The Weekend, and Entertainment News
On Friday evening we headed off to 20 overs cricket again (G, Mark and Alison joined us), but when it started raining heavily about 5 overs into the Cape Cobras runs chase, we left, expecting the game to be called off. It turns out it wasn’t – the target score was rain adjusted and once again the outcome came down to the last ball. This time though, the Natal Dolphins managed to win.
Of course by this point we were back at G’s place looking at the Command & Conquer 3 demo. It runs very well, and the video cut scenes (complete with B-grade actors) are gloriously cheesy, but I can’t say I was wowed by it. The whole project seems to be the ultimate case of EA bowing to fanboy demands in the hope of restoring faith in the company.
On Saturday, we were up to the farm again. While Mark and Paul worked on setting up networks, I worked on my Titan Quest: Immortal Throne review and threw a tennis ball about 600 times for a pack of border collies. The day dragged on though, and I was pretty bored towards the end. We ended up back in Durban only past 7pm, and after that we got to work playing the new Act and storyline of Immortal Throne.
On Sunday, we played more Immortal Throne, finally arriving in Hades. Then we headed to the Pavilion where I found an outfit for next weekend’s wedding in a surprisingly short, painless exercise (Paul may disagree). Then it was back home for a family braai.
And what better way to round off the weekend than with a mini-glut of TV, including most of Season 1 of Family Guy (we discovered we’d missed 4 episodes), the second episode of Heroes, and ETV’s good ol’ late night Walker Texas Ranger re-runs…
In some more pop culture related news, 300 debuted in North America on Friday… and the Spartan boys promptly smashed March box office records, with an estimated $27.7 million first day take, and $70 million weekend. Here’s what SuperheroHype had to say about things:
Director Zack Snyder's adaptation of Frank Miller's epic graphic novel 300 set a new March record with an estimated opening of $70 million from 3,103 locations. Starring Gerard Butler as King Leonidas who leads the Spartans against the massive Persian army, the movie surpassed previous March record holder Ice Age: The Meltdown, which collected $68 million its first weekend last year. Budgeted in the mid-$60 million range, the Warner Bros. release also marks the third-highest debut ever for an R-rated movie, trailing just The Matrix Reloaded ($91.8 million) and The Passion of The Christ ($83.8 million). It is now also the top opening of 2007 so far, beating Ghost Rider's $45.4 million from February.
Only 18 more sleeps, South Africa!
There are a lot more sleeps until My Coke Fest, the massive musical festival in Johannesburg on 27 April, and Cape Town on 1 May. Finally though the local music acts to accompany international bands, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Evanescence, Hoobastank, 3 Doors Down and Staind have been announced by 5FM. They’re:
SPRINGBOK NUDE GIRLS
THE PARLOTONES
EVOLVER
CASSETTE
J
THE DIRTY SKIRTS
LOVE JONES
TAXI VIOLENCE
Out of that list, the group I’m most excited to see has to be Love Jones, who have had some awesome tracks receiving radio play in the last few months. Plus, the rock band has a female vocalist, which is always a big draw card for me. I’ll be curious to see the other local acts though, because apart from The Parlotones and the Nudies, I’m not that familiar with the others.
Of course by this point we were back at G’s place looking at the Command & Conquer 3 demo. It runs very well, and the video cut scenes (complete with B-grade actors) are gloriously cheesy, but I can’t say I was wowed by it. The whole project seems to be the ultimate case of EA bowing to fanboy demands in the hope of restoring faith in the company.
On Saturday, we were up to the farm again. While Mark and Paul worked on setting up networks, I worked on my Titan Quest: Immortal Throne review and threw a tennis ball about 600 times for a pack of border collies. The day dragged on though, and I was pretty bored towards the end. We ended up back in Durban only past 7pm, and after that we got to work playing the new Act and storyline of Immortal Throne.
On Sunday, we played more Immortal Throne, finally arriving in Hades. Then we headed to the Pavilion where I found an outfit for next weekend’s wedding in a surprisingly short, painless exercise (Paul may disagree). Then it was back home for a family braai.
And what better way to round off the weekend than with a mini-glut of TV, including most of Season 1 of Family Guy (we discovered we’d missed 4 episodes), the second episode of Heroes, and ETV’s good ol’ late night Walker Texas Ranger re-runs…
In some more pop culture related news, 300 debuted in North America on Friday… and the Spartan boys promptly smashed March box office records, with an estimated $27.7 million first day take, and $70 million weekend. Here’s what SuperheroHype had to say about things:
Director Zack Snyder's adaptation of Frank Miller's epic graphic novel 300 set a new March record with an estimated opening of $70 million from 3,103 locations. Starring Gerard Butler as King Leonidas who leads the Spartans against the massive Persian army, the movie surpassed previous March record holder Ice Age: The Meltdown, which collected $68 million its first weekend last year. Budgeted in the mid-$60 million range, the Warner Bros. release also marks the third-highest debut ever for an R-rated movie, trailing just The Matrix Reloaded ($91.8 million) and The Passion of The Christ ($83.8 million). It is now also the top opening of 2007 so far, beating Ghost Rider's $45.4 million from February.
Only 18 more sleeps, South Africa!
There are a lot more sleeps until My Coke Fest, the massive musical festival in Johannesburg on 27 April, and Cape Town on 1 May. Finally though the local music acts to accompany international bands, Guns ‘n’ Roses, Evanescence, Hoobastank, 3 Doors Down and Staind have been announced by 5FM. They’re:
SPRINGBOK NUDE GIRLS
THE PARLOTONES
EVOLVER
CASSETTE
J
THE DIRTY SKIRTS
LOVE JONES
TAXI VIOLENCE
Out of that list, the group I’m most excited to see has to be Love Jones, who have had some awesome tracks receiving radio play in the last few months. Plus, the rock band has a female vocalist, which is always a big draw card for me. I’ll be curious to see the other local acts though, because apart from The Parlotones and the Nudies, I’m not that familiar with the others.
Comments
Will be back.