s02e20 - The Rufus Project Redeeming Features Cast: Batman and Robin (1997)

Kristian and Trevor take on the challenge of redeeming Batman and Robin from 1997.  After redeeming a sequel considered to be a franchise killer last time, can we do it a again with the bat-nipple-tastic George Clooney Batman movie?

Is Batgirl's suit as anatomically correct as the Batman and Robins?  Does Arnold Schwarzenegger have any lines that aren't puns?  Does Poison Ivy's venom extend beyond the screen and affect the audience?  Is this movie redeemable?

Listen on and find out!

Did we miss any redeeming features?  Do you think we were too generous or unfair?  Do you have a suggestion, or a challenge, for us to take on in the future?  Then get in touch with us by either leaving a comment on the podcast page, Facebook or Twitter, or email us at therufusproject@gmail.com

Want to know more about Jurassic Park III?

Batman and Robin on IMDB

Batman and Robin trailer

**Fine print**
Opening theme sampled from The Jumpin' Jive - Van Alexander Orchestra (1939), available under public domain at The Internet Archive
Original lyrics and questionable singing by Trevor Holland

RufusReviews Joins The Podcast Revolution... a bit

Download The Pilot Episode

Welcome to the inaugural Rufus Reviews podcast.

I know it's a little rough and a bit unbalanced (a bit like me) but I assure you it will only get better.

Here is all the stuff if you want to see more of what was discussed in the podcast!

Australian Government Announces Broken Anti-Piracy Legislation - RufusReviews

World Premiere of First Guardians of the Galaxy Trailer - YouTube

American Hustle Official Trailer - YouTube

Why The LEGO Movie Is Piracy-Bait For Australians - Gizmodo Australia

Game Review - Spelunky HD - RufusReviews

Fox News Attacks The LEGO Movie - Gizmodo Australia

I am hoping to get a few more voices involved in the podcast as time goes on so please stay tuned.

In the meantime please send your feedback, suggestions and even requests for stories or segments in the comments below, via our Facebook page, Twitter or by email at rufusreviews@gmail.com.

Thanks for listening and, trust me, this is only going to get better!

Clever Geek Of The Week

Always Clear The Porn From Your Browser Before Going On TV - Gizmodo Australia

It's been a bit of a drought of Clever Geeks so far this year so it's nice to see that someone has finally stepped up to proudly take the mantle.  I must admit I came close to declaring Australia's Attorney General, George Brandis, as the winner this week but I have covered his rampant stupidity elsewhere.

This week's recipient of this most hallowed award goes to the production assistant at Chicago WGN (an local news service) who in setting up a story included a brief shot of their mobile device, showing their bookmarks and browsing history (the video has been removed).  It was only a brief shot but that was enough for sharp eyed internet denizens to spot the link at the top of the list, the less than family friendly Pornhub.

The moral of this story is, if you are going to let your device be shown on TV, however briefly, make sure you don't have anything you don't want seen on display.


So, to the production assistant who learnt the hard way that nothing can be hidden once it is on the internet I hereby award you this weeks Clever Geek Of The Week award.

Australian Government Announces Broken Anti-Piracy Legislation

There's A Massive Government-Led Australian Piracy Crackdown On The Way - Gizmodo Australia

Today in a speech to the Australian Digital Alliance our current Attorney General, George Brandis, revealed the government's plan to tackle the scourge of online piracy. How does he plan to do this I hear you ask. Well through the old fallbacks of graduated response (the old three strikes rule), having ISPs take down sites that share copyrighted content and blocking access to websites like the infamous Pirate Bay.

Similar plans have been attempted overseas and have been hugely unsuccessful and previous attempts to introduce them to Australia failed before they even started.  Should these laws actually go through this time then I predict the following:

1. A distraught mother with sad looking children on her lap will appear on Today Tonight in tears saying that her vital internet was cut because "people were hacking it."

2. Precisely zero websites will be taken down by ISPs because no pirate sites are hosted in Australia, mainly because the ISPs are already well versed in taking down such sites for violating their own terms and conditions.

3. There will be a plethora of incorrectly blocked websites and most Australian tech publications will publish guides about how to easily bypass the artificial blockade.

4. The laws will be removed within an 18 to 24 month period due to the cost of enforcement outweighing any actual (or perceived) benefits.

But I have already covered the problems with this type of enforcement, and possible alternatives in depth (here is a selection of stories relating to piracy).  What I really want to do is delve into the remarkable timing of this announcement in line with recent events.

First up there is Foxtel obtaining exclusive rights to the next season of Game Of Thrones, a move that has most people anticipating Australia setting new records for pirated downloads of the popular show.  Previously it has been available within hours through iTunes and last year QuickFlix joined the club giving those fans who didn't have top tier Foxtel access an alternative to piracy.  It isn't much of a stretch to believe that the owners of Foxtel have been pushing hard to try to make sure that those who previously used alternate means have no other choices to signing up to $100+ pay TV package or be forced to wait for local DVD release.

The other development is the Australian Law Reform Commission's recommendation that the principles of fair use under Australian copyright law be broadened which would allow greater flexibility for personal, nonprofit use of purchased content. The mere suggestion of letting people use content they own in any way other than the specific versions they paid for must have had many rights holders in a panic at the thought of not being able to resell content in new formats to people who had bought previous versions. There is solid evidence of just how much entertainment "lobbyists" can pressure politicians so I dare say that George has been fielding many outraged phone calls since this report came down.

Unfortunately there will be no change to this status quo while rights holders hold on to the mistaken belief that every download is a lost sale.  There are multiple studies showing those who download more actually buy more content, there are studies showing how relaxing of DRM policies have led to increased sales and most importantly countries, including France and Great Britain, are in the process of dismantling these broken laws that our government seems hell bent on introducing.

So, in summary, the Australian government has just announced they intend to waste a whole heap of time and money.

Movie Review - DOA: Dead Or Alive

I recently had the bright idea to watch the infamous Street Fighter movie and provide an appropriate review. The problem was that it was so bad that my brain actually shut down and there are substantial parts of the film that I have no memory of. Given this circumstance I thought it was only fitting that I watch a fighting game movie that is still bad but is actually entertaining. Enter DOA: Dead Or Alive (or for the sake of completeness, Dead Or Alive: Dead Or Alive).

DOA takes a refreshing approach to making a movie based on a fighting game by not setting in a post apocalyptic future (Double Dragon or Tekken) or a civil war (Street Fighter).  Instead we have the best fighters in the world being invited by the mysterious Donovan (Eric Roberts) to a fighting tournament. Seems like an obvious premise really.  The story mainly follows Tina (Jaime Pressley), Christie (Holly Valance) and Princess Kasumi (Devon Aoki) who each have their own motives for wanting to compete however Aoki's plotline is the most relevant to the main plot.

If you know the game then you should have a good idea what to expect. Fighting in revealing outfits for the girls and very little attention paid to the male fighters except for plot or comical reasons. There is even a sequence paying homage to the horrendously voyeuristic DOA Xtreme Beach Volleyball game.

Not much can be said about the performances that range from workable to just plain bad. The good part is that everyone seems to be enjoying themselves and no one is taking the proceedings too seriously.  There are a couple of well known faces as well to add just a smidge of legitimacy to proceedings.

This is a good movie to sit back with some friends who are also in the mood for a bad movie.  Keep the beer and munchies rolling and you are in for a fun night that you will feel uncomfortable talking about afterwards.

Alternate Title:  T and A: Dodgy Game Movie

Peter Davison Visits Brisbane

Peter Davison

Today I joined the crowds to meet the legendary Peter Davison in Brisbane ahead of The Dr Who Symphonic Spectacular this weekend.  That's right, the fifth Doctor Who paid a visit to my town.

I rocked up just before 7.00 where surprisingly there was no one else waiting. It still didn't take long for a small group of dedicated Whovians to gather with the line growing in dribs and drabs before a big influx around 8.30.  Then crowd was good natured and friendly with one participant even handing out celery sticks. 

Not too many Dr Who shirts were in evidence with many, myself included, obviously intending to make a dash for their respective workplaces once they were done.

The 7am Club

The ABC shop where this visitation was occurring opened at 9 with plenty of people taking the opportunity to take turns browsing while friends and strangers minded their places. Something the manager seemed very pleased about for some strange reason. The queue itself stretched a fair way around the floor of the Myer Centre and was getting close to the 150 mark.  The security guards keeping an eye on the line were pretty relaxed. Some of the passers by looked a bit confused though.

The age range was pretty diverse with the youngest being around 4 going right up to individuals who would have enjoyed the Peter Davison episodes on their first runs.

There were some very shy people in the crowd

The first full costumed fans made an appearance just after 9.30 with one in full Davison garb and another as Matt Smith which drew much admiration from the patiently waiting crowd.

Where the magic happened

As 10.00 came around the crowd was getting to be a bit too much of an issue for the available area so at that point all had to stand up to allow people to move forward.  Shortly afterwards newcomers arrived to the news that the crowd was well over 200 and they could not let anyone else join the queue.  This created a secondary area of people jockeying for a good vantage point to see Peter Davison.

At 10.15 it all started happening.  Peter Davison came out to the cheers of those at the front and almost immediately got down to business.  I managed a firm handshake and some polite chit chat before I was overcome with awe at meeting one of the classic Doctors.  My wife's Dr Who Annual was signed (only one item allowed), another handshake, some burble from me about how much of a privilege it was to meet him, a quick photo and I was on my way.

From the brief encounter he seemed very relaxed and genuinely pleased to be there.  If he was concerned about the crowd it certainly wasn't showing.

A relaxed Peter Davison

Now to wait to see him in action as the host of the Dr Who Symphonic Spectacular this weekend.  Of course I will let you know what I think!

Yours truly with Peter!

Clever Geek Of The Week

Mystery as HarperCollins Hits Apple With Agatha Christie Piracy Claims - TorrentFreak

It's no secret that Google is regular sent requests to have search results removed if they allegedly link to less than official copies of media (in fact they removed over 5 million results in the last week of September 2013) but, luckily for HaperCollins, it isn't done blindly and without proper consideration.

You see, HarperCollins is the rights holder of the very popular books of Agatha Christie and, considering they would have paid a very pretty penny, they are very protective of their investment.  So much so they sent a request to have Google take down about 1,000 links they said clicked through to infringing copies.  Google ended up complying with about 90% of the request.  The majority of the remaining "illicit links" actually pointed to iTunes and the official copies that HarperCollins would in fact benefit from!

The most outstanding request relates to three ebooks that are currently is pre-release and not expected to be available until March this year!

So, HarperCollins, for be so zealous and forthright in your attempts to protect your copyright, for going to the extent of actually asking for ebooks you are officially selling to be removed from Google results and particularly for wanting to wipe results for ebooks you are hoping to sell in a few months time I hereby award you with this weeks Clever Geek Of The Week award.