Archive: March 2009 (121-130 of 518)

Mar 25 2009 01:10 PM ET

Barack Obama's press conference: The big man gets (a little) testy!

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Categories: Politics as Entertainment, Television

Given that the economy is in the crapper and families are struggling harder to make ends meet than they have since before World War II, President Obama’s press conference last night was certainly of the utmost importance. However, from a purely television-viewing/entertainment standpoint, little of O’s slick, scripted presentation filled the void left by the certainly less important yet considerably more riveting American Idol, which was bumped forward a night this week to accommodate the Prez. However, we did get one nugget of off-the-cuff reality TV-style fun when CNN’s Ed Henry threw a follow-up question to the big man that suggested that he took way too long to respond to the AIG bonuses issue (see the clip below). In a rare moment of measured yet obvious anger, Obama cut Henry off and answered tersely, "Because I like to know what I’m talking about before I speak….all right?" The answer was met with nervous laughter throughout the room.

On one hand, Obama’s going to have to get better at (finally) being asked hard questions and not let these guys get under his skin. Still, I found it far more satisfying, and certainly more presidential,than our former president’s goofy hands-out-shrugging-giggle responseto annoying questions, and more generally, it was just endearing to see the cool "No Drama Obama" finally show a bit of emotion.

Anyone else kind of enjoy seeing the Prez unleash a bit last night?

Mar 25 2009 01:00 PM ET

Nintendo Wii: Is the videogame king worthy of its throne?

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Categories: Videogames

Nintendo_wii_lThe Nintendo Wii, the innovative videogame console with the motion-sensitive controller, will pass 50 million worldwide sales by the end of March, Variety reports. The Wii has reached this milestone in just 28 months — eight months quicker than Sony’s PlayStation 2 did.

This leaves me with one question: Why? Why has the Wii flourished beyond everyone’s wildest expectations? It’s truly a David vs. Goliath outcome, with the little, inexpensive, and inelegant Wii triumphing over Microsoft and Sony’s we-will-crush-you-with-our-mighty-computing-prowess Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 systems. Clearly, the appeal of the Wii is in its intuitive controller, which allows everyone from 4 year olds to 70 year olds to play without having to worry about executing 25-button combos. A crudely made game such as Wii Sports is nevertheless enjoyable because it feels so natural and rewarding, as if you were actually swinging a tennis racket or golf club.

But there’s one anomaly in the Wii’s success: its games. Simply put, the Wii is lacking in high-quality software. At Metacritic, a site that compiles videogame reviews and spits out an overall score, the Wii has just eight titles with a score of 90 or higher. By comparison, the Xbox 360 has 21 games. Over the past few months, 360 and PS3 owners have been treated to a flurry of critically acclaimed games: Resident Evil 5, MLB 09, Killzone 2, Street Fighter IV, Halo Wars, etc. But the Wii’s only noteworthy release of late seems to be the ultra-violent MadWorld.

I’m not trying to slam the Wii. Rather, I’m suggesting that the Wii represents a shift in the videogaming paradigm. A system’s raw graphical power used to be its selling point; you bought a Nintendo 64 because, OMG, Mario was in three freaking dimensions! But the Wii doesn’t hold a candle to the computational abilities of the PS3 and Xbox 360. Instead, the Wii showcases an all-too-overlooked quality: ingenuity. How appropriate that in these economically desolate times, the videogame king would be the system that shook things up (and did so for an affordable price). It may not be pretty, and it may have its hiccups, but the Wii ultimately deserves its throne — at least for now.

PopWatchers, how do you feel about the Wii passing 50 million sales? Did Nintendo know exactly what it was doing, or was the Wii’s success sheer luck? And which system would you want to be stuck with on a deserted island?

Mar 25 2009 12:00 PM ET

Clip 'du jour' for real this time: Paul Rudd's early '90s SNES commerical

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Categories: 100% Pure Cheese, Clip du Jour, Sexytimes, Things That Are Awesome!, Videogames

Universal crush object Paul Rudd once enticed les enfants to buy Super Nintendo games! FYI: There’s an English version of the commercial on YouTube as well. But why would we embed that?

Mar 25 2009 10:00 AM ET

Quote of the Day: 'Daria' edition

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Categories: PopWatch Quote of the Day

"No, those sandals don’t make your toes look fat." — Daria (Tracy Grandstaff) on the Daria special Is It Fall Yet?

Mar 25 2009 08:00 AM ET

Carrie Ann Inaba blogs 'DWTS,' week 3

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Categories: Dancing With the Stars

Dancingjudgescarrie_lWhat a week it’s been. Whew!!!! Okay, where do I begin? First of all, thank you all for writing. I read your questions and will provide as many answers as I can for you all. I appreciate your comments greatly….and I love blogging!

Let’s start with a neutral area and progress from there…the musical guests. Adele was wonderful tonight performing with such an incredibly passionate and soulful voice. I was mesmerized by her vocal quality. And then, to top it off, having Edyta and Alec dance was just a fancy treat! They are so beautiful to watch together — I don’t think I’ve ever seen a more beautiful couple than those two. I love those showcase numbers. They really display the talent of our professionals and remind everyone how talented and incredible our pros truly are. We also had Hall & Oates, and Karina starring as “THE MANEATER.” She was fantastic in that red outfit. It reminded me of Olivia Newton-John in Grease when she sang “You’re the One that I Want.” She worked the guys in that number and showcased her power on the dance floor. For those of you who are not familiar with Karina’s incredible dancing skills, you should YouTube her. Look out for Karina’s performances with Slavic — they were a fabulous partnership. The ending of tonight’s number was cute when Karina kissed her fiancé, Maks. That’s another real-life couple on our dance floor…and that’s nice to see.

It was cute tonight — during the Hall & Oates number, Dmitry asked me if he could kiss my hand. I like that he was so polite about it: good old-fashioned manners. On a side note, I think Dmitry and Chelsie are doing a great job this year as newcomers. We are grateful to SYTYCD for bringing up these great dancers — it’s nice to see the synergy between our shows there. But back to this show….

After the jump: Carrie Ann explains how songs are chosen for the performances, and satisfies all your judge-centric foot-fetish needs with photos of the trio’s shoes!

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Mar 25 2009 02:12 AM ET

Fergie's doll scares the bejeezus out of me

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Categories: Horrifying But Hypnotic, Music, Ridiculata

Fergiedollsaw_lIf there’s anything scarier than the prospect of owning Fergie’s auctioned-off underwear, it’s having to be in the same room as this doll (left, with Fergie) modeled after the singer. Seriously, go ahead and try to convince me that that thing isn’t Saw‘s Jigsaw (right) in drag. (When you pull the string, does it say, "Oh yes, there will be shameless plugs for Candie’s"?) [shudder].

Mar 25 2009 12:02 AM ET

David Cook: Unappreciative or rightly frightened?

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Categories: American Idol, Music

Davidcook_lDavid Cook has attracted some ire from fans and bloggers after issuing a plea for privacy during his tour on his MySpace blog. "The efforts by some fans to find our hotel rooms, call our hotelrooms, attach things to our bus, etc., is something I have to condemn,"he writes in a post dated Sunday. "Should this behavior continue, the only thing we can do is take morepreventative measures to maintain our privacy, which in turn makes usless accessible to you."

So his post does seem a bit harsh, and I get why fans would be upset with his strict tone. But keep in mind, folks, we’re talking about an average Joe who has to constantly fend off advances from millions of fans and my mom. And Idol concertgoers can be scary. I should know, because I am used to be one. And we will scream our heads off and go all crying-girl just for the chance to catch a glimpse of RJ Helton Trenyce Clay Aiken Kelly Clarkson outside the stadium.

So, understanding his need for some solitude and safety, I vote that David Cook is simply a rightly frightened musician. What say you, PopWatchers?

Mar 24 2009 11:57 PM ET

Gloria Vanderbilt's erotic novel: Will you read it?

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Categories: Books

Gloriavanderbilt_lWe get a lot of strange things in the mail here at EW. Letters from prisoners, an endless supply of inspirational books from Randy Jackson, and drinking paraphernalia from entertainment companies that seem to buy into the stereotype that all journalists are alkies (alkies, no; winos, maybe). Usually, we hardly take a second glance, but a book caught our eye this week: Obsession: An Erotic Tale by socialite/artist/mum-to-Anderson Cooper Gloria Vanderbilt.

True, Vanderbilt is a published author, so it’s not that much of a shock to see her penning another novel. But an erotic one? What would her refined alma mater, Miss Porter’s School, think? According to the press release, Obsession, which goes on stands in June, surrounds a widow, Priscilla, who gets — ahem — excited while reading "with voyeuristic intensity" a bundle of letters about her husband’s secret mistress. "Will Priscilla’s obsession — and newly awakened sexuality — find the satisfaction it seeks?" Oh, my! I’ll probably read Obsession out of pure curiosity. Not that it would be that much of an undertaking. The novel’s only a short 143 pages long, and boasts a font size more fit for a Goosebumps tale than a piece of naughty literature. Either way, I’m already hooked. Or, obsessed, if you will. What about you, PopWatchers? Will you pick up Obsession?

Mar 24 2009 11:52 PM ET

Warner Bros.' new DVD service: What rare find are you excited to watch?

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Categories: DVD/Video

Warrenbeatyevafall_dlFilm nerds of the world, rejoice! Earlier this week Warner Bros. announced that it would open up its vaults and make more than 150 of its back-catalog movies available on DVD by special order for $19.95 a pop (plus shipping; they can also be downloaded for $14.95 each). It’s actually a surprisingly clever move considering that DVD sales are down across the board and the studios are now scrambling to find new revenue streams to fill the gap. But is there anything worth coughing up 20 bones for?

Well, since the announcement, we’ve had some time to peruse the dusty on-demand offerings. And while there’s no doubt plenty of junk, there’s also more than a few interesting curios and lesser-known vintage titles with big stars that should get TCM addicts and Hollywood junkies drooling (to see the list for yourself, go to www.WarnerArchive.com).
 
After the jump, a few of our highlights…

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Mar 24 2009 09:49 PM ET

OnLive: Will videogames be changed forever?

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Categories: Gadgets, I'm Just a Geek, Tech, Videogames

Onlive_lFirst you bought an Atari 2600, then the Nintendo NES, then the Super Nintendo, then the Sega Genesis, then the Sony PlayStation, then the Nintendo64, then the Playstation 2, then the XBox, then the XBox360, then the Nintendo Wii, then the Playstation 3. (We’ll just ignore that Sega Saturn and TurboGrafx 16 collecting dust in your crawl space.) Then you bought the OnLive system, and never had to dig into your wallet for another plastic-encased video game console again.

At least, that’s the hope of two silicon valley veterans, who announced yesterday a new video gaming system called OnLive that is trying to do for video games what iTunes has done for music and what outfits like Roku and AppleTV are trying to do for television and feature films. Here’s the gist: You download a program to your Mac or PC, hook up an OnLive "micro-console" to your TV, make sure you’re signed onto some super-fast broadband inter-tubes, and then through the magic of patented coding hoopdedoo, you can stream the game of your choice and play it in real time. When the games get more sophisticated, you don’t need to shell out for a new box — like, say, the PlayStation 4, or XBox 720; OnLive just amps up its servers instead.

The catch? Well, there’s a few. While OnLive has some pretty big gaming companies (Electronic Arts, Ubisoft) already signed on, A-list franchises like Microsoft’s Halo and Nintendo’s Mario and Zelda aren’t so much on board, for obvious reasons. The system itself, meanwhile, is only as stable as your Internet connection, and there’s no greater gaming buzzkill than have your DSL cut out right as you’re about to unleash your final blow on the bad guy. Finally, while Sony and Microsoft certainly have good reason to worry, there’s nothing that OnLive has presented thus far that looks like it’ll directly threaten Nintendo’s motion-controlled Wii or hand-held DS, both industry leaders.

What do you think, PopWatchers? While there’s been no talk of price just yet, the system will have a public beta this summer, and promises to launch for real in time for the holidays. Are you gonna be first in line? Or will they only get your XBox or PS3 controllers when they pry them out of your cold, dead, calloused hands?

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