It’s Friday, and you know what day that is. Time for your free game.

Title: Bejeweled
Developed and published by: PopCap Games
For: Windows and Mac OS
ESRB rating: Everyone

The archetypal “match three” puzzle game, “Bejeweled” is a habit-forming brain teaser. The goal is simply to swap gems horizontally or vertically to make a match of three or more; do it right and with a little luck you can set up combos as falling gems stack into more pairs. It’s controlled enough that you can almost figure out the sort of chain reaction you’re about to set off, but random enough that it’s impossible to truly predict what will happen. The game is available in a free browser-based version (as per the link), or you can download a fancier edition with a limited free demo. And if you like it, you can always check out the sequel.

(Screen capture by Justin Hoeger)

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“Hulk excited about summer movie season. Hulk smash box office records!”

Summer is officially here.

I’ve seen “Iron Man” (awesome), “The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian” (solid) and “Speed Racer” (fun, but seizure-inducing).

I’ve been wowed and underwhelmed by “Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.” And I’m likely traipsing to a screening of “Sex and the City” with all my fashion-forward gal pals.

As summer progresses, here’s my take on six of the most anticipated trailers this season. Tune in later for “Hellboy II,” “The Dark Knight” and Pineapple Express.”

“Sex and the City: The Movie” (opens today)

When did Sarah Jessica Parker get so … veiny? Although the 43-year-old star looks fresh as a dew drop in this trailer, recent photos reveal a host of bones, wrinkles and ropey muscles.

As for “Sex” itself, I remain torn. At first glance, the film promises all the fashion, froth and girl talk the series so delightfully delivered. But where’s the angst? The sizzle? The excitement? This cast looks a little tired.

“The Incredible Hulk” (In theaters June 13)

I can believe Edward Norton as a nerdy scientist. He’s got the height and narrow shoulders, the careful diction, even a certain nebbish sex appeal.

But the Incredible Hulk? Forget it.

Even in Angry Green Giant form, Norton’s too dainty for rock ‘em, sock ‘em fight sequences, his voice too East Coast academic for superhero schlock. Too bad, since “Incredible Hulk” promises all the action and state-of-the-art special effects that Ang Lee’s angst-ridden version lacked.

Frankly, I just want to watch the Hulk get clobbered by Tim Roth’s gnarly Abomination.

“The Happening” (June 13)

Communication is cut off. Society is threatened. And everywhere, people are dying.

As a suit (actually it’s Alan Ruck, Cameron from “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off”) explains, the symptoms of this epidemic are loss of speech, followed by physical disorientation. “The third stage,” he adds, “is fatal.”

Let’s ignore for a second that “The Happening” sounds like some groovy shindig at a beatnik bar. This is potentially scary stuff.

M. Night Shyamalan is known for plots that hinge on a single gimmick — aliens who are vulnerable to water, say, or a protagonist who just happens to be a ghost.

So there’s only one question in my mind: What’s the inevitable twist?

Is it a bio-terror attack? A crippling disease? Spacemen? Mermaids? Dead bees? My money’s on star Mark Wahlberg.

“Get Smart” (June 20)

While I generally cringe at the thought of classic TV shows-turned-box office tuna, this big-screen version of “Get Smart” may actually work.

Steve Carell has the right kind of daffy chutzpah to pull off Maxwell Smart, the goofy spy with a phone in his shoe. His supporting cast — Anne Hathaway, Alan Arkin and The Rock — looks solid.

Plus, the movie promises plenty of silliness, putting Carell through his paces with bead curtains, ballroom dancing and deadly lazers. With any luck, “Get Smart” could be good, old-fashioned fun.

“WALL-E” (June 27)

Whoever knew a robot could be so cuddly?

Pixar’s latest animated tale centers around the cutest bucket of bolts to grace the silver screen, a little worker drone called WALL-E. He’s hard-working, curious and, as the narrator shares, “just a little bit lonely.”

Unlike the glib roadsters in the tepid “Cars,” the robots in “WALL-E” demonstrate surprisingly real emotions: hope, humor, love. Their adventures have an epic quality. And, thanks to some amazing computer graphics, they look great, too.

“WALL-E” comes across as “E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial” meets “Finding Nemo.” A sure hit.

“Wanted” (June 27)

Speaking of veiny, it’s high time somebody hooked Angelina Jolie up to a feed trough. Her cheekbones are so sharp I could cut my steak with them.

Based on a comic book series, “Wanted” centers on one of those delightfully absurd premises found only to movies.

You see, young Wesley (James McAvoy) is actually the son of one of the world’s best assassins. When Dad gets whacked, he’s invited to follow in the Old Man’s footsteps — and darned if he doesn’t have to get close to Angie to do it.

With Jolie as the eye candy and Morgan Freeman as the wise old mentor, “Wanted” borders dangerously close on silly. Still, the sheer amount of gunfire, speeding cars and explosions could make for an entertaining time — provided you ignore the physics fallacies. Curving bullets, anyone?

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                        ”Cry Baby Cry” Was a “White Album” Classic in 1968 

I’d like to say my parents played “Cry Baby Cry” when I was in the crib, but it’s highly unlikely. My parents, after all, were never Beatles fans.

And, frankly, that kind of annoys me. Even though my dad was just 29 when the “White Album” came out, his musical interests never evolved past the Everly Brothers – his favorite.

I’ve often wondered why he didn’t care for the Fab Four. Was he too old for the Beatles at 29? Did he not like them because they were British? I don’t remember ever hearing my dad listening to anything by a British band. Was he jealous of their lifestyle?

On the other side, my mom wouldn’t even get into music until disco and the new-look Fleetwood Mac surfaced a few years later. Unlike my dad, she did like British music – especially if it was by Rod Stewart.

I was born two days after the “White Album” came out. It was November 24, 1968, in some hospital in Chicago.

Frankly, I don’t remember much about it.

Years later, I asked my mom if I had been a mistake. And, of course, she said no because mothers don’t say things like, “Yeah – you were a mistake.” But I was 61/2 and 71/2 years younger than my sister and brother, and my dad never seemed to wild about the idea of kids, so I still have my suspicions.

I was born into curious times, though. Both Robert F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King Jr. had been assassinated just months before, and the war in Vietnam was in full force. No one had ever walked on the moon at that point. And while Woodstock hadn’t happened yet, it was still a great time for live music. On my birthday, you could have seen Jimi Hendrix perform in Miami Beach, Janis Joplin in Dallas or the Grateful Dead in Cincinnati. But best of all, the Beatles were still together.

That’s right — the Beatles were still alive when I was born. (In fact, they still had “Abbey Road” and “Let it Be” coming.) And while that may signal that I’m fast becoming a geezer, at least I can cling to that part of musical history.

“Cry Baby Cry” was a sweet song with nursery rhyme-like lyrics that Lennon wrote after the band returned from India. While I don’t remember growing up with this song, I’d “discover” the Beatles years later, after hearing “Twist and Shout” in the movie “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.” Not long after that movie, I bought the re-released 45 of “Twist and Shout” — my first Beatles purchase.

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There’s a Barenaked Ladies song called ”It’s All Been Done,” which, translated loosely, means: It’s all been done. 

While the song is basically about relationships, I like to cite it – okay, maybe even sing it — when making a case about art. Because, really, nothing is new – it’s all borrowed and tweaked.

Now some may equate borrowing and tweaking to stealing. I once read an interview where Van Morrison accused Bruce Springsteen of ripping him off. And comedian Bobcat Goldwaithe used to say Sam Kinison’s trademark screaming was, in fact, taken from his bit.

Don’t these guys know that line about imitation being the most sincere form of flattery?

Guess not.

Of course, I’m defending the “borrowing and tweaking” concept because I myself am about to do it. A while back, I interviewed Al Young, California’s Poet Laureate, who had written a series of memoirs connected with music. So, for instance, in a piece about the song “Respect,” he wrote about a conversation he once had with a cab driver while “Respect” played on the radio. In an essay about Rosemary Clooney’s “Come On-a My House,” he wrote about meeting one of the song’s composers, William Saroyan. And so on.

When I first learned of this, I thought it was a cool idea. In fact, so cool, I knew instantly that I wanted to steal it. (I don’t feel bad about ripping Al off, though – he said it wasn’t his original idea, either.)

So starting tomorrow, I will embark on my own musical memoirs, which will appear on this blog as an occasional series.

I don’t have a title yet, so if you have any suggestions, feel free to offer them up.

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You might have heard of a game called “Beyond Good & Evil.” It was, like last week’s Free Game Friday selection, an imaginative and well-regarded game that didn’t make much of a splash at retail, quickly relegated the Ubisoft release to bargain bins and clearance racks (you can find used copies pretty cheap these days, or play it with a GameTap subscription).

Maybe the game was too unique to succeed. The photojournalist heroine was tough and competent, and not played up for sex appeal the way most female game protagonists are. The gameplay was a bit like a “Zelda” game, but with a sci-fi setting. It had its own look and feel, and the matter-of-fact cast of humans, aliens, robots and anthropomorphic animals was bizarre.

Arriving as it did in November 2003, during the crowded holiday release season — and facing competition from Ubisoft’s other releases, like the “Prince of Persia” remake, to say nothing of other companies’ games — it’s perhaps not much of a surprise the game didn’t take hold.

“BG&E” ended on a cliffhanger, but for years there was no solid word on a sequel. A few rumors surfaced here and there. Conventional wisdom was that the game hand’t sold well enough to warrant a follow-up. Some people gave up hope. But not I! And now, here I sit, vindicated — Ubisoft is developing a sequel.

I’m curious: What games do you want to see sequels to? Let me know in the comments!

(Image courtesy BeyondGoodEvil.com.)

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There’s weird, and then there’s Hunter S. Thompson weird.

Thompson, the godfather of gonzo journalism, left behind a legacy of brilliant, drug-addled literature when he went to that big freakout in the sky a couple years ago.

His essays about American culture and politics are so strange and insightful, so twisted and utterly true that they’re a big challenge to portray on the silver screen.* You’d have to be crazy to even attempt such a feat. In fact, you’d have to be Terry Gilliam.

Perhaps that’s what gave Gilliam — the former Monty Python member behind such quirky gems as “Brazil,” “Time Bandits” and “The Adventures of Baron Munchausen” — the courage to make “Fear and Loathing.”

“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” follows Thompson’s alter-ego Raoul Duke (Johnny Depp) and his lawyer/sidekick (Benicio del Toro) as they travel from Los Angeles to Las Vegas hopped up on every drug known to mankind.

Their journey leads them through a bizarre chain of adult playgrounds, as the fearsome duo examines the dark, psychedelic side of the American dream. It’s a journey well worth taking.**

“Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” plays at 7 and 9:15 p.m. tonight at The Palm Theatre, 817 Palm St. in San Luis Obispo.

Tickets are $7.50.

***

* Many have tried including Martin Scorsese and Oliver Stone. As rumor has it, Jack Nicholson and Marlon Brando once signed on as Raoul Duke and Dr. Gonzo. Dan Aykroyd and John Belushi considered the project at another point.

** Another screen adaptation of Thompson’s work worth seeing is “Where the Buffalo Roam,” starring Bill Murray as the cigarette-smoking, sunglass-sporting journalist.

Check it out and compare his Thompson to Depp’s version.

Photo above courtesy of MovieWeb.

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So every now and then I’ll see at myself in the reflection of a car window and think: “I’m not doing too badly. I mean, yeah, I could lose a few pounds — sure. Who couldn’t, right? But I’m not far off. Maybe I jog for a month. And maybe I cut back on sodas again. But basically — this not quite summer, when I really get active — I’m doing okay.”

So I’m all right with myself, right? But then I go to try some new clothes on and see myself in the dressing room mirror, and I’m like: “YARK! Who’s the baby whale?”

Seriously. I’ll be in the dressing room, and I just can’t believe this shirtless blob standing in front of me is actually me. So, forgetting the clothes I’m supposed to be trying on, I’ll try all these different poses, thinking, you know, maybe it’s the angle I’m at. Like, you know, the lighting is doing something funky in there that has somehow transformed me into my dad at 50.

But basically what it comes down to is this: Dressing rooms mirrors are evil.

I mean, really. What makes dressing room mirrors make you look so . . . whale-like? Is it some twisted ploy by department store researchers to get you to buy more clothes? If so, I’m not sure it works. Because the only thing I want to do is cover myself with at that point is a blanket.

Or a tarp.

So now whenever I’m in a dressing room, I avoid looking at the mirror until I actually have the prospective new clothes on. And then I’m like: “Yeah. I’m not doing too badly here.” 

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Is your kid the next Steven Spielberg? Soderbergh? Sayles?

Young filmmakers have a chance to learn the craft this summer with a two-week workshop organized by the San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.

Organizers will offer classes from July 14 to 24, thanks to a grant from the San Luis Obispo County Community Foundation.

“Young people are so inventive and have a different take on the world than adults do, so we are hoping to give them the skills they need to go out and make their own films,” said Wendy Eidson, the film festival’s executive director. “We are trying to encourage collaboration so that they learn how a ‘real’ film is made.”

Each workshop will be limited to ten young people. They’ll learn the basics of filmmaking by writing, producing, directing, editing and acting in their own short films, Eidson said.
The results will be screened for family and friends on the final day of the workshop. Audiences can also catch the short films at next year’s San Luis Obispo International Film Festival.

Two local filmmakers will lead the classes.

Aaron Metchik, a UCLA film school graduate, directed his first professional feature-length film this summer.

Alan Fraser teaches video production and photography at Arroyo Grande High School, and film courses at Allan Hancock College in Santa Maria. His feature film “Next Time” won best picture awards at the Hollywood and Long Beach Film Festivals.

Each session costs $200, with a limited number of half-tuition scholarships available.

Kids entering grades 3 to 6 will attend class from 9 a.m. to noon, Monday through Thursday.

Those entering grades 7 to 9 have class from 1 to 4 p.m., Monday through Thursday. And future 10th, 11th and 12th graders will attend workshops at 6 to 9 p.m., Monday through Thursday.

For more information or to register, visit www.slofilmfest.org or call Wendy Eidson at (805) 546-3456.

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An Homage to “The Big Lebowski” Continues in Mutts Strip 

So this Mutts guy really loves “The Big Lebowski.”

Last February, Patrick McDonnell, creator of the syndicated Mutts cartoon strip, dedicated a week’s worth of strips to “The Big Lebowski,” the 10-year-old Coen brothers nod to noir (which, by the way, was a hit last week at the Palm Theater’s cult classics series.) This week, “Moochowski” is back with another round of robe-wearing fun.

If you’ve missed the strips so far, McDonnell’s character Mooch, an upright walking cat, takes on the same slacker qualities as the Dude, a laid-back (to say the least) former roadie-turned amateur sleuth portrayed on film by Jeff Bridges.

When McDonnell first explored “Lebowski,” Tribune features copy editor Jay Thompson — a self-proclaimed Achiever himself — e-interviewed McDonnell, who explained his Lebowski homage:

“I’m an admirer of the Coen brothers’ work, and of ‘The Big Lebowski’ in particular,” he said. “While watching it again recently I was thinking how cat-like the Dude is. I saw similarities with my Mooch character. So I thought it might be fun to do Mooch as the Dude. A bathrobe is the perfect garment for a house cat.”

 I’d say either he REALLY likes “The Big Lebowski” or he’s running out of ideas. But, if Internet comments are any indication, it was a big hit the first time around. So why not?

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For this installment of Free Game Friday, I give you …

Title: Psychonauts
Developed by: Double Fine Productions
Published by: Majesco Entertainment
For: Windows
ESRB rating: Teen

This was something of an underappreciated gem when it first came out. Nevertheless, it was a critical favorite in 2005 and has developed a strong cult following since then.

In “Psychonauts” you play as Raz, an oddball kid who infiltrates a psychic training camp and has to learn all he can before his parents arrive to pick him up. He’s a natural at the psychic basics, and much of the game is spend crawling around inside the minds of various characters, each of which reflect their personalities. The art style is intentionally twisted and deformed, and the dialogue is hilarious — much of the game was written by Erik Wolpaw, who wrote the script for last year’s darkly funny “Portal.”

The game isn’t available for free on its own, though you can likely find a used copy pretty cheap online or in a game store. However, it’s free to play through the end of the year on GameTap, a service that allows you to download and play games as long as you do so through the service’s front end.

Most games on the service require a paid GameTap subscription to play (about $10 a month, or $60 for a year), but “Psychonauts” is among a few dozen titles that can be played with a free account. You’ll have to sign up, download and install the GameTap client and game data, and sit through an ad before the game will start up, but aside from the hard drive space and time involved, it costs nothing. But remember, it’s only free through Dec. 31 of this year, so don’t dawdle!

(Image courtesy of Psychonauts.com)

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