U News

HBO GO unsheathes a special Game of Thrones offer for subscribers that lets users view seventh episode "You Win or You Die" immediately after episode six! If you're anything like us, the wait in between  Game of Thrones  episodes, though merely a week, drives us madder than the Mad King himself with anticipation!  But no longer! Once this Sunday, May 22nd's episode "A Golden Crown" rolls its credits, HBO GO has a special offer for subscribers that allows them to immediately view episode seven "You Win or You Die" through the service!  And trust us, once you've seen the climax of "A Golden Crown," you're going to need that next episode to avoid early withdrawals! And if you weren't aware or watching already (which you should, now that season two is in store), the series stars Sean Bean as Ned Stark, and boasts an otherwise impressive cast comprised of Peter Dinklage as Tyrion Lannister,  Mark Addy as King Baratheon, Lena Headey...

Stephen Fry does it all. He writes, acts, speaks, blogs -- basically, he's putting us all out of jobs. His latest role will be that of an ordinary human, albeit one who gets to hang out with hobbits and dwarves and dragons. Compared to the  The Lord of the Rings  trilogy,  The Hobbit was always a lighter adventure, a prequel meant for younger readers as a segue into the epic, dark experiences of the Fellowship of the Ring and their quest to Mordor. Keeping with his past trilogy, it's likely that Peter Jackson's upcoming adaptation of  The Hobbit  will keep the same grim tone, but with recent casting additions, there may be room in the film for a bit more comedy. According to Peter Jackson's official Facebook page, British comedian/writer Stephen Fry has been cast in the film as the Master of Laketown. Bilbo Baggins and his posse of dwarves are welcomed to the town by the Master, who's real intentions are driven by greed and weakness. Jackson and Fry have a ...

Adult Swim serves up the first details and synopsis from The Venture Bros. upcoming animated special "From the Ladle to the Grave: The Story of Shallow Gravy. " Frith Almighty, it's been a good six months since we've seen any new  Venture Bros.  but the good folks at Adult Swim are finally ready to  ladle  out a fresh helping! A ways back we learned from Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick themselves that not only had  The Venture Bros . Been renewed for a fifth and sixth season, but that their new contracts included both a 60-90 minute special, as well as a Summer short to tide over fans.  Thanks to the Adult Swim upfronts, we now have our first details of what to expect when the fifteen-minute short drops on July 24th. The second  Venture Bros.  inter-season special in their history, this Summer special "From the Ladle to the Grave: The Story of Shallow Gravy" will outline the truly fictional story behind Hank, Dermott and H.E.L.P.E.R....

Showtime announces former Off the Map star Aimee Garcia will join the sixth season of Dexter as Batista's sister and a new nanny for baby Harrison. Ah, fresh blood. We aren't exactly sure what happened to Dexter's old nanny, but we don't mind another new face for season six one bit, particularly one this pretty. Fresh off the cancellation of ABC's Off the Map, TVLine reports that Dexter has recruited Map star Aimee Garcia for a new role in the coming season as baby Harrison's new nanny Jamie, and none other than Angel Batista's sister herself! Could there be romance in the air, amidst all the blood spatter? After Lumen left (and thank Harry she did), we know Dexter doesn't mind getting down a bit in the wake of his wife's murder. Oh, and don't worry about Dexter's former nanny Sonya, as the report points out "sources confirm she either got fired, quit, or died." Hmm. Alright then. Garcia joins several new faces for the cast of ...

The fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film sets the franchise even with two good and two lousy. Try as we might, we can't see any movie in a vacuum.  This is most evident with a franchise film.  Is there a way to critically approach  Pirates of the Caribbean: On Stranger Tides without contextualizing it among the previous three films?  Is there a point?  This movie does not exist on its own, nor could it.  To say, then, that  On Stranger Tides  is good "for a Pirates  film" is a reasonable analysis, even if film studies purists may turn their nose at such a turn of phrase. But I think we all know what I mean.  The  Pirates  franchise is a curious one, indeed.  For something that has greatly altered what we wear on Halloween and what embarrassing uncles like to quote, it's been an intellectual property with a rather noticeable problem: only one of the three previous movies is any good.  The third one, in fact, was bloody...

The Bridesmaids scene-stealer is doubling-down with two new comedies. When I first reviewed Bridesmaids I was so swept up with Kristen Wiig's performance (the best film comedienne since Madeline Kahn) that there were few column inches left to talk about the other performances. As I exited the SXSW premiere, however, I recall saying to friends that "if it were a just world, Melissa McCarthy would be starring in films of her own." Well, there's nothing like a movie overshooting its estimates (it made $25 million at the box office this weekend) and receiving near-universal praise to make miracles happen. Deadline reports that McCarthy is teaming with Bridesmaids co-writer Annie Mumolo on a quest movie to steal the Stanley Cup for her dying husband. The husband will be played by McCarthy's actual husband, Ben Falcone, who plays the object of McCarthy's affection in the soon-to-be-if-not-already airplane scene in Bridesmaids. What disgusting things are in store fo...

Tina Fey socks it to Will Ferrell in this deleted scene from Dream works Animation's Mega mind. Even in a modern, 3D, computer animated film there are things that hit the editing room floor. Only they do it more expensively than any ofther type of film imaginable. This sequence from Megamind shows TV reporter Roxanne Ritchie (Tina Fey) really sockin' it to Will Ferrell's Megamind for slaying Brad Pitt's Metro Man. I won't lie and call this a laugh riot, or even all that visually appealing, but for we obssessive completests out there, you need to watch this or you'll know, for the rest of your life, there's a part of Megamind you didn't see and it will drive you crazy.

In our quietest hours, these are the companions we promise God we will attend church every weekend for if only he will make them come to life. Epona (Legend of Zelda series) I’ve been afraid of horses since I was a little girl, when the pony I was riding ran under a pine tree. I went through it, giving me significant Christmas sores and permanent equine trauma. I might be convinced to saddle up on Epona, Link’s lady horse in the Legend of Zelda series. She is easily the best horse in all of gamedom, handily besting Shadow of the Colossus’ Agro. Dog (Fable series) He’s not the first video game dog sidekick. Way back in NetHack, for example, we had a canine companion, represented by a sensible lower-case d. Your dog in the Fable series just takes it to a new level. He’ll fight for you, help you pick up ladies, and perform all manner of trickery at the whim of a button press. If he were to come alive and need a home, he could probably make up for what my ten pound Schnoodle lacks, as the ...