Venture Bros. 'Ladle' Out First Details of Animated Special

Adult Swim serves up the first details and synopsis from The Venture Bros. upcoming animated special "From the Ladle to the Grave: The Story of Shallow Gravy."

Frith Almighty, it's been a good six months since we've seen any new Venture Bros. but the good folks at Adult Swim are finally ready to ladle out a fresh helping!

A ways back we learned from Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick themselves that not only had The Venture Bros. Been renewed for a fifth and sixth season, but that their new contracts included both a 60-90 minute special, as well as a Summer short to tide over fans.  Thanks to the Adult Swim upfronts, we now have our first details of what to expect when the fifteen-minute short drops on July 24th.

The second Venture Bros. inter-season special in their history, this Summer special "From the Ladle to the Grave: The Story of Shallow Gravy" will outline the truly fictional story behind Hank, Dermott and H.E.L.P.E.R.'s legendary two-man-one-robot band Shallow Gravy, last seen rocking the titular madness of "Operation P.R.O.M!"

From the official press release:

THE VENTURE BROS. SPECIAL—FROM THE LADLE TO THE GRAVE: THE STORY OF SHALLOW GRAVY

See the Venture Family as you’ve never seen them before: in a 15-minute documentary-style animated special. Follow the meteoric rise, the equally meteoric fall, and the decidedly un-meteor-like second coming of the most important band Hank Venture, Dermott Fitctel and H.E.L.P.eR. robot have ever been in: Shallow Gravy. If you’re hungry for rock, then open wide, because here comes a ladle of heavy metal fire and metaphoric meat drippings. 

Launched on Adult Swim in August 2004, The Venture Bros. is an inspired spoof of 1960s action cartoon shows such as Johnny Quest. Created by Jackson Publick III (King of the Hill, The Tick), the 30-minute animated series follows the bizarre misadventures of the Venture family. The Venture Bros. Special—From the Ladle to the Grave: The Story of Shallow Gravy premieres July 24 on Adult Swim.

But that's not all!  You can also check out our five-part interview with creators Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick covering everything from today's movies and TV, to who and what we might expect when the Venture Bros. returns for their ten-episode fifth season! 

Magnet Releasing To Take You Beyond The Black Rainbow

The trippy sci-fi festival favorite from an alternate 1983 lands a distribution partner.

Panos Cosmatos' Beyond the Black Rainbow, the only memorable film from this year's Tribeca Film Festival, has landed a distribution partner.  And it is the right partner.

Our friends at Magnet Releasing, the sociopaths who brought us Rubber and Hobo With a Shotgun and Black Death and the upcoming Trollhunter, announced the deal the other day at the Cannes Film Festival.  It was swallowed by the news of Lars von Trier being a douche but, much like the insidious nature of this otherworldly film, the message has still seeped out.

Beyond the Black Rainbow is an endurance test - an intensely slow movie, focused on eerie tone over plot.  It bathes in the aesthetic of late '70s and early '80 science fiction, like a visit to EPCOT on some really bad LSD.

No timetable for VOD or theatrical release has been announced.

Below is the festival trailer.  If this doesn't turn you on, then you and I really have nothing to say to one another.

Check out my review of Beyond the Black Rainbow from the Tribeca Film Festival.

Uncover L.A. Noire's Hidden Secrets with the Official App

Want some sick achievements/trophies? We've got you covered.

Depending on the game, I can be satisfied with online FAQs--that is, I would be, if I weren't perfect at every single video game ever made. But I've got to hand it to BradyGames for coming up with a strategy guide I actually want to plunk down money for.

The official L.A. Noire app (available for iPhone/iPad as well as Android) will help you find all of the latest RockStar instant classic's hidden content much faster and more efficiently than any poorly-edited .txt file you can print off the ol' interwebs.

The app, which will run you $2.99, consists of a completely zoomable game map. All over the map are little icons denoting the locations of the game's collectibles and secrets, like the film reels, cars, landmarks, and badges (should you have the Badge Pursuit DLC). That'll put you in the correct location. Once you're in the vicinity, tap on the icon of the item you want to find. The app will show you pictures of the item's general and specific area (both full-screenable) as well as give you detailed instructions on how to find it.

The best part, though, is that once you've found a hidden item, you can check it off as collected. You can then hide the collected items from appearing on the app's map, which will then show you only the items you still need to collect. This is way easier than trying to scratch 'em off as you go in your strategy guide. Not that I've done that.

Throw in some mood music and sound effects, and you've got yourself a decent little purchase here that puts you well on your way to regaling the RockStar Games Social Club with tales of your 100% completion rate.