There are a million different ways to watch TV these days. You can record a show on your DVR, watch it on-demand on your cable box, view it on your computer or iPad using Hulu, Amazon Instant Video or Netflix and even go old school and buy it on DVD and Blu-Ray. And these are just a few of the available options! Unfortunately, each of these methods carries its own inherent limitations. Netflix, which was my preferred on-demand video source for years, restructured their prices and it was recently announced that Starz, one of their largest content providers, would be pulling the plug on their selection of streaming videos in 2012. Limited selection is the primary downfall of all these services, but what if you could get access to all a network’s programming in one place? That’s exactly where HBO Go comes in.

Unlike Xfinity’s on-demand or Netflix’s streaming, HBO Go offers all episodes from all seasons of popular shows like Curb Your Enthusiasm and True Blood. So, instead of only being able to see Larry David try to court a bisexual girl or get spooked by an ice cream truck, you can also relive the time he became a car salesman, or when he befriended a rap star, or the episode where he was going to star in The Producers on Broadway. HBO Go is perfect for catching up with your favorite HBO series or re-watching past episodes before a new season begins. Forgot how Margaret and Nucky’s relationship began? Get caught up with all 12 episodes of Boardwalk Empire before the new season starts later this month. Can’t remember how Eric met Godric? Go back and watch season two of True Blood before season four concludes next week.

The best part of HBO Go is that it’s HBO, a network with some of the best original programming around. You don’t get as many Emmy nominations as they have without having quality content and they’ve raised the bar for TV.  Their documentaries are moving, their series fascinating and their specials entertaining. They’ve got the goods and now you can too, whenever and wherever you want. They own the content and they can distribute as much of it as they want on their app.

The only downside to this wonderful dream is that you have to subscribe to HBO through your cable or satellite provider to use it, which means you’re still tied to those dinosaurs and their bundled packages and tiered price structures. Pay-per-view services from Amazon or Apple TV offer good competition, but so far, if you want the full TV experience in one place, you’re stuck with a box in your living room.

HBO Go is a step in the right direction and will hopefully lead the industry to wake up and see that consumers are ready for a new kind of TV. With more people watching shows and movies on mobile devices and laptops, TV isn’t even TV anymore. And that’s why HBO is thriving. It’s not TV, after all, it’s HBO.

The music video for “Na Na Na”, the first single from the upcoming My Chemical Romance album Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, marks a welcome departure from the gloom and doom of The Black Parade with bright colors, a fun low-budget attitude and a new narrative style.

Frank Iero, Mikey Way, Gerard Way and Ray Toro of My Chemical Romance

The general narrative for The Black Parade involved a character named The Patient, who was dying of cancer, being ushered into the afterlife by a goth Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. The music video for the first single had Gerard Way, Mikey Way, Ray Toro, Frank Iero and former drummer Bob Bryar as the band leading the parade of the dead through a dark, ash-colored world of rubble and wreckage. Additional videos, for singles “I Don’t Love You”, “Famous Last Words”, and “Teenagers”, kept with the narrow color palate and more somber subject matter. While “Famous Last Words” had an uplifting message, it was delivered through a video that saw the band performing in the midst of the flaming wreckage of the parade float from the “Welcome to the Black Parade” video.

The Killjoys fill up their Trans Am

Members of the band have stated in several interviews that, while The Black Parade was their most successful album to date, it was also the force that nearly destroyed the band. Instead of being guys from New Jersey who were lucky enough to play music for a living, they felt trapped by their own creation and they were no longer enjoying what they were doing.

It was at this point when they started to record a new album with the goal of doing the opposite of The Black Parade. But, when all was said and done, they weren’t happy with that either. They started from scratch all over again and the result was Danger Days.

The first single, “Na Na Na”, shows a change of tone from the get-go with a catchy chorus and amusing lyrics. It’s more of a return to the punk vibe of early MCR. There’s no more morose theatrics and the song certainly won’t be classified under the dreaded “emo” category. Instead, it’s up beat and, most of all, it’s fun.

Gerard Way as Party Poison

The video, co-directed by Roboshobo and Gerard Way, is superb! It’s like a Spaghetti Western meets a post-apocalyptic low-budget sci-fi. It’s what a movie about the future would look like if it was made in the late 1970s/early 1980s. Like Heavy Metal meets Mad Max meets Faster Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, the gritty video takes place in a desert landscape with the MCR gang joined by a cute multi-culti little girl as they cruise around in their Trans Am and blast bad guys with laser guns. Each member of the band takes on a different Killjoy persona with Gerard as Party Poison, Toro as Jet Star, Iero as Fun Ghoul and Mikey as Kobra Kid. Comic book writer Grant Morrison stars as the bad guy, leader of the masked enemies who are out to kill the Killjoys. Gerard has cited Morrison’s work, particularly Doom Patrol, as an inspiration both for the band and for his own comic, The Umbrella Academy.

Very unlike the videos from The Black Parade, “Na Na Na” is filled with color, right down to Gerard’s bright red hair. Shots of Mikey doing karate kicks or Iero teaching the little girl to shoot a bazooka add a light-hearted spirit not seen in recent MCR videos and the overall feel is fun and vibrant. This also marks the band’s first video that doesn’t feature any performance of the song. Instead, the song serves as a soundtrack for the narrative, adding depth and making the video seem more like a short film.

If “Na Na Na” is any indication, Danger Days will be the perfect turn for the “new” My Chemical Romance.

View the video below or on the Trashwire Blog.

At the San Diego Comic-Con this year, DC Entertainment premiered the trailer for their upcoming film Red, based off the 3-part limited comic release from Homage Comics.

Admittedly, I know nothing about the mini-comic series so my thoughts on this movie are based purely on what I’ve seen from the trailer and upon first viewing I’m definitely intrigued.

The premise of the movie looks to be similar to that of The Watchmen. A former crime fighting crew, this time CIA members, are off enjoying retirement (REDS – Retired Extremely Dangerous) when they realize someone is trying to kill them. Upon this realization the gang gets back together to stop their attempted killer.

Again, this is all based on what I took in from the trailer and little tidbits I gathered online so my idea of what the film is about could be way off. Regardless of the plot however, the movie looks to have a lot of promise.

The cast should be stellar headed by Bruce Willis and John Malkovich. Anytime a movie stars Malkovich, my interested immediately peaks. Add in Morgan Freeman and Ernest Borgnine and I’ll be first in line. Plus, it doesn’t hurt that Brian Cox, Richard Dreyfuss, Helen Mirren and Mary-Louise Parker are all along for the ride as well.

Anyway, enough of my rambling about what I think Reds could be about. Check out the trailer below and see what you think for yourself.

Today at Comic-Con, I got to kick back and enjoy a few panels–which was lovely considering I’ve had about four hours of sleep since I got here. I had fun hearing about writing Invincible Iron Man and Avengers, saw some of the most ridiculous comics ever, learned about creating effects for Avatar and found out Gerard Way’s favorite fictional bounty hunter.

Early in the morning, I attended the Marvel Comics Writers Unite! panel, which featured Brian Michael Bendis, Matt Fraction, Chris Claremont and Mark Waid. They talked about writing within the “rules” of a predefined universe and some of their least favorite artist-writer parings. They were really engaging and had the audience cracking up.

After that, I got to check out the Spotlight on Gerard Way panel. That was very cool to see because Gerard Way, Gabriel Ba and Scott Allie talked all about the Umbrella Academy. Of course, things tend to drift pleasantly off topic during the Q&A and Ba told the audience about watching 90201 all the time growing up in Brazil. He mused that the show was one of his favorites as a kid and as he got older he realized, “that show is about nothing.” Way talked about everything from adopted-sibling love to his daughters favorite book to his favorite fictional bounty hunter–he chose Dog–and had amusing little anecdotes to fan questions. He also briefly discussed the next My Chemical Romance album and quickly mentioned the upcoming Umbrella Academy film.

Later on, I stumbled upon the Oddball Comics pane. Scott Shaw presented a slideshow of “the craziest comic books ever published” with absolutely hilarious commentary. The show presented the covers for gems from the past like Rainbow Batman and Doll Man. Shaw’s collection of useless superheroes and promotional comics was outstanding.

Next up was The Winston Effect. The panel was all about the special effects of Stan Winston and included Winston’s son Matt. The accomplished effects artists talked about creating characters, not relying solely on green screen and the new Stan Winston School of Character Arts. Winston’s work was astounding, so it was really fascinating to hear about it from people who were right there with him making it happen.

Today also featured two celebrity surprises. I spotted Joel McHale as he was exiting the G4 stage and saw Adrienne Curry in an absolutely perfect Leeloo costume.

After roaming the exhibit hall for another hour, I was ready to pass out and had thoroughly enjoyed my first Comic Con. I’m definitely planning to come back next year to see if it could possibly top the fun of this experience.

I have been a fan of the Whitest Kids U’Know since back in the day when the series was on Fuse. Trashwire even featured a piece about the evolution of tv sketch comedy focusing on WKUK as well as other sketch shows like Human Giant and the short-lived Acceptable TV. Last Monday, I capped off an outrageously fun weekend by heading to the Oriental Theatre in Denver where all five members of the Whitest Kids U’Know were performing live.

The evening kicked off with Timmy Williams, Zach Cregger, Darren Trumeter, Sam Brown and Trevor Moore performing fan-favorite sketches from the series such as the hilarious “Motorcycle Mama” or my personal favorite, “What Really Happened to Abe Lincoln” among others. They also busted out some new sketches and even screened a few clips from the newest season of their series, which moved from Fuse to IFC after its first season.

All the sketches were a huge hit for the enthusiastic audience, who gleefully anticipated some of the classics just buy looking at where the guys stood on the stage. When Moore, Brown and Cregger emerged from one corner of the stage pantomiming carrying rifles, someone behind me gasped, “Oh! Sexy Fawn!” instantly recognizing the staging for that popular sketch. The same audible excitement occurred when all five took the stage in positions for their “Dating Show” sketch, one of the filthiest and most hilarious in the WKUK arsenal.

One of the most interesting factors about watching the Whitest Kids live is the absence of props, wigs, set design and other production elements from their stage show. Because I never had the chance to see them live in New York, where the group began and where they frequently perform, my only real point of reference was the sketches from the tv series and grainy YouTube clips of the guys performing at comedy clubs like Caroline’s. It was really interesting to watch a sketch like “Sexy Fawn”, which contains costumes, an outdoor location and props, performed without any of those elements. In many ways, it added an extra level to the comedy because watching Trumeter prance around in jeans instead of a full fawn suit made things even more bizarre.

After the show, the guys headed into the theater to chat with the audience, which was where I managed to score pictures with each member of the team. The young crowd circled around them waiting for pictures, autographs, or just a chance to say hello. One fan even brought a replica of the “gallon of PCP” from that hilarious sketch.

I was exceptionally impressed with how friendly and personable all of them were. I chatted with Moore and Williams about my previous Trashwire coverage and both remembered the article. We also talked about the tour, which supports the release of Moore and Cregger’s new film Miss March, and they confessed that Denver crowds are some of their favorites because they seem to get every joke. Moore explained that one of his favorite bits is “Epilepsy Test”, a video mostly consisting of a long sequence of “gathering your results” which seldom connects with the audience, however Denver fans applauded and laughed loudly during the entire sequence.

With their enthusiasm for Denver, we can certainly hope that the Whitest Kids U’Know will return to the Mile High City in the near future.

View photos below or on the photos page.

[Show as slideshow]