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Movie Review – Mission 404 : Internet doit rester vivant

Fandom, Furry, Internet, Krypton Radio, Movie Reviews, Net Culture, Satire, Television, Web Series No Responses »

Jun 122013

Krypton Radio Internet Movie Review

By Senior Editor, PK

We must caution you up front that the following videos are for mature or non-prudish audiences only

Even if you’re not European, you may have seen some of the commercials floating around the internet from French soft drink company Orangina. The company well known in many parts of the world for it’s distinctive carbonated citrus beverage made from orange, lemon, mandarin, and grapefruit juices contained in a pear shaped bottle.

It was around the time of 2008 that the company became infamous online, when YouTube videos appeared of its controversial TV marketing campaign featuring CGI rendered anthropomorphic animals dancing about in sexually suggestive situations. And while this isn’t really anything new, (have you ever seen old school Warner Bros. cartoons?) the company enjoyed the popularity and produced many new adult themed commercials with the anthro characters, along with many purely human based ads.

Capitalizing on it’s growing internet fame with its humorous commercials, Orangina recently produced a short filmed called “Mission 404 : Internet doit rester vivant” (Mission 404: Internet should remain alive). A 14 minute long piece of pure marketing parody/genius. The story follows the adventure of an unlikely hero as he must save the world from ruin and embarrassment, when a former special agent from the Internet Security Agency, who had become trapped within the internet while fighting the infamous Y2K bug arises as the deadly Mister Blaster.

(Mister) Blaster terrorizes the internet by releasing the most embarrassing details about the world’s population through exposure of their online lives, and forwarding the launch codes of a powerful nuclear weapon to a man with the intellect of a ten-year old who’s ready to throw a tantrum and blow up the world. Our hero Martin, an intern at the Internet Security Agency, accidentally steps into a transporter beam with a special-ops team sent to destroy the now evil agent who has captured the all powerful “@” sign.

Transported to the internet (which is medieval themed) where memes and icons slowly take out members of the special-ops team; Martin and the team leader encounter websites in human form, who’ve come to their aid while trying to save the internet. Miss Google, who appears to have taken a liking to Martin, leads him to the headquarters of the resistance where he meets the all knowing (but sometimes mistaken) monk Wikipedia, occasionally stuck warrior YouTube, the blue knight Sir Facebook, WebMD, and many others.

Through perseverance and constant internet puns, our heroes fight the army of scantly clad ‘Girls from your local city,’ as they make their way to the fortress of Mister Blaster. It’s an all out war of internet parody as Orangina’s marketing team hits another one out of the park with ‘Mission 404 : Internet doit rester vivant.’

If you want a good laugh, and enjoy some minor lewd adult humor, then this movie is for you.

I give it a 5 out of 5 stars.

And yes, it’s subtitled.

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Links:

Some of our favorite Orangina commercials:

Elves Watching Fans Watching Elves

Books, Fandom, Lord of the Rings, Movies, Net Culture No Responses »

Jun 122013

The_Hobbit_The_Desolation_Of_Smaug_36556

There’s something very circular about this. Yesterday we published an article about the first trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug.

The first shows two fans’ reactions to the new trailer. It’s from the TORnHappyHobbit YouTube channel.

The second shows three very familiar elves – or the actors who play them – in full stage dress reacting to the video; it came from Peter Jackson’s Facebook page only a few hours after Kili and Fili posted their video.

Evangeline Lilly (Tauriel), Orlando Bloom (Legolas) and Lee Pace (Thranduil) watch in delight as sisters Kelli & Alex (“Kili & Fili”), who regularly contribute to the fan site TheOneRing.net, react to the new trailer.

To all writers and filmmakers and screenwriters and actors who believe that fans do not have ownership of the dreams you create, you need to watch these two videos. When you create something wonderful that the fans embrace, you’ve given them a gift beyond price. And having given it to them, it might be yours to do with as you wish, but don’t forget that it’s theirs now too.

Don’t just observe it. Be a part of it and celebrate it. We’re all the fans. It’s for all of us. It’s okay – you can squee along with the rest of us. We know you’re fans too, or you wouldn’t be making the stuff in the first place. You’re among friends.

Krypton Radio First Look: Doctor Who – Besieged

Doctor Who, Fan Films, Fandom, Fantasy / Horror, Science Fiction, Web Series No Responses »

Jun 102013

It’s a Doctor Who / Aliens crossover fan film series, and done entirely for fun and the love of it. The first of the films was finished in 2010 to great acclaim from the British Doctor Who fandom community. Now they’ve just completed another, the second installment in the series.

This being a fan film allows the creators to do things with the story that couldn’t be done otherwise because of the normally unsolvable licensing issues – the other half of this equation is Ridley Scott’s Aliens films, who provide the all too necessary monsters for this Who epic.

Ryan Hendrick writes and produces, and has cast himself in the title role, breaking a long tradition of exomorph actors – but he establishes himself quickly as The Doctor and you don’t look back. It could so have been a disastrous decision, but Hendrick knows his abilities and pulls it off well.

The Doctor, of course, has a companion – and in this case the role of Ade is played by Natalie Clarke, who brings a quirky sense of humor and a vibrant energy to the screen which perfectly counterpoints this more thoughtful incarnation of the Timelord she travels with.

Given that we have to wait till November to see the next episode of the real series, and that after the Christmas Special we’re going to be waiting until August of 2014 to see any more, Doctor Who – Besieged couldn’t have come at a better time.

They’re even mimicking the prequels and teasers the BBC releases prior to their own series airing, and to great effect. They’re really going for the full simulcrum of the Doctor Who experience, and it works astonishingly well. In fact, if you’re reading this, Steve Moffat, you could do worse than cast this fellow in the real show.

Have a look at this first prequel for the first film – we’ll be showing you this in pieces over the next few weeks, just as the BBC would do. We realize you can just look it all up on YouTube, but we want to have a little fun with it too, signing ourselves up for a little bit of make believe.

We’ll show you more tomorrow.

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The Event Horizon: Dr. Rebecca Housel, The Pop Culture Professor!

Comics, Conventions, Fandom, Internet, Krypton Radio, Marvel / DC, Movies, Net Culture, Politics, Science Fiction, Superhero, Television, The Event Horizon No Responses »

Jun 082013

“Knowledge through Pop Culture”

rebeccahousel The first female scholar in the United States to focus on comics, Dr. Rebecca Housel, is appearing on The Event Horizon this evening at 9pm PST, 12AM EST! Join hosts Gene Turnbow and Susan Fox as they engage Dr. Housel in a fascinating discussion of popular culture, our influence on it and its influence on us. We talk about everything from sparkly vampires to zombies, societal need for superheroes to gender bias in fiction, and we can tell you now that of all the guests we’ve had on the show, she is one of the most entertaining, informative and knowledgeable speakers on the topic of popular culture and how it shapes our lives.

Housel, who celebrates her 18th year in the classroom in 2012, is a freelance writer and editor. Her recent titles in Wiley’s Pop Culture and Philosophy series includes work on X-Men (2009), Twilight (2009, 2010), and HBO’s Emmy-winning series, True Blood (2010, 2011). Housel’s work in medical narratives has earned her inclusion in the Directory of American Poets and Writers as well as a sponsored membership by New York Times Bestselling author, Rebecca Skloot, in the National Association of Science Writers (NASW).

Housel is on the Editorial Advisory Boards for the Journal of Popular Culture and Journal of American Culture; her most recent book review for the Duke University Press volume, Sex and Disability (2012), can be found in the Journal of American Culture. Dr. Housel was one of 100 American writers invited to participate in Yale’s Inaugural Writer’s Conference for her work in medical narratives in June 2012; she was also a TED speaker in June, presenting, “Why Story is the Best Medicine,” on how using the patient’s narrative can save not only thousands of patient’s lives each year, but has the potential to save millions in health care dollars, too.

She also teaches writing classes called The Hero in Popular Culture.

Tune in at 9pm PST / 12am EST today to hear Dr. Rebecca Housel, the Pop Culture Professor!

The show reprises Sunday 4pm PST / 7pm EST.

The Event Horizon – it’s Sci-Fi for your Wi-Fi!

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Avengers To Assemble on Mobile Devices

Comics, Games, Internet, Marvel / DC, Mobile Devices, Net Culture No Responses »

Jun 052013

by staff writer Michael Brown

Disney Interactive and the Marvel’s Avengers game for Facebook are about to assemble on your mobile devices. Marvel’s Avengers Alliance will be available for Apple iOS on June 13, with an Android version to follow. The Final Fantasy-esque, turn based game stars players as agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. and features 40 Marvel heroes for players to recruit in an immersive storyline about a disaster that strikes Manhattan. An event occurs which causes villains to run amok by taking advantage of a mysterious substance dubbed Iso-8. Players recruit their heroes to combat Marvel villains such as Doctor Doom, Whiplash, Sandman, and The Hood, to name a few.

“We think there’s a lot of people who don’t play games on Facebook that really want to play this game,” says Justin Woods, producer on Avengers Alliance.

Agents will recruit heroes such as Captain America, Iron Man, the Hulk, and Black Widow. Players will have access to 60 missions, with extra chapters, missions, heroes, and other items available through in-app purchase. The mobile launch will be followed by the arrival of the second season of the Facebook game on June 18. Players will travel the globe fighting villains and searching for Iso-8 in all-new missions featuring new heroes including Moon Knight, Captain Britain, and Squirrel Girl. Season One helped “set the table” for the Avengers Alliance universe, says Woods, adding, “It’s actually really just begun for the Avengers and it’s about to get a whole lot worse.” Since launching last year, Avengers Alliance has been wildly popular on Facebook, with more than 40 million game installations. Woods says Avengers Alliance filled a void for players seeking a less casual experience.

“Hardcore gamers don’t really play games on Facebook,” Woods also said. “And it’s just because they didn’t have the right game to play. Now you see more and more games targeted at hardcore gamers on the Facebook platform.”

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Krypton Radio First Look: Nat Iwata’s Elves & Orcs Playing Cards

Business, Fantasy / Horror, Kickstarter, Krypton Radio, Net Culture, Toys No Responses »

May 282013

Krypton Radio First Look
By Senior Editor, PK

We’re no stranger to the special art world of professional illustrator Nat Iwata. Back in June 2012 we brought you the story of Nat’s Kickstarter for his Steampunk Alphabet book, after Nat had becomed intrigued by the world of Steampunk, and wanted to introduce his young children to it. So what better way than to use a kids book, but to his surprise there wasn’t much on the market at the time in the way of Steampunk children’s literature. So using his expertise in illustration, he crafted the early designs for the book and started a Kickstarter campaign to help him fund the production.

Not only was Nat’s Kickstarter a resounding success, but the book has been printed and is on sale as of June. Bolstered by the confidence of one Kickstarter, Nat took a chance and introduced Steampunk Cthulhu playing cards, which he had manufactured by the Bicycle Card Company.

Nat’s latest project is another deck of themed playing cards, but he’s decided to ‘jump genres’ as he’s put it, with Elves and Orcs. Steampunk is sometimes a hard sell with the general public, but Elves and Orcs? You’ll probably get an immediate Lord Of The Rings reference from most, but a more hardcore nerd will probably hit you with World Of Warcraft or Dungeons and Dragons nostalgia, when opening up this beautifully illustrated pack.

With a goal of $18,000, Nat has already raised an impressive $7,492 and has at least 28 days to go on his fundraiser. Based on the impressive quality of the Steampunk book (which we’ve had the pleasure to read), we feel confident that Nat is putting out another high quality product which we’ll be looking forward to!

A Bicycle brand deck graced with our favorite ancient rivals: Elves & Orcs. Beautiful art, formidable foes, a deck with some tension.

Why Elves & Orcs? I thought it would be fun to do a dual themed card deck, utilizing the red and black suits. When I was thinking of opposing forces, the ancient rivalry between Elves and Orcs was one of the first things to come to mind. Hopefully it’s a visually fun contrast, and will make for a kickin’ card deck.

Elves & Orcs Kickstarter

Video Of the Day!: STAR TREK Theme (Harp Twins electric) Camille and Kennerly

Krypton Radio, Net Culture, Science Fiction, Star Trek, Video Of the Day No Responses »

May 282013

Krypton Radio Video Of the Day!

We continue to be blown away by the amazing level of talent in the fan community, especially when it comes to music. Twin musicians Camille and Kennerly Kitt, take to their harps and dazzle us with renditions of Star Trek music from Alexander Courage and Jerry Goldsmith.