Repo Men starring Jude Law and Forest Whitaker is a movie I have been looking forward to for quite some time now, it was shot back in 2007 and after much delay is finally seeing the light of day Friday March 19^th.  Some feel the delay was in part due to the studio waiting to release the film at a later date to limit confusion with another Repo Men like film, Repo! The Genetic Opera. While some people might feel Repo Men is a simply a knock off of Darren Smith’s modern opera masterpiece, one must have to keep in mind not only were both films shot at the same time, but they were also edited in the same production suite as well.

The script for Repo Men actually dates back to late 2003. Screenwriters Eric Garcia and Garrett Lerner began collaborating with director Miguel Sapochnik on a script  -based on a novel that was being written by Garcia at the time. In June 2007 production on the film started with Jude Law attached, and the novel has since been published as of March 31, 2009.                                              The plot of the film goes something like this:

In the future you can buy a longer life – engineered organs are available, but at a hefty price. Spare parts are a big business and if you can’t make your payments it’s the Repomen’s job to re-possess them at any cost. Jude law plays a repoman who after an accident receives a new heart and lease on life. With the tables now turned he can no longer bring himself fulfill his duties now that the shoe is on the other foot. Now he is the one who is on the run from the repomen, because his bill is past due.

Enter after the Jump!

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If you’re a bonafide Rock Band Legend, you may want to head to @tommyup‘s PYT next Monday, March 8th at 10pm for Plastic Rock.  The event follows the basic karaoke format, so this should be a good time.

Those familiar with this trendy burger joint already know that they have a knack for attracting local geeks to the swanky “hidden” party room in the back like moths to a flame.  It doesn’t have a name, but my friends like to call it “Fangtasia” since the decor resembles that of the vampire club in HBO’s True Blood.

The event will be hosted by local DJ @fatboymonster and the drink specials are  $1 well drinks from 10-11pm.

Rock Band 1 and 2 will be available for play, so dust off that telecaster fire up some Nine Inch Nails (or Alanis Morissette if you’re that guy).

There will be prizes so stay tuned for more details!

Plastic Rock: Rock Band Karaoke @ P.Y.T.
The Piazza at Schmidt’s
1050 N Hancock Street, Philadelphia, PA
(215) 268-7825

After a successful first event back in June, our good friends and hilarious podcasters, Used Wigs, are hosting their second live show on Friday, March 19th.

The Used Wigs crew will be hitting the upstairs at World Cafe Live in University City. Expect the usual Used Wigs antics; prizes, raffles, videos, trivia, and more.

Guests include New York City actor and comedian Dave Hill, our favorite CBS3 news-anchor Nicole Brewer (swoon!), and a live performance by local Philly band Audible.

The Geekadelphia crew are counting down the days, and looking forward to the show. To pick up tickets, visit World Cafe Live’s official website.

Used Wigs
www.usedwigs.com

After reading a recent Joystiq post highlighting some incredible artwork from various deviantART users, I began to reminisce of the good ol’ days. It was just me, my SNES and my paltry selection of games back then, but boy did I play them until it was time for the rubbing alcohol and Q-Tips.

Being one of the kids who was behind the times on my block (and arguably still is), I was popping in games like Super Mario All Stars and Super Metroid while my friends were rocking it to Star Fox 64 and Tomb Raider. While looking at these endearing renditions of some of my favorite childhood classics, all I could think about was Ardy and his goofy Kirby-knockoff sidekick, Pec. Yes, Ardy Lightfoot for the SNES is one of my favorite games of all time… and it’s absolutely awful. Find out why I love Ardy so much and more importantly, why this is all relevant, after the jump. (more…)

Ponyo (崖の上のポニョ, Gake no Ue no Ponyo, literally “Ponyo on the Cliff”) comes out today and is the latest and purportedly last film to be written and directed by Hayao Miyazaki for Studio Ghibli.  It is his eighth film for the studio and his tenth overall. The film is influenced, or inspired if you will by the Hans Christian Anderson’s story The Little Mermaid, but before you go thinking about singing crabs and well placed seashell bikinis; this is definitely a much different, and much more Japanese take on the story.

Unlike Disney’s original take on the tale, Ponyo doesn’t start the story out as a nubile young mermaid, but more like a pudgy little goldfish with big dreams. Ponyo wants to explore the world outside her father’s house deep under the ocean, but is not allowed. So one day Ponyo decides to escape, and goes off to explore the sea only to get stuck in a jar, and wash up ashore a small fishing village in Japan.  A young boy Sōsuke finds Ponyo stuck in the jar and frees the little fish, promising to watch over her always. Struck by the boys caring and generous nature, Ponyo falls in love with Sōsuke and begins her quest. Not only to live on the surface, but to be a human girl, so she can spend the rest of her life with Sōsuke.

I loved the film and while it was very different from the original story, some parts still rang very true. Ponyo to me was imaginative in both story and style, and was very reminiscent of the older Disney films in that they took some real chances. I thought this was a great film and sadly missed it during its theatrical run, but thanks to this release we can all watch this great film in a very nice 2 disc Blu-ray and DVD combo pack. I do have to admit when Disney started doing this I thought it was a very smart idea. See you get the Blu-ray, but you also get the DVD as well for a decent price; that way the DVD can be live with the kids and possibly be destroyed, while the Blu-ray sits safely in your library.  Now for a review of some of the features of the disc:

Check after the jump for more on this release!

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Remember that fun little contest we launched last week? Little Big Philadelphia? There’s still a lot of time to enter.

See, we’re challenging you, dear reader, to create Philadelphia in Little Big Planet. The grand prize winner will get a PSPGo and a $50 PSN gift card, with runners up receiving a $25 PSN gift card and Little Big Planet: Game of the Year Edition.

For all the details on the contest, please visit the contest’s official page here on Geekadelphia, or visit littlebigphiladelphia.com. You’ve got until March 10th to create and submit your levels.

I’d also like to take a moment to thank all the online news outlets who have covered our contest. Especially Griffin McElroy over at Joystiq, Sarah Brannan at Platform Nation, Jeff Rubenstein at the Playstation Blog, and the kind folks at Sackcast, The Hoosier Times, and Technically Philly. The track backs have been fantastic.

Little Big Philadelphia
www.littlebigphiladelphia.com

Let it be said that George Romero has been a very lucky man when it comes to remakes of his films. While most directors have watched their plundered film properties populate the $5 bin at BestBuy. George consistently dodges the proverbial bullet with remakes that not only highlight his politically charged and thought provoking writing, but he always manages to luck out by consistently getting directors that just “get it”.

For example: Night of the Living Dead was directed by none other than Tom Savini himself, and is already considered a horror masterpiece much like the original. The Dawn of the Dead remake that was helmed by then little known then director Zach Snyder, went on to be one of the films that reintroduced zombie films to the mainstream mind. Now his 1973 dissertation on biological warfare The Crazies is up for the remake treatment, and honestly folks it looks like his streak of luck continues.

The Crazies is about a biological weapon that slowly creeps in the water supply of Ogden Marsh, a small town in Iowa. It infects a few citizens at first, until it breaks into full on epidemic – throwing the once peaceful small town into chaos. Now if you’re familiar with Romero films at all, the military always seems to get involved, and not always in a good way. Often buffoonish and brutish, in The Crazies they are there to attempt to contain the town, only we find their methods may not be the most humanitarian for those who are not infected with the virus.

The story follows the small town sheriff David Dutton (Timothy Olyphant) and his pregnant wife Judy (Radha Mitchell) as they try to escape the town as it goes to hell, and save their unborn child. They are assisted in their escape by the sheriff’s loyal deputy Russell Clank, (Joe Anderson) who takes what has always been, and what could very well be a very one-dimensional character and fleshes him out quite a bit and really makes him into the emotional crux of the film.  While the film is very stereotypical at times in both plot and characters (we’ve seen this story a dozen times) it survives on the merit of its great writing and excellent direction.

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