-hard/#disqus_thread Mon, 11 Feb 2013 23:26:20 +0000 Tim Kelly http://cultspark.com/?p=2231
Retrospect Hard: <br>Celebrating the original Die Hard

As far as Christmas parties go, Nakatomi Plaza ‘88 promised to be a raucous night of boozing, cocaine and interoffice sexcapades. That is (record scratch), until Hans Gruber and his merry band of evildoers storm the building and hold it hostage for a king’s sum. But they missed one important fact: Nakatomi exec Holly Gennaro’s [...]

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Celebrating the original Die Hard appeared first on Cult Spark.

]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/11/retrospect-hard-celebrating-the-original-die-hard/feed/ 0 The Movie Villain Hall of Fame: Hans Gruber http://cultspark.com/2013/02/11/movie-villain-hall-of-fame-hans-gruber/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/11/movie-villain-hall-of-fame-hans-gruber/#disqus_thread Mon, 11 Feb 2013 17:47:26 +0000 Terrence Aybar http://cultspark.com/?p=2088
The Movie Villain Hall of Fame: Hans Gruber

“Who said we were terrorists?” — Hans Gruber, Die Hard It’s in this very moment — in Alan Rickman’s amused, conversational delivery of that simple line — that John McTiernan’s genre-defying classic Die Hard begins to toy with our expectations on its way to becoming more than anyone ever guessed it could be. And it’s [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/11/movie-villain-hall-of-fame-hans-gruber/feed/ 3 Welcome to Die Hard week! http://cultspark.com/2013/02/11/welcome-to-die-hard-week/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/11/welcome-to-die-hard-week/#disqus_thread Mon, 11 Feb 2013 05:02:59 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2154
Welcome to Die Hard week!

In celebration of the Thursday release of A Good Day to Die Hard, the new — and, let’s be honest, probably shitty — installment in the saga of John McClane, we’ve decided to declare this “Die Hard Week” here at Cult Spark. After all, the original is an action masterpiece that no amount of lesser [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/11/welcome-to-die-hard-week/feed/ 1 Star Wars needs to look forward, not backward http://cultspark.com/2013/02/05/star-wars-needs-to-look-forward-not-backward/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/05/star-wars-needs-to-look-forward-not-backward/#disqus_thread Wed, 06 Feb 2013 01:05:43 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2095
Star Wars needs to look forward, not backward

Yesterday, AICN published a scoop that, in addition to Star Wars Episodes VII through IX, Disney was also planning a spinoff film centering on the series’ most famous swamp dweller, Yoda. At the time, I had a hard time believing it was true, though it seems more likely now that Disney CEO Bob Iger has [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/05/star-wars-needs-to-look-forward-not-backward/feed/ 3 Videogame review: DmC: Devil May Cry http://cultspark.com/2013/02/04/videogame-review-dmc-devil-may-cry/ http://cultspark.com/2013/02/04/videogame-review-dmc-devil-may-cry/#disqus_thread Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:32:08 +0000 Stewart Smith http://cultspark.com/?p=2078
Videogame review: DmC: Devil May Cry

This review is a bit late, yes. Although it was because, in truth, I simply can’t stop playing this game. As I said in my demo impressions a couple months back, there has been no shortage of controversy surrounding Capcom’s reboot of their groundbreaking Stylish Hard Action series, Devil May Cry. A graphics engine that [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/02/04/videogame-review-dmc-devil-may-cry/feed/ 0 Disney’s Paperman soars to YouTube http://cultspark.com/2013/01/30/disneys-paperman-soars-to-youtube/ http://cultspark.com/2013/01/30/disneys-paperman-soars-to-youtube/#disqus_thread Thu, 31 Jan 2013 01:25:26 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=2070 I finally took my kids to see Disney’s Wreck-It Ralph a few weeks back, and it was fantastic. Have no idea why I waited so long to see it. (You can hear me raving about it roughly 42 minutes into our most recent podcast.) Also fantastic was the short that proceeded it — Paperman, which [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/01/30/disneys-paperman-soars-to-youtube/feed/ 2 The network drama is officially dead … at my house, anyway http://cultspark.com/2013/01/28/the-network-drama-is-officially-dead-at-my-house-anyway/ http://cultspark.com/2013/01/28/the-network-drama-is-officially-dead-at-my-house-anyway/#disqus_thread Mon, 28 Jan 2013 15:43:57 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=1991
The network drama is officially dead ... at my house, anyway

Talking to a friend the other day, I mentioned how I was going to pass on sampling any of the new TV dramas debuting this winter because I was hoping to cut back on the amount of television I watch for a while to catch up on some movies. He said he was considering the [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/01/28/the-network-drama-is-officially-dead-at-my-house-anyway/feed/ 0 Episode 6 — Liam Neeson, Wolf-Puncher http://cultspark.com/2013/01/25/the-cult-spark-podcast-episode-6-liam-neeson-wolf-puncher/ http://cultspark.com/2013/01/25/the-cult-spark-podcast-episode-6-liam-neeson-wolf-puncher/#disqus_thread Fri, 25 Jan 2013 14:27:23 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=1970 Our podcast crew looks back on the year recently ended in episode six of the Cult Spark Podcast. Among the 2012 film highlights discussed at length are Django Unchained, The Grey, Cloud Atlas, The Master, Wreck-It Ralph and more. Props are also given to a few of the videogames and TV shows that stood out [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/01/25/the-cult-spark-podcast-episode-6-liam-neeson-wolf-puncher/feed/ 2 Brave,Cloud Atlas,Django Unchained,Far Cry,Journey,Pixar,Podcast,Quentin Tarantino,The Cabin in the Woods,The Grey,The Master,Wreck-It-Ralph Our podcast crew looks back on the year recently ended in episode six of the Cult Spark Podcast. Among the 2012 film highlights discussed at length are Django Unchained, The Grey, Cloud Atlas, The Master, Wreck-It Ralph and more. Our podcast crew looks back on the year recently ended in episode six of the Cult Spark Podcast. Among the 2012 film highlights discussed at length are Django Unchained, The Grey, Cloud Atlas, The Master, Wreck-It Ralph and more. Props are also given to a few of the videogames and TV shows that stood out last year. Here's the full breakdown: 0:00 — Introduction 1:39 — Tim and Stew's 10 Best Movies of 2012 / Zero Dark Thirty / awards-season talk 8:11 — The Cabin in the Woods 9:46 -- Django Unchained 21:13 -- Cloud Atlas 24:13 -- The Grey 36:00 -- The Master 39:10 -- 2012 disappointments and surprises / Prometheus / 21 Jump Street 42:00 -- Wreck-It Ralph, Brave and the state of Pixar 52:34 -- Skyfall (Curious why Bob dislikes it so much? Check out his review.) 54:36 -- 2012's best videogames and TV series / Journey / Far Cry 3 / The Walking Dead game / Breaking Bad Your Cult Spark Podcasters for this episode are Bob Taylor (Cult Spark & CHUD), Stewart Smith (The Shelf & Cult Spark) and Tim Kelly (CHUD). To make sure you catch every episode, you can subscribe to The Cult Spark Podcast via iTunes or pick up our podcast feed at CultSpark.com. This episode's music: Vuelta a Empezar (Fantasmage) / CC BY-NC-ND 3.0   CultSpark.com yes 1:07:43 An early look at Bayonetta 2 http://cultspark.com/2013/01/23/an-early-look-at-bayonetta2/ http://cultspark.com/2013/01/23/an-early-look-at-bayonetta2/#disqus_thread Wed, 23 Jan 2013 17:47:22 +0000 Terrence Aybar http://cultspark.com/?p=1958
An early look at Bayonetta 2

Platinum Games has finally shown off a bit of the Nintendo Wii-U exclusive Bayonetta 2, which is already looking pretty good even in development form. The director on the first, Hideki Kamiya, has taken the role of supervising producer on the sequel while Yusuke Hashimoto, producer of the original game, takes over the reins as [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/01/23/an-early-look-at-bayonetta2/feed/ 0 Dead Space 3 demo impressions http://cultspark.com/2013/01/16/dead-space-3-demo-impressions/ http://cultspark.com/2013/01/16/dead-space-3-demo-impressions/#disqus_thread Wed, 16 Jan 2013 19:02:29 +0000 Terrence Aybar http://cultspark.com/?p=1944
Dead Space 3 demo impressions

After playing the demo for Visceral Games’ highly anticipated Dead Space 3 last night and getting some hands-on time with both the single player and co-op components of it, I can say with great relief that Dead Space 3 is still as scary and intense as ever, if the bit I got to experience was [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/01/16/dead-space-3-demo-impressions/feed/ 0 Going puzzling with The Room http://cultspark.com/2013/01/11/going-puzzling-with-the-room/ http://cultspark.com/2013/01/11/going-puzzling-with-the-room/#disqus_thread Fri, 11 Jan 2013 15:51:32 +0000 Robert Brian Taylor http://cultspark.com/?p=1908
Going puzzling with The Room

I’ve always liked puzzles. Growing up I was constantly buying various types of Rubik’s Cube-esque contraptions to fiddle with. I remember, as a teen, being at the house of some friends of my parents’. They had this little plastic puzzle. It was four interconnected cubes with a big red ball trapped inside one of them. [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/01/11/going-puzzling-with-the-room/feed/ 0 In memoriam: David R. Ellis http://cultspark.com/2013/01/08/in-memoriam-david-r-ellis/ http://cultspark.com/2013/01/08/in-memoriam-david-r-ellis/#disqus_thread Tue, 08 Jan 2013 21:04:45 +0000 Terrence Aybar http://cultspark.com/?p=1900
In memoriam: David R. Ellis

It was about half hour before Final Destination 2 would start, and I’d already eaten a couple of “special” cookies, which I then chased down with a triple espresso from Starbucks. By the time the projector started to roll, I wasn’t just wired to the gills — I was on another planet completely. And yet [...]

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]]> http://cultspark.com/2013/01/08/in-memoriam-david-r-ellis/feed/ 0 The Movie Villain Hall of Fame: Timothy http://cultspark.com/2013/01/03/the-movie-villain-hall-of-fame-timothy/ http://cultspark.com/2013/01/03/the-movie-villain-hall-of-fame-timothy/#disqus_thread Thu, 03 Jan 2013 15:38:59 +0000 Terrence Aybar http://cultspark.com/?p=1879
The Movie Villain Hall of Fame: Timothy

“And Charlie … you fuck with me, I’ll blind the kid and shoot out her knees.” — Timothy, The Long Kiss Goodnight I mean, I could pretty much leave it at that and be done with it. Once you start threatening children, you’re automatically ranked up to grade-A douche status, no questions asked. But seeing [...]

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