There were several reasons to worry about the latest entry into the X-Men film franchise, X-Men: First Class. You could worry about the film being fast-tracked and barely having its filming done in time for release. You could worry about it being set in a time period removed from our own. You could, especially, worry about it being the latest entry into the X-Men film franchise. But it looks like Marvel made a wise choice in director Brian Vaughn (Kick Ass) — early reviews are overwhelmingly positive, stating the film’s script and stars do a great job in reviving the series and shedding new light on familiar characters. It even gets a favorable James Bond comparison in Michael Fassbender’s Magneto. Sounds good to me. We’ll know for sure as more reviews come out in the next few days, in time for First Class’ June 3rd release. Read more…
Uncharted is easily one of this generation’s most “cinematic” video game series, so it only makes sense that Hollywood would be jumping to adapt it to the big screen. Director David O. Russell has been attached to the project for a while now, and made waves with fans months ago by communicating his intentions to cast Mark Wahlberg as Nathan Drake and make the film about “a family of art thieves.” It was announced today that Russell left the project due to “creative differences” — differences I can only assume were “people wanted the Uncharted movie to actually be based on Uncharted.” There hasn’t yet been any word on a new director. Read more…
Who knew Commander Data had so much swagger? He might be the whitest rapper ever, but that’s no reason to hate. The video above was thrown together by musician & fanboy Dan Bull. Aside from his goofier exploits, like singing his open letters and posting them on youtube, Dan’s a pretty talented guy. Head over to his website to check out some of his original work and maybe even consider purchasing some of it. By the way, little known fact — Brent Spiner hated that cat. Read more…
Like many of you, I’ve spent the last year pining away for the upcoming Blu-ray release of the Star Wars saga. Specifically, I’ve been looking forward to owning a copy of the original trilogy in high definition, seeing as I haven’t purchased a set since the THX remastered edition in 1995. They released those “special edition” films less than 2 years later, but the way I see it, at least I’ll always have proof that Han shot first. I was hoping that the upcoming Blu-rays would feature both the original and “special” editions of each film. God knows they have the space to fit them on the disc, but it’s as I feared, only those “special” editions will be included. At least the box art looks pretty swank, right?
For the last few weeks there has been a bit of buzz surrounding the proposed 2012 sequel to J.J. Abram’s Star Trek. According to a recent interview with writer/producer Robert Orci, the film is currently being prepped using a 70-page outline. The script hasn’t been finished, and Abrams is busy wrapping up work on Super 8, and with the film currently set for a June release, things have been looking rather bleak. Now, we’re hearing a rumor that the film’s release has been pushed to the holiday season. A December release date would give them the time they need to throw the film together, but I have to admit I’m disappointed. Still, I wonder if anyone didn’t see this coming a mile away.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 25, 2011 in Videogames
Atari and Bedlam Games’ Dungeons & Dragons: Daggerdale will finally be available for Xbox Live! and PC starting tomorrow. I’ve been waiting for the title patiently since it was announced back in 2010. It’s been a long time since I’ve played a decent D&D-related dungeon crawl, and while it certainly won’t be the same as Black Isle’s Dark Alliance series, everything I’ve heard about the game sounds promising. Expect real-time gameplay, questing, character development and multiplayer modes, all modeled around the updated 4th edition ruleset. Unfortunately, playstation gamers may have to wait a little longer. Daggerdale had been scheduled to hit PSN on the 30th, a week after its PC and Xbox counterparts, but I’m sure nobody was expecting the online store to be down when that date was initially announced. No word on if it’ll still make its scheduled release date.
With the many blogs that I have encounter searching for great graphic novel recommendations, one of them is Kate Dacey of The Manga Critic. To my knowledge she had became a fan of graphic novels as an adult, and therefore provides a pretty interesting perspective from her reviews. She provides insightful responses from her email interview, to which I am quite pleased to include under the cut. Read more…
Like many of you, I’ve spent the last week glued to my copy of Rockstar’s latest thriller, L.A. Noire. As you may already know, the title’s inspired by film noir — a genre defined by its hardboiled action, dark narratives and unique visuals often associated with the ’40s and ’50s. The game itself borrows heavily from the novels of James Ellroy and films like Chinatown, and The Big Sleep. If you’ve been enjoying the game so far and want some supplemental material to watch, look no further.
Back in 1994 Decipher published their first edition of the Star Trek: The Next Generation Customizable Card Game. For the most part, I’ve avoided collectible card games over the years, but I remember having given the game a shot. Unfortunately for a collectible card game, it was incredibly complex with as many as 17 different card types to keep track of. Decipher no longer holds the license for the franchise, and it’s been years since their last set hit the market. Bandai has taken this opportunity to step to the plate with their upcoming Star Trek: The Next Generation Deck Building Game — for all intents and purposes, it’s safe to assume that means it’s just another collectible card game. TrekMovie.com has given us the first look at some of the upcoming cards that will be featured in this summers release.
Posted by Linda Yau on May 23, 2011 in Comic Books
Aside from the ocean, the outer space is considered to be one of the last frontiers to be explored. Neil Armstrong was quoted when he stepped on the moon: “This is one small step for a man, one giant leap for mankind.” The outer space is still a hope of many to be explored, and this is a theme for the series of Twin Spica. Read more…
My parents are nerds, but they’ve never been the dress-up kind (not including that one Star Trek-themed murder mystery dinner party they went to, shocking me by renting very nice Next Generation outfits). However, this never stopped them from taking my brother, me, and occasionally our friends to our nearest Renaissance Faire for many years. The Faire took place in the Blackpoint Forest in Novato, California, for some years…until the land was sold and it had to relocate to— I kid you not —what was essentially the enormous parking lot of The Nut Tree, the “legendary” road stop in Vacaville, CA. The first year it was held there was the last year I remember going, although the faire continues to this day (now held at the Casa de Fruta, a similarly large truck stop in— *shudder* —Hollister, CA). Read more…
The Onion’s A.V. Club site is currently reporting that Hook & Ladder Company 8 of Tribeca, also known as the firehouse that became Ghostbusters HQ in the popular ’80s flicks, may join a number of other fire stations being shut down later this year as the result of budget cuts. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on May 22, 2011 in Cinema, Star Wars
Graphic designer Barn Bocock took iconic brand logos and gave them a Star Wars twist. You can see some of his handiwork above, with inspired edits to the Nike and Puma logos. There are other great pieces on his page, and t-shirts and stickers are (of course) available should you wish to adorn yourself or your property in pop culture versions of already-ubiquitous corporate propaganda. That’s some pretty Dark Side stuff, I think. A Jedi knows not crass commercialism. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on May 22, 2011 in Cinema, Star Wars
Star Tours, the venerable Star Wars attraction at Disneyland, recently underwent a big renovation to bring it up to speed for the 21st century. So how does it stack up to the original? “Light years better,” says the L.A. Times. Not only was the ride updated to feature hi-def 3D , but it also has a total of 54 possible storylines, so you’ll likely never have the same ride twice. The physical hardware (the seats, for example) apparently wasn’t updated as much as the visual stuff, but the Times admits it’s a minor quibble amidst the admittedly awesome rest of the ride. You can ride the brand-new Star Tours on June 3rd. Read more…
You may recall The Dark Knight’s long, involved alternate-reality game, which had followers doing everything from decoding messages hidden in street addresses to taking pictures of themselves in clown makeup to attending fake Harvey Dent campaign events. Even though the film’s release is over a full year away, the marketing campaign for the third film in the trilogy, The Dark Knight Rises, is heating up. Literally. Today, Warner Bros. released a sound clip on the DKR website that, when viewed in a sound editing program, contained the phrase “#thefirerises”. Posting on Twitter with that in your message would add your icon to the page, which eventually filled up, revealing the above photo of Tom Hardy as Bane (click for a high-res version). If that sounds complicated, well, it is! And it’s only going to get more complicated from here. Also, Bane looks pretty imposing, doesn’t he? Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on May 20, 2011 in Animation
Loyal Venture Bros. fans need not fear — not only is the show returning for another season, but we get a special 15-minute, er, special this July! From the Ladle to the Grave: The Story of Shallow Gravy, which details the rise and fall of the titular band started by Hank, Dermot, and H.E.L.P.e.R., will premiere July 24th on Cartoon Network’s Adult Swim. 15 minutes isn’t a lot, but hopefully it’s enough to tide you over until the new season. Go Team Venture! Er, Shallow Gravy, rather. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on May 20, 2011 in Comic Books
Colorist Moose Baumann, responsible for making some of Marvel’s and DC’s most popular heroes leap off the page, is encountering some financial difficulties. His wife incurred some staggering medical bills during her cancer treatments and it’s been an uphill to keep those bills paid on top of normal expenses (you know, like a mortgage). The couple is in danger of losing their home, and Baumann has resorted to selling high-quality prints of his work to make some emergency money. If you’d like to help Moose and his wife out, you can buy one of his prints by emailing him directly at moosebaumann@mediacombb.net. Prints aside, I’m sure he wouldn’t mind a few bucks tossed his way via PayPal either, which is hooked up to that email address. Good luck, Moose! Read more…
I’ve seen people use Minecraft to create all kinds of awesome maps, but I’ve never seen anything quite like this. Not even the Enterprise-D built to scale could hold a candle to these. The video depicts a number of maps based on the various animated works of Studio Ghibli. You’ll recognize scenes and locations from films such as Spirited Away, My Neighbor Totoro, and Laputa: Castle in the Sky, all of which seem masterfully crafted. i can’t imagine how much time and effort was spent constructing these maps, but they’re all really impressive.
Summit Entertainment is once again making noise about their upcoming plans to “reimagine” the Highlander film franchise — I’m not sure how I feel about that term, but it’s probably for the best. In a recent press release, it was announced that they’ve inked a deal with RCR Media Group to co-finance the project. The release goes on to list Justin Lin as still being attached to direct the film, though Lin seems to be in high demand lately. He’s currently set to direct the sequel to his previous film, Fast Five, which proved to be a smash at the box office, as well Terminator 5 — of which, I’d rather see. It also names Art Marcum and Matt Holloway as the script writers. Holloway did a bang up job with Iron Man, so I’ve got high expectations going in. Hopefully the franchise will finally get the treatment it deserves. After all, it’s a hell of a concept, I just wish they had gotten it right the first five or so times.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on May 18, 2011 in Pulp Fiction
Check out this lovely painting by Weta Workshop’s Ben Wootten, who once served as both artist and concept designer for Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy. You may recognize his work from the various DVD extras and art books included with the various releases over the years. WETA recently made his work available for sale in the form of large poster art prints. Each individual 23.7″ x 11.7″ print sells for roughly $35 plus shipping and comes high quality satin paper, and while you may have missed our chance to receive a hand-signed copy, I can assure you each poster is more than worth that price. Unfortunately, the more I look at them, the more I find myself pining away for The Hobbit. Until then, we’ll just be left craving for more. For an closer look at the poster, or to order one of your own, check out the WETA store for more information.
It’s hard to believe that it’s been nearly three years since Namco Bandai’s Soul CaliburIV hit the market. Better known for its quick, combo-driven gameplay, and scantly clad femme-fatals, the latest entry in the series shocked us all when Namco Bandai teamed up with LucasArts to include several guest characters from the Star Wars universe. Some details have finally emerged regarding its long-awaited sequel.
Feast your eyes on this extremely limited edition “Musha” Darth Vader. Yoshitoku, a long-standing Japanese art and craft house, has decided to design this exclusive figure to commemorate their 300th year in business. At just over a food and a half tall, this aluminum and resin sculpt How limited, exactly? They’ll only be producing 30 pieces total and each figure will sell for around 136,500 yen — that’s nearly $1,675. They’re incredibly detailed but I can’t imagine wanting to pay that much for one. Assuming you can afford it, and know enough Japanese to surf Yoshitoku’s official website, pre-orders are open through June 10th.
Today, 20th Century Fox unveiled their plans for a 21st century reboot the Hannah-Barbara classic, The Flintstones to by co-produced by Warner Brothers Television. Overseeing the production will be none other than Family Guy‘s Seth MacFarlane. However, unlike MacFarlane’s raunchier block of animated programming, the show will probably be a tad more family-oriented. Furthermore, while the production might start later this fall, the show itself may not even air until 2013. It’ll be quite the wait, but considering the amount of red tape likely surrounding a series as old as The Flintstones, and MacFarlane’s target demographic, it’s surprising the project even got the green light in the first place. Whether or not the show will be any good definitely remains to be seen.
Posted by Linda Yau on May 16, 2011 in Comic Books
In a life time, a quarter life is a milestone and put this in the context of Viz Media, who just so happens to be celebrating 25 years of being in business this upcoming year. Does it call for a celebration or what? The American manga industry has been having stormy weather recently, so for manga fans, knowing that Viz Media’s age is actually a positive one. Read more…
