Tag Archives: tom cruise

Benheck.com Podcast Episode 96

benheck_podcast

I’m getting over a cold, so please excuse my weak voice and any coughing I couldn’t quite edit out.

Juicy topics includes:

  • The Nintendo Switch Reveal
    • Our thoughts on the reveal trailer.
    • Do 6 star hotels exist?
    • We try to remember the name of the Wisconsin city “Kenosha”
    • Who is this product for? xWill 3rd parties support it?
    • What the system needs to do in order to have a chance.
  • Microsoft Surface Products and new Apple Macbooks
    • MS is going for the markets Apple has traditionally held.
    • Why Microsoft should concentrate on enterprise customers.
    • Could a Surface Phone ever exist?
    • Is Apple screwing their most loyal customers? Do they even care?
    • How do you pronounce “Wacom”?
  • Bethesda’s new Game Review policy 
    • They are no longer giving out advance review copies.
    • Only available to critics one day before launch.
    • Why are they doing this? We discuss reaons beyond knee-jerk reactions.
  • Ben finally sees the Ghostbuster remake!
    • (Trigger warning: I kind of liked it)
    • Jones discusses how it compares to Paul Feig’s previous movies (which I have not seen)
    • How the original Ghostbusters painted itself into a corner in such a way that made sequels difficult and remakes easier.
    • Jones has noticed Tom Cruise has had a lot of recent movies with strong female leads.
    • How other recent movies have given women strong roles without just doing a “gender swap”.
    • Then Jones and I go completely off topic and discuss Bram Stoker’s Dracula and The Rocketeer.

Enjoy!

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The framed Mad Magazine comic I mention during the podcast.
The framed Mad Magazine comic I mention during the podcast.

 

Ben Heck Podcast Episode 76

Yes, believe it or not, we’ve done a year-end podcast! We’ve got a lot of topics, including:

  • How Liam Neeson might organically slip the line “You Sunk My Battleship!” into Universal’s $250 million “Battleship” movie.
  • Our favorite games of 2011, and biggest disappointments.
  • Tom Cruise, Scientology and the expense of going to the movies.
  • Zombie trend in gaming, and why a zombie apocalypse wouldn’t be as cool as nerds would hope.
  • Our latest adventures in pinball.
  • Tablets and phones versus portable gaming systems.
  • Speculation about the next Xbox and what if it’s ARM based.
  • Why “Project 10 Dollar” is just the tip of the digital download only future.
  • The problems with Rocky 4. Yes, it has problems.
  • Netflix and the future of media.

Enjoy and have a happy new year!

Download Ben Heck Dot Com Podcast # 76!

 

 

 

Movie Prediction Madness: June 25th-27th

We’re back again with more Movie Prediction Madness!

For this coming weekend, expect the good-but-overrated “Toy Story 3” to have another #1 weekend, probably well north of $50 million. Why these movies continue to get higher Tomatometers than much better films like “Wall-E” or “Up” is beyond me. Probably because they’re not risky like the ones I just mentioned.

The other 2 openers are a bit of a wild card. Firstly, I think “Knight and Day” will open well, despite the media’s strange, continued desire to convince us Tom Cruise is no longer a movie star. Guess what – he is, and more so than media darlings Brad Pitt or George Clooney will ever be. I’d be more worried about Cameron Diaz who, for whatever reason, is one of the highest paid actresses out there. She’s had more turds than Cruise ever will.

So say $40-$50 million on that one, and could have decent legs. Even the negative reviews on Rotten Tomatoes give it a lot of compliments.

Then there’s “Grown Ups”, which I assume will be an entire movie about 45 year olds acting like children. While I’m sure this movie will be god-awful, it does have a “Couple Retreat” vibe going for it plus a bunch of washed up stars and the Mall Cop guy. So people will show up. Expect a bunch of nonsense, then a touchy feely ending where they confess to their wives / kids that they’re the greatest treasure of all or some BS like that.

$35-$45 million, possibly a close race with Tom Cruise for 2nd.

Tune in next week as I try and predict exactly how much more than $100 million Twilight will open at! Also, Last Airbender is going to bomb – big time.