The 106th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
Welcome back to another week of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour'! This weeks show topics include: 'Transformers: Age of Extinction', how long is too long? and do you really ever want to go back? It's a ramblin' kind of episode. I hope you still ENJOY!
The 105th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
This weeks show is all about randomness, not intentionally. It's got good music and that's the main thing. Topics this week include: finding friends as we age, comics and how there's no wrong way to be creative. It's a decent little episode. ENJOY!
Songs played this week:
1) They're Coming To Get You, Barbara by No More Kings
The 104th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
What else can I say, but it's a slightly larger show again. Hopefully full of wholesome ingredients and goodness. This weeks topics include: the stuff in all of us, nostalgia and a zombie topic of the week! It's a good one, kids! ENJOY!
Anyone who knows me, has read this blog or listened to any of my podcasts know.... I love zombies. Ever since I watched 'Dawn of the Dead' (1978) in 1996, I've been hooked. I just can't get enough zombies. Over the years, we've seen the market saturated with a glut of zombies every where. Any student out to make his first movie, wants to make a zombie film. They want to either change the genre somehow or just want an easy student project with minimal make up work and an open market. It's made the die hard fans have to dig even deeper through the muck and muddle to find the diamonds in the rough. There's still plenty of good stuff out there, but not always the most original stuff. When I first heard that Dolph Lundgren was making a zombie movie, I was geeked. I've been a fan of his work since I watched 'Rocky 4'. Then I heard that it was a zombie movie he was making. I got even MORE geeked! Then I heard it had robots too! I nearly had a nerdgasm all over the computer monitor. What more could you want in a zombie movie? To be honest, it stole from a basic concept I'd come up with years ago, but luckily it didn't steal my whole idea. What it did do though, was make a genre that is hard to improve on and gave it a fun little tweak that any horror movie fan will get a kick out of. Granted, you have to leave your brain at the door and make sure you have plenty of popcorn on hand. This is one of THOSE movies for sure.
The first thing that struck me with this movie was the way the zombies are dealt with. This really could have been done as a student film, if they hadn't stuck so much money into making the robots. In the process of focusing on them, they pushed the zombie effects to the side. The zombie make up, more or less, consists of some basic make up and a couple of applications. There's nothing fancy or even remotely good about the special effects in this movie. With that being said, they really did a stellar job with the robots. They played up on the fact that they were designed to be utilitarian in design, but perfectly suited to be combat ready. They're the straight man to Lundgren's hero and the perfect foil for the zombie hordes. The effects crew on this movie spent a long time designing the overall look and feel of the robots. They feel like they could honestly be in any factory out there right now. Doing a job on an assembly line, putting cars together, welding or other labor intensive work. I was really surprised at how realistic they really were. Granted, the effects didn't always hold up to a big budget standard, but it was way above average for this kind of Sci-Fi original movie. Back to the zombies, who needs to shoot them in the head when you can kill them by slitting their throats? Right? That's just one of the many ways these paper thin zombies can be killed again. It's as if they truly are just actors with make up on. This is the one part of the movie that bothered me the most. I mean, where's the danger when you can just shoot em' once and they're down? There's really no threat, other than when they're in big numbers. Then.... you're in trouble. Unless you have robots.
The basic premise of this movie is one that's been used a lot. Most famously in 'Escape From New York'. Send in the hero to an area everyone else is scared to go, have him rescue someone who's trapped and get back out safe. Yup. That's the premise of this movie too. Nothing new here, but still fun none the less. It tells the story of Max Gatling (clever, right?), a man on a mission. He leads a team into the hordes of zombies. Once inside, his team slowly begins to get smaller and soon his true intentions are discovered. He's not just there for any reason, he's there to rescue Jude by any means necessary. What he didn't count on was bringing a bunch of other people with him and that the basic bad guy in the story, is also Jude's boyfriend.... and the father of her unborn child. This makes everything much more complicated than before, but there's one thing Max didn't factor into the equation. The fact that there's a factory in the zombie infested zone and all of the robots inside of there, had gone bezerk not long ago. They were still alive and kicking, but now they were killing zombies, instead of humans. Soon they form an alliance and next thing you know: it's Dolph and robots vs. zombies! Much killing ensues. It's wonderful!
There's really not that much more to say about this movie. It's just big, dumb fun and to be honest.... in a sub genre of horror movies, it's really refreshing to see something you've never seen before. It's also a good thing to see Dolph Lundgren making a comeback. Luckily for him, 'The Expendables' keeps making more movies, as it keeps him working. This movie isn't going to change anyone's lives and it's really just a grade above the quality of 'Sharknado', but don't let that stop you from taking the time to watch it. This is a hidden little gem that needs an audience. I, personally, will eventually own this. I think it has a high re-watchability factor and one that will gain cult status someday. It's just so terribly and amazingly bad that it comes all the way back around to being good again. There's very little not too like about this movie and believe me, I tried really hard to hate it. I couldn't do it. I just kept smiling and wonder who in the hell came up with this story and why has it taken so long? George A. Romero this ain't. This is pure and utter schlocktastic good times! Watch this soon, please.
I'd give this 3 out of 5 stars and firmly believe it's got longevity built in. This is one that will live on in infamy. Mark my words on this.
This film had my interest from the first time I read about it and even more so, the first time I watched the trailer. I was sincerely afraid, over time, that the hype surrounding this movie would not payoff after my expectations were so incredibly high. My firm belief was that this would end up falling so far short of what I was hoping it would be that I think it brought my expectations to a more realistic level. Made me expect garbage. However, once this film started, it had me by the throat and wouldn't let go. I loved this film going experience.... from start to finish and it's been a while since a film caught a hold of me the way that 'Gravity' did. I was literally white knuckled for almost half of it and that's not easy with a jaded film goer like myself. Not too mention, that Sandra Bullock and George Clooney don't exactly seem like the obvious choice for this movie. It seems more like an indie movie with minimal effects and maximum script. Instead, thanks to the direction and weight of director Alfonso Curaon, you end up with a big budget film with an independent plot. I think that shocked a lot of people and also proved that you don't need a big budget blockbuster to put asses in seats and win awards.
Now.... I love films with people against overwhelming odds. That's why I'm such a huge zombie movie lover. I'm also a fan of disaster films and anything else that puts one person or a group against something so much greater than themselves. This film was exactly that on a different scale. It played up on an irrational fear of mine and a similar irrational fear of a lot of people. Running out of air, drowning, quicksand, etc. Actually, when I was growing up, I was intensely fascinated with being an astronaut and exploring outer space. I used to study the stars and constellations with great love and wonder. I dreamed of going out into space and exploring distant planets. I'd watch 'Star Trek' and 'Star Wars' and wonder what was out there beyond the stars. What I failed to think about back then and that was a solid reason not too want to go into outer space was everything that can go wrong and how completely how helpless you are. This film played up on those fears so effectively that it made me never regret my decision to keep my feet on the ground. I mean, just getting off the planet earth is dangerous enough, but once you're out there.... wow. It just gets even more insane. I think the opening bit about how "nothing can survive in space", drove that point home even harder and set you up for what was about to unfold. A story about survival in one of the most inhospitable places imaginable. It makes me feel breathless just thinking about it.
THE FOLLOWING PORTION OF THIS REVIEW CONTAINS MINOR SPOILERS!
In case you aren't familiar with the plot line of the film, it's a pretty basic story. A group of astronauts are working outside the shuttle, when something goes horribly wrong. Everyone is killed except for astronauts Ryan Stone and Matt Kowalski. Ryan is sent hurtling out into space and is nearly lost forever, when Matt eventually finds her and tethers himself to her. They go back to rescue the other crew members, only to find them dead. They then devise a plan to get to the space station and use that to get back to earth. The only problem is, there's basically a radio blackout, they're low on oxygen and fuel and one thing after the other keeps making it harder and harder to get home. Without giving too much else away, it almost becomes a comedy of errors and proves the point that whatever can go wrong.... will. That's all I'll give you, as I want the rest of it to hold the same impact it held for me.
One way or another, it's been a really long time since any film has made me want to run out and write a review. The only reason this has taken three days is due to illness. Otherwise, this would have gone up the same night I watched 'Gravity'. This movie put me right back into my childhood and poured gasoline on all of my fears and made them very, very real. I completely suspended all disbelief and was sucked 100% into the story line and the characters. I wanted them to succeed. I wanted them to not keep having bad things happen. I legitimately wanted them to all get home. It was like 'Open Water' in space, minus the sharks. It's the complete feeling of living a life that you no longer control. This is the film you should be watching in the dark, with nothing else going on and no one bothering you. You should be in the moment, so to speak. You should be giving 'Gravity' your undivided attention. Nothing less would be a cry in shame.
I give this a solid 4 out of 5 stars. The only reason I'm not giving it more, is I'm not sure of it's staying power. Will it hold my interest as much in a year, 2 years, 6 months? Only time will tell. In the meantime, this is a film that earned every accolade it received and is one that is NOT to be missed!
The 103nd episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
It's another really good week for music! Topics this week include Star Trek, my first car, coloring books and some lyrics I wanted to examine. It's a buffet of awesome. Dig in and ENJOY!
Songs played this week:
1) Lightning In A Bottle by Chasing Claymores
2) Hesher Boyfriend by Kelly Alvarez
3) Stars by The Broadcast Debut
4) No Crying by Jackpot, Tiger
5) I'm Gonna Leave This Town by Les Gordons
6) Or Basic Chemicals by The Glare Of The Day
7) Seasons (Waiting On You) by Future Islands - LIVE
The 102nd episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
I seem to have found my grove again, as you get a slightly longer show this week. Topics include some more thoughts on 'Godzilla', the history of dogs in my life and having too many choices in life. It's a jam packed episode for you to ENJOY!
The 101st episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
It's been two weeks, but I'm back. Sorry about that. This weeks show is all about the 10 choices you'll make that you'll regret later. It's a thought provoking show with upbeat music. Download it. Listen to it. ENJOY!
The 100th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
Today marks the 100th episode of 'The Kpants'! It's been a long strange trip, but here we are. I dug up the 1st and 50th episode to compile a retrospective look across time. This weeks topics include: My original intentions for the show, best friends and where the show's heading. It's a nice walk down memory lane. Come on in and ENJOY!
Songs played this week:
1) Everything I Ask For by The Maine
2) Not Good Enough For Truth In Cliche by Escape The Fate
The 99.5th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
I'm taking a week off, before the 100th episode to talk about the events that took place over the last 48 hours. This week, it's all about my sister Sabrina.
The 99th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
So I went to C2E2 yesterday and THIS happened! This weeks show is all about dipping into my past and bringing it to the present. I talk about all of my history with comic books and my recent trip to C2E2. It's a nerdgasm for sure, featuring the music of Pets In Trees! ENJOY!
The 98th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
This weeks show is a mish mosh of things and a stark contrast to last week's episode. This weeks topics include: Everything I learned in kindergarten, never going back in time and 'The Matrix' trilogy. It's a big show full of fun. Sit back, relax and get ready to ENJOY!
Songs played this week:
1) Down To Earth Approach by Triple Black
2) Seasons (Waiting On You) by Future Islands
3) Wire Tap Out by Flee The Seen
4) Hanging On For Hope by The New Amsterdams
5) Are We Really Happy With Who We Are Now by Moneen
The 97th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
This weeks show is a short story written by my best friend Matt Brown. It's called 'The Light at the End of the Hall'. It's a delicious little horror story that will tingle your senses. Make sure to listen from start to finish and.... keep the lights on. ENJOY!
Songs played this week:
1) Only Women Bleed by Alice Cooper
2) Sleepwalk by Santo and Johnny
3) Sleepwalk (live 45 version) by Santo and Johnny
The 96th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
This weeks show is a special one for me. In memory of the death of Kurt Cobain, 20 years ago, I pay tribute to his life and times and the music of Nirvana. My topics include a brief history of the band, various thoughts on Kurt and company and the life of an artist. It's a super sized show for a super sized topic. Sit back, relax and ENJOY!
Songs played this week:
1) Negative Creep by Nirvana from 'Bleach'
2) Breed (Rough Mix) by Nirvana from disc 2 of 'With The Lights Out' box set
3) Molly's Lips by Nirvana from 'Incesticide'
4) Milk It by Nirvana from 'In Utero'
5) You Know You're Right by Nirvana from the collection 'Sliver: The Best of the Box'
6) All Apologies by Nirvana from the 'MTV LIVE in New York'
The 95th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
This weeks is only 5 episodes away from show 100 and to celebrate, it's ALL Silversun Pickups ALL around your ears! This weeks topics include: vans, would you rather be blind or deaf?, losing everything, feeling young as you get older and have you done all you wanted? It's a mixed bag of fun. ENJOY!
Songs played this week:
1)
1) Kissing Families by Silversun Pickups from the ep 'Pikul'
2) Common Reactor by Silversun Pickups from 'Carnavas'
3) Table Scraps by Silversun Pickups import track from 'Carnavas'
4) Substitution by Silversun Pickups from 'Swoon'
5) Broken Bottles by Silversun Pickupsfrom the 'Seasick' ep
6) Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings) by Silversun Pickups from 'Neck of the Woods'
The 94th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
This week is a return to form, as it's all new music! This weeks topics include: cover songs, the Westboro Baptist Church and no pain no gain. It's a show that falls apart at the end, but is still good. Download and ENJOY!
The 93rd episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
This week it's all about the first decade of the 2000's. Topics include: keeping contact with friends, the music played and why this was the decade that almost didn't happen. It's better music than chatter, but still try and ENJOY!
The 92nd episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
This week, strap on your flannel, because it's my all 90's episode! This weeks topics include: the most important music of my 90's experience, growing old gracefully and my Aunt Rite. It's a roller coaster of emotions. Hop on and ENJOY!
The 91st episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
It's a mix tape straight out of the 80's! This week I pay tribute to an awkward time in my youth and celebrate all it's weirdness. My topics this week include: the music of my childhood, fashion faux pas and being okay with yourself. It's a throw back episode for the history books. ENJOY!
Songs played this week:
1) Something About You by Level 42
2) Don't Disturb This Groove by The System
3) Sledgehammer by Peter Gabriel
4) Kyrie by Mr. Mister
5) Everybody Wants To Rule The World by Tears For Fears
The 90th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
My first show since 'The Coffin Joe Cast' hit the internet and I'm feeling strange. It's a love fest full of great music and the usual banter. This weeks topics include: falling in love for the first time, the history of Valentine's Day and Sweetest Day and learning to love. It's a bloody good time, with some amazing music ENJOY it with someone you love!
Songs played this week:
1) Chills by dZ
2) Say Something by A Great Big World and Christina Aguilera
3) Waiting For You by Minor Alps
4) Why Can't I? by Liz Phair
5) Lonely Valentine by Chris Trapper of The Push Stars
The 89th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
The Unitards have ended, but up from the ashes a new show will arise. This week my topics include: podcasting and the start of something new, the gluttony of the Super Bowl and why I do the creative things that I do. It's a solid episode with a surprise at the end.... get ready to ENJOY!
Songs played this week:
1) First Dibs On Last Chances by A Step Behind
2) I Don't Want To Be Alone by The Frantic
3) War and Peace by Bankrupt
4) We Change We Wait by The Maine
5) In From The Outside by Chris Trapper of The Push Stars
The 88th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
It was a sad week in podcasting, but we must soldier on. This weeks topics include: My love affair with coffee, a few emails, loving your job and the end of The Undercover Unitards. It's a mixed bag of interesting this week. Listen and ENJOY!
The 87th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
If you wanted a lighter and fun show, this might be the one for you! This weeks topics includes: my love affair with Prince, my tri-fecta of superhero movies and the joy of 'The Final Sacrifice'. It's time to get your Rowsdower on in this very special episode.... ENJOY!
The 86th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
It's a day late, but I really wanted to get this music out to the masses. This weeks topics include: Fixing yourself, grocery shopping my way and living with your self after the good things are a memory. It's a strange little show, but it's the only one I've got. ENJOY!
The 85th episode of 'The Sunshine Happy Kpants Hour' is uploaded and now available through iTunes, Talkshoe, Stitcher Radio and streaming LIVE right here!
I may be a little under the weather, but the show must go on! This weeks topics include: How much I hate snow, MST3K and finding yourself. It's not the best show ever, but it's fun. ENJOY!
Songs played this week:
1) Nero Plays On by Spring Clock Wonder
2) Smile by Andrew Ferris
3) Surely Don't by Jara
4) New Hell Rising by Crud
5) Anchor's Away by The Ramshackle Army
6) Independent by Kathy Dare and the Bad Luck Charms
