Marko Matters

Parting Words

jonathanmarko — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 16:48:04 +0000

It’s been over a week without an update from yours truly, and unfortunately, this latest one comes as the last.

For now, anyway. Due to circumstances beyond my control (i.e. a busy work schedule, trying to do more creative writing), I’m going to have to stop writing in this blog for the time being.

I have really enjoyed taking part in the daily pop culture news environment online this past summer, and I hope you’ve enjoyed reading. It was fun while it lasted, and I certainly hope to take up a journal like this again (if not this same journal), once I have more time to devote to it.

I’ll continue to read the news at the websites listed on my blogroll to the right (as you should!), and I hope people stay in touch!

~Jeff

HUGE 24 Casting News!

jonathanmarko — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 15:13:01 +0000

I’ve got a major scoop on the upcoming season of 24. Usually over the summer/fall, we’ll learn some stuff about the new season before it begins, and up until now, there hasn’t been much. We know that the production of the seventh season got delayed earlier this summer. Plot wise, however, there hasn’t been much to tell.

Fox announced the date of the premiere, which will be Sunday, January 13th. It will be followed by a new episode at its regular time on Monday, January 14th. They followed this announcement with the big news.

If you want to go in fresh, don’t read on…but trust me, if you’re a fan, and particularly if you didn’t like last season, you’re going to want to read this.

Tony Almeida is coming back from the dead.

While the premiere date is bound to be exciting for “24″ fans, that’s nothing compared to the first official confirmation of the return of Tony Almeida. The CTU veteran, played by Carlos Bernard, was one of Jack Bauer’s main allies over the show’s first four seasons, but the character — initially revered for his prodigious soul-patch — was left unceremoniously dead at the hands of a terror suspect in Day 5.

“Tony’s uncertain fate near the end of ‘Day 5′ left the door open for his return,” says executive producer/show-runner Howard Gordon. “And since there was no silent clock at the conclusion of his last appearance — the 24 tribute to a major character’s demise — we always kept this as a possibility.”

Although Tony’s fate didn’t appear so uncertain at the time, fans have kept alive the hope of the character’s eventual return. Producers admitted that one possible ending for the show’s much-maligned sixth season featured Tony showing up as a cliffhanger.

I have been calling this one for years. I absolutely cannot wait.

Source: Chicago RedEye, Zap2It.com

TGS 2007: New Metal Gear Solid 4 Trailer!

jonathanmarko — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 15:03:55 +0000

At Konami’s press conference for the Tokyo Game Show, currently underway in Japan, they brought with them a glorious new trailer for Metal Gear Solid 4. Check it out in HD!

Source: 1UP.com

Bomberman Live Download Pack 2

jonathanmarko — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:43:09 +0000

The second downloadable add-on for Bomberman Live, available on the Xbox Live Arcade, will be made available next week, Wednesday, September 26th for only 250 Microsoft Points.

Check out the details of what’s included over at 1UP.

Source: 1UP.com

TGS 2007: New Kingdom Hearts Games

jonathanmarko — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:40:38 +0000

During their press conference at the Tokyo Game Show earlier this week, Square Enix announced three new Kingdom Hearts games for various consoles. Here’s the info straight from 1UP:

Kingdom Hearts: Birth by Sleep for PSP looks to be a single-player adventure in the vein of the PlayStation 2 iterations, though not “Kingdom Hearts III.” Birth by Sleep’s protagonist was not explicitly named in the presentation, but he looked an awful lot like Zack of Final Fantasy VII/Crisis Core fame.

Kingdom Hearts: 358/2 Days for Nintendo DS appears to star Roxas from Kingdom Hearts II, but its main draw looks to be four-player simultaneous play using members of Organization XIII. It will be in full 3D.

Kingdom Hearts: Coded is a mobile game, likely for Japanese cell phones. It stars the familiar cast of main characters from the original Kingdom Hearts (Sora & co.) and seems to be set between the first and second PlayStation 2 titles.

While the PSP one sounds the coolest, I’ll definitely wind up getting the DS version since that’s what I have. It’s Kingdom Hearts—it’s gotta be good!

Source: 1UP.com

TGS 2007: Smash Bros. Brawl Screens

jonathanmarko — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:38:04 +0000

The Tokyo Game Show has kicked off overseas, and with it will come lots of cool new gaming news.

For now, here are a couple of new screenshots of Smash Bros. Brawl for Wii, showing off the recently announced characters of Diddy Kong and Meta Knight.

Source: 1UP.com

The Hunting Party’s First Three Minutes

jonathanmarko — Fri, 21 Sep 2007 14:27:51 +0000

The first three minutes of Richard Shepard’s The Hunting Party have popped up online.

I have to say I was a little worried about the flick, but after watching this, I’m excited once again.

The film is currently in limited release in theatres.

Source: Slashfilm

Southland Tales Trailer Debuts!

jonathanmarko — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 21:22:57 +0000

No sooner do I finally get around to posting Monday’s rumor that the trailer for Southland Tales would be up this week and voila! The trailer is now up and available in beautiful Quicktime HD over at Yahoo! Movies!

Check it out immediately!

Source: Yahoo! Movies

No Country for Old Men Posters

jonathanmarko — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 21:19:59 +0000

Three new posters for No Country for Old Men, the new Coen Brothers movie have popped up online. Is it just me or does this movie seem almost like something from early David Lynch?

Source: JoBlo

Zodiac: Director’s Cut DVD

jonathanmarko — Thu, 20 Sep 2007 21:13:16 +0000

UPDATE: An early look at the cover art:

Most people saw it coming with the lack of decent special features on the initial release, but now it’s official. A Director’s Cut DVD release of David Fincher’s Zodiac is slated for release January 8th, 2008.

No cover art yet, but head on over to DVDActive for full disc specs.

Source: DVDActive