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The First Review For FUTURAMA: BENDER'S GAME Shows Up Online!!
Merrick here...
Screen Jabber, who nabbed the first review of FUTURAMA: THE BEAST WITH A BILLION BACKS in May (HERE), has done it again by posting this first (to the best of my knowledge) review of the forthcoming FUTURAMA: BENDER'S GAME (another "movie"-to-be-divided-into-multiple episodes thingie). The article also includes some images from the DVD.
Interestingly, the spoiler heavy review says BENDER'S GAME feels more whole & less like a bunch of episodes strung together than the previous DVDs (yeah!). As a whole, the write-up is quite positive.
Yeah yeah, it all sounds a little crazy and confusing. Actually, a lot crazy and confusing. Especially when they throw in Star Wars references, Star Trek references, a demolition derby with spaceships made from Lego and a cave full of scary Morks. But don't worry, it all makes sense in the end. And there are plenty of laughs while getting there, too. There's a little bit of a sag in the middle — there are a lot of plot threads that need to be juggled — but by the time they get to the fantasy world, the writers are firing on all cylinders. Bender's Game seems a lot less like four episodes joined together than the first two DVDs did. And there are so many more clever touches, sight gags and one-liners in this one.
...says the piece, which you can find HERE.
FUTURAMA: BENDER'S GAME will release on November 4 on both standard DVD and Blu-Ray. This will be the first FUTURAMA title released on Blu-Ray (HERE) and, hopefully, portends more FUTURAMA BR releases (like the series, maybe?) somewhere down the line.
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Lets hope for the best. LHC!!!!!
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but both features have left me less than satisfied. Maybe the half hour format was just right.And yea, the first was much better than the second.
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I'll say it : I'd rather Futurama didn't come back at all, rather than see it come back as this lame lame post-season9-Simpsons unfunny shadow of its former self.
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I'll wait to see more objective reviews before shelling out for this dodgy storyline.
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They could make a whole Hypnotoad episode and I would still laugh my ass out!!! XD
I really enjoyed the first two movies. You guys are just being over picking. -
Not that impressed. It was good, but not great. Will check out the new one though. Hoping the Futurama team can get their shit together.
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It's like The Simpson feature film. There was much to like, but I didn't care to see it more than once. It couldn't hold up to a good half hour episode, because it had to stretch itself to fit the feature length.The same for the proposed Family Guy feature. It'll be 50 minutes of stretched out plot, with 30 minutes of pop-up flashbacks added.
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The second movie isn't great but it gets better with repeat viewings
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And I haven't decided which one I like best. Sometimes is the sheer emotion of BBS what does it to me, others is the great 50's horror tone of Yivo's invation. Overall, I'm fucking GLAD Futurama hasn't died, so fuck that guy who says otherwise. Fuck him!
I will buy this movie as soon as I can, as I will buy anything related to Futurama. If people are badmouthing Futurama, then our universe is doomed. (Inhales deeply) "Dooooooooooooooooomed!!!!" -
I think it's tough to restart a once great show like this that's been dead for a while. Family Guy managed to do it though. Flame on, haters.
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OK technically this IS a new season, but it should have been half-hours like normal to get back into the swing of things THEN do a DVD movie.
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I think, while each has a few misfires, they're ambition and scope really prevails and places them towards the top of the series in terms of quality. I, for one, am thrilled that they take the characters and universe seriously enough to give them rich, complex, even imaginative storylines which reward a bit of thought. Its like the anti-Family Guy which is, I suspect, why some find it so unappealing. BwaBB in particular showcases the writer's genuine love of sci-fi / fanatasy literature, and for me, the decision to make at least one part of it sort of a sci-fi horror (while the end is more surreal philosophical musing) was a very bold one which bodes well for the series. If they do return to the series, I hope they make the half-hour episodes sort of a mix between the stand-alones and the movies, with some long-running story archs and the newfound continuity. The threads of these things are what made Futurama so special, and why it so richly deserved to return to life (and, also why The Simpsons and Family guys should have probably died off after they'd exhausted the possibilities of their respective worlds. Not to say that either show was crap, they both had some great moments, but now they have nowhere left to go and its time for them to gracefully exit). Not so for Futurama, which ought to be given a chance to really delve into its characters and universe, particularly if the results are as interesting as the last two films.
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and then have Futurama: The Search for Bender. Uh, so let's see. Bender dies but downloads himself into Fry's iPod or something. Fry ends up half Fry/half Bender and does all sorts of funny combinations of Bender and Fry. They have to steal their ship after it was impounded for some reason and fly Fry/Bender to some planet to put Bender's soul back into a new robot body.
At the end, Bender is revived. Some dude says "I'm sorry we could only retrieve 10 percent of your logic circuits." Then Bender says "You lost all my Rorn???" and is inconsolable about being brought back to life. -
that should be "their" not "they're". I hate myself a little.
btw. Prometeo, take a look at the special features on "Bender's Big Score" and be prepared to put your theory to the test. -
As long as I don't have to watch it.
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Sep 09, 2008 12:50:21 PM CDT
the first DVD movie was pretty weak, the 2nd slightly better
by newc0253
so this review is at least consistent with the observable evidence...
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Are they going to bring back the TV series or just put out the occasional DVD "movie?" I need my weekly fix!
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morks?
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I really like Bender's Big Score and it had a cool time travel set up. I skipped the second one after hearing all the negativity, but I gotta see this third one, it sounds funny. So, I better just go buy part 2 and get it over with.
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We should be on our knees thanking god for the return of Futurama. These movies have been good. If you don't think so I'm not sure what you were expecting and why your expectations were so high. I think the movies are equally as good as the show on average. No more, no less.
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As in "from Ork".
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That means it will be in super crazy high definition now, amirite?!
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It's a special feature on BENDER'S BIG SCORE, and it's definitely for fans only. That said, one part (a simple camera angle change of the Hypnotoad) got me to laugh harder than anything in BBS.
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Only a few really good bits. I think they should have done 30 min episodes instead of a feature length one.
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Not that I would dl from a torrent or anything
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fan service and self congratulation in BBS.
It was one long *wink**wink**nudge**nudge*
And the story wasn't as good as the least of the series storys.
So I skipped Beast/Backs.
May watch it when it airs on TV -
I didn't see it on the Amazon link.
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Sep 09, 2008 4:44:25 PM CDT
Bender = Halloween Costume = lots of alcohol
by stereotypical evil archer
FUN!
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I've been a big Futurama show since day one, but Sweet Jesus did those first two movies suck.
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Of course that's 'Sweet Zombie Jesus did those first two movies suck'.
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I love this show, and it's because of the characters and character development. I'm of the school of thought (if there's enough of us for a "school") that Simpsons handicapped itself needlessly by freezing the characters in place ... they don't age, they don't change except in the most superficial of ways, and nothing ever really happens. Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know it's "just a cartoon," but sometimes it's not. When we saw Lisa's future (for the first time) and see her heart get broken ... it meant something to me. It said something bigger about family and heartbreak and soldiering on despite it all. Once you realize that the characters are frozen in time, however, everything becomes meaningless.
Meaningless is all find and good for 'Family Circus' or 'Tom & Jerry,' and if that's all you aspire to, then knock yourself out.
Futurama's strength lies in the relationship between Bender, Leela and Fry, the latter two especially. It's not unlike classic 'Star Trek' in that sense, with Leela being the sensible one (and also the ostensible "leader"), Fry being the emotional, intuitive one, and Bender being ... well, Bender. Okay, he doesn't really grow or change much, but we'll let that go as the static center-point. Fry and Leela, however, grow in spades over the course of the show.
The first film was a giant, wet-kiss "love letter" to the fans. It stroked all the right points, gave you every cameo you could ever want to have, and smartly advanced the Leela-Fry romance. The story showed that Leela could open up her heart if she could just see the man laying in wait inside of Fry ... and Fry could grow up to be exactly what Leela was looking for. I'm gushing here, but damn it, that MEANT something to me.
Then came the sequel ...
... which was a big flippin' MIDDLE FINGER to the fans! The romance so carefully built between Fry and Leela got flushed down the toilet like so many copies of 'Atlas Shrugged' all for a cheap polyandry (look it up) joke. The story showed ZERO character development and Leela was relegated to supporting-cast status. There are worse Futurama episodes out there, but after all the character set-up in the first film - and, you know, the fact that this is one of only four MOVIES - 'Beast with a Billion Backs' was beyond a disappointment. After I saw it the first time, I hated the show and the writers for the first time ever, because they had me caring about characters that they apparently couldn't give a fig about.
If they want to go episodic, where nothing ever matters and nothing ever changes, fine. I can't stop them. My name isn't Matt Groeging. I can just stop watching the show.
But what a waste, what a terrible waste of potential. So I'm going to buy the next two movies when they come out and hold out hope that what I love about Futurama is what the writers ultimately love about their creation as well. -
I came.
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I can understand the luke warm feeling toward the movies....but if I can't have the series, I want the movies.
"They keep touching me in places"..."Yeah, they get around" -
ZAPP: [crossing legs] That's merely a fungal infection...oh, you're talking to Kif.
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I second the call for Futurama seasons on Blu-Ray. The recent movies/seasons were good (not great) but the classics deserve a place in my Blu-Ray collection. I'll reserve the DVDs for ripping onto my iPod.
Oh, hey-- If anybody's been looking for an iPod touch, check out eBay tonight-- Apple announced new ones, and eBay is chock full of BARGAIN priced iPod touches. Everyone's selling their previous version to get the new one, apparently. We're talking $200 less than they were yesterday for the top-of-the-line 32GB model. I might grab a spare! Suckers! -
than all of bender's big score. i could watch the second movie over and over again, i just wish theyd get on with it and bring the series back.
the difference between futurama and the simpsons is that groening has set up this world in the simpsons that is restricted to specific rules and jokes and everything, but with futurama, he could do just about anything and explain it away fairly easily. that, and the writing teams much better on futurama now than the simpsons -
So it was.
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Once the May review was up it was already being seeded 9000 times.
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I.e., it's a little better than mediocre (#1) and horrible (#2)? That's wonderful. Perhaps the 10th one will actually manage to be "almost watchable"? So far, those movies have been more or less on the level of Family Guy...
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...cares?
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If you don't care then don't read/post in a futurama talkback... simple! cock!
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I did a quick check, just to see.
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Beautiful shout-out to the greatest sci-fi novel of all-time; Ender's Game.
Btw, had my 1st book published this summer... WITH A BLURB FROM OSC! Unbelievable.
It's called Murder-Oke, check it out. (Yes, guess I'm spamming... but OSC!) -
Preferably up the ass.
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...Every single fucko that downloads this movie. I really do. And if I find any of you cocks in real life, I'm starting a fight out of the fucking blue just so I can kick your ass. When I say I support Futurama, I really mean it.
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Sep 10, 2008 10:53:08 AM CDT
I either like or love every FUTURAMA ep, but I fucking hate BWAB
by darth bauer
BWABB was the worst FUTURAMA ever.
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Just a string of engaging but unfunny concepts and gratuitous cameos. BEAST WITH A MILLION BACKS invoked the original series, big improvement. But why the hell don't the producers append another fresh season to the venue? These "movies" function only as franchises (DVD and TV royalties); it's likely that Bender negotiated the whole deal.
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Take the time to read OSC and his views. He is not homophobic. And, in fact, in at least one of his books a lead character is gay and dealt with in a sensitive, mature manner. Much like your post.
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You guys are being too picky...the DVD's have been pretty good.
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Read the following and the links that it contains to Card's asinine religious screeds and try your post a second time: http://www.sfdiplomat.net/sf_diplomat/2008/07/orson-scott-card-carrying-homophobe.html
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get it right
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Are you insane? Dude wants to start a Revolution against the United States if gay marriage is legalized. That's pretty black and white.
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What you guys seem to forget,...is that every other episode is like that,...they have a thing,....then they have others....
You guys could find faults with Davinci....good grief. -
But I think Bender has a great deal of depth and heart as well. He's like Carl Barks'/Don Rosa's Uncle Scrooge - a hard and cranky exterior hiding a soft centre, which hardly ever surfaces, and usually only when nobody else is around. A character doesn't HAVE to change in order to have depth and nuance Also, character development in a weekly show (or even a movie series) is a tricky business, and I think the Futurama writers have been very adept at portioning it out. Too bad BWABB didn't work for you, but IMO some episodes (I consider the films episodes) of a show like that are all the better for not having too much character development. For me,while BBS was better and more emotional, BWABB was still great fun, with emotional moments and more great ideas than ten average sci-fi flicks nowadays. I for one have no problem with Fry momentarily being involved with another girl. It has happened plenty of times over the seasons, and you can rest assured he hasn't forgotten Leela. Besides, isn't that one of the great advantages with animated shows/movies; changing mood or motivation can be done in an instant, without losing credibility or emotional impact? It works for me at least.
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Coffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffeecoffecoffeecoffeecoffee
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they've got to follow the rules, but it is easier for them to bend them than live action. they can take emotional shortcuts, if you will.
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... does not hate or dislike gay people, he simply believes in the sanctity of marriage, which is his right. I don't agree with his hardline stance, but I don't have to, that's MY right. He believes it is a slippery slope. He may be right, he may be wrong.
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never once spoke out against gays, or showed any kind of hatred towards them. the worst he said from what I remember, is that he considers it selfish, for obvious reasons. He never said they shouldn't do it, or he hates'em, he just doesn't one them to be married, cuz it's something else in his definition. OMG! MONSTER! If we shouldn't hate people based on sexual preferences, we should be obligated to love them either.
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Marriage celebrates the sacred and primal male-female union? What a load of hog-wash. Why is it not valid if two gays get married? Because you say it isn't valid? They say it is valid, you say it isn't. Who's right? Who cares? It's all made up bullshit anyway...there's no "sanctity of marriage". Come on...that's all just made up. Fireproof, why do you care if two gays get "married". How is that hurting you at all? How is that actually taking anything away? How is this a slippery slope? No, don't come back with the idiotic "well, then you'd have a person wanting to marry their dog". So before any moron brings that little nugget up, let me head that off at the pass. We're talking about two human, thinking, sentient beings that want to play the made-up bullshit "marriage" game just like others do. Let them. If you really want to protect the sanctity of marriage, ban divorce. Divorce is the bigger threat to marriage and the family than two gay people wanting to say "I do" to each other. Oh, also make infidelity a federal offense punishable by jail time. Hmmm, that too seems to be against the celebration of the sacred male-female marriage union. Don't see people lining up to get that one passed do we. No no...we have to instead push our made-up ideals on others.
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How is a few homosexual marriages hurting you or the institution of marriage? It's not like they prevent heterosexuals from marrying. Also, your democracy/socialism analogy is void, seeing as you can only have one of those at the same time. Besides, isn't fascism closer to natural law/human nature (from an evolutionary/darwinian standpoint) than democracy?
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Fireproof...again, what is wrong with two people who love each other to get "married"? There is nothing at all wrong with gay marriage. Why are you so threatened by this? It isn't like they're trying to implement gay marriage and then banning heterosexual marriage. Again, it's all made up bullshit anyway. There is no male-female union you know. Marriage between a single man and woman is basically a recent concept that wasn't always there to "build the human race". Natural law is the male impregnates as many females as he can to keep his genes and bloodline going....NOT to limit himself to one, single female. This concept of monogamy again is more of a Christian idea, not based on any "natural law". It's amusing that people try to imply that it is natural, but it's just silly and shows how limited their experiences are. Orson Scott Card may be an okay writer of science fiction, but he really needs to do his research and perhaps pick up a book and learn something now and then. You imply that gays that want to marry are not beneficial to humanity as a whole. So....what difference does it make if two gay people, who won't be getting married to anyone from the opposite sex anyway, want to share their lives together. They're going to live together anyway, yes? They're going to committed to each other, yes? Then what is wrong with them getting a little piece of paper that says they're married so they can share insurance benefits and the like? How does that in anyway way, shape or form personally hurt you, Fireproof? It doesn't. Not in any way. If you look at your rhetoric here, you're a step away from saying "for the good of humanity we should ban all homosexual contact as it's against nature". Might as well, yes? I mean, from what you and OSC are saying that since heterosexuals are based on natural law and overall civilizing moral force, then homosexuals should be outlawed because they're not beneficial to humanity as a whole, yes? They're trying to imitate the real thing, yes? If you don't support them marrying because of these reasons, then you should also support banning them altogether for these very same reasons you listed.
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Two gay people get married....how is this hurting your marriage or the marriage between a man and a woman? Everyone still gets up in the morning. They sun still comes up, the birds still sing and life goes on. You're showing your true colors here and showing that you truly ARE a homophobe, regardless of you're denial. With you're "as unnatural as it may be" and "most people find the idea of mating between people of the same gender repugnant" and "nature doesn't want creatures of the same gender to mate". It's the same thing as a bigot saying "I'm not a bigot or a racist...it's just nature saying that black people are inferior to white people, that's just nature...but I'm not a racist". But regardless of your thinly veiled homophobia, marriage is a made up thing. It is NOT a natural phenomenon. If we wanted to follow nature then there would be no marriage at all and men would try to impregnate as many different women as he could like other mammals do. If you look at the natural world you'll find very very VERY few species are monogamous. Even the once thought monogamous penguin that conservatives like to point to in "March of the Penguin" are only monogamous for the breeding season...then they find new partners in the next breeding season. Is that how we should do marriage here since that's "nature"? Every year get a new mate? Nature seems to want that, yes? But signing off, you're right, when someone opposes gay marriage it doesn't mean they're a homophobe....but you are. You're posts are rife with unwarranted fear.
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just words. Marriage is a human construct and the definition is potentially as wide as the human imagination.
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