Posted by Ben Huber on May 3, 2013 in
Cinema,
Comic Books 
A short while ago we heard that the director of Chronicle, Josh Trank, would be helming the upcoming Fantastic Four film. And it seems like Trank might be dipping into his pool of actors from Chronicle for his first big-budget blockbuster – he’s reportedly getting Michael B. Jordan for the part of the Human Torch. While no formal offer has been made yet, it seems like a solid bet, given their previous history working together. I think this could be a great casting choice too, and would help freshen up the Fantastic Four, as it’s been a very stale property to me in recent times. Here’s hoping that this movie turns out well! Read more…
Tags: Fantastic Four, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on May 3, 2013 in
Cinema,
Comic Books 
Here’s a messy story floating around the internet right now: recently Joss Whedon teased that a certain brother/sister duo would show up in Avengers 2. Everyone jumped up in excitement at the idea that Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver could show up, and then EW claims a source confirmed that this would be happening. So far so good, but the messiest part will be the rights. Fox owns the rights to X-Men, but Disney with the Avengers rights puts these two companies in the odd position of both being allowed to use the characters. Will Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver simply never mention their past or father? Or is Disney playing the game for the long-haul, hoping to somehow strike deals with Fox eventually? Like I said, it’s messy, and will probably only get worse as time goes on. Read more…
Tags: Marvel, The Avengers, X-Men
Posted by Bob Muir on May 2, 2013 in
Television,
Videogames 
If you’ve never checked out the series of LEGO videogames being made by Traveller’s Tales, you’re missing out on tongue-in-check, fun homages to the properties they adapt, even if the games are largely bereft of challenge. They’re all largely the same, involving getting to the end of a level with the most LEGO studs (and no real penalty for dying or losing those studs besides a lower ranking and unlocking things slower). Brian Anderson is apparently a big fan of both the LEGO games and Breaking Bad, as he has created a concept video for what a LEGO Breaking Bad game would be like. Read more…
Tags: Lego
Posted by Bob Muir on May 2, 2013 in
Television 
Let’s face it: as awesome as some TV has become with incredible shows like Breaking Bad, Mad Men, and the like, there’s a lot of TV that has gotten even worse. Some channels are wastelands of vapid reality TV, pointless competitions, derivative copycats, and other incredibly stupid content. Who better to save us from this than PBS, in an Avengers-style team-up? Read more…
Tags: PBS, The Avengers
Posted by Bob Muir on May 1, 2013 in
Videogames 
There’s more downloadable content coming for off-the-wall action game Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance. On May 14, North American gamers can pay $6.99 or 560 MS points to download the Blade Wolf DLC. It’s a new set of missions allowing players to take control of the former boss prior to his fight with Raiden. The missions show him working for Mistral and reveal more of his backstory, all culminating in a new boss battle. I can only hope it’s longer and more worthwhile than the recently released Jetstream DLC, because for only a few bucks more, you could easily buy a longer, meaty game from Xbox Live Arcade or PlayStation Network.
Source: Crunchyroll
Tags: Metal Gear Solid, PS3, Xbox 360
Posted by Bob Muir on May 1, 2013 in
Videogames 
Rockstar is taking Grand Theft Auto V in an interesting direction when it comes to characters. The PS2 trilogy each had their own main character and city, while Grand Theft Auto IV had one main character each for the main game and its two additional episodes (expansions) that all lived and played in the same city. GTAV will have three main characters in one city in the same game, not spread across separate stories. It’ll be an interesting way to explore the world and story, though actual details of how this is implemented are still missing. Read more…
Tags: Grand Theft Auto, PS3, Xbox 360
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 30, 2013 in
Science 
In the tradition of super-science, Alejo Menchaca and his researchers at the Animal Reproduction Institute of Uruguay have modified sheep to glow in the dark, thanks to the addition of green fluorescent protein (“GFP”). This peptide is normally found in the jellyfish Aequorea victoria and causes animals to glow green under ultraviolet light. And they did this because…well, it’s a proof-of-concept, which means for now, they just did this because it’s cool. Read more…
Tags: Genes
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 30, 2013 in
Cinema 
If you’re like me, you’re wary of watching too many trailers for an upcoming blockbuster film, because with the way trailers are cut these days, you don’t want every plot point spelled out. (I remember seeing The Dark Knight, whose early trailers I had burned into my memory, and being pleasantly surprised when the Joker was caught and the movie wasn’t even close to finishing.) And yet, when the movie is like Pacific Rim, you can’t help but watch, because it’s simply awesome. This is one of those trailers. Read more…
Tags: Pacific Rim, Robots
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 29, 2013 in
Science 
Slowly commercial manned space flight is becoming a reality! Shown below is a video of the first self powered flight of the Virgin SpaceShipTwo: Read more…
Tags: Virgin
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 29, 2013 in
Cinema 
I am so very excited for Only God Forgives. Nicolas Winding Refn’s Drive is one of my favorite recent movies, and his next film looks to be more moody, atmospheric, and stylish content. To promote the film, they’ve release 3 new clips that total roughly 6 minutes altogether. They’re thankfully not very spoilery, but if you want to go into the film unjaded, go no further. Trust me, they’re good. However, if you’re ready for some violence and NSFW action, click through and check out the clips. Read more…
Tags: Nicolas Winding Refn, Only God Forgives
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 29, 2013 in
Videogames 
David Cage wants his game to be movies so badly that he’s debuting trailers for them at the Tribeca Film Festival. But with talent like Ellen Page and Willem Dafoe, you’re getting pretty close to movie-level status anyway. We can argue about movies and games all day, but this trailer for Beyond: Two Souls still looks pretty good. It’s got some really impressive-looking visuals as well as some great framing. Hopefully this game will turn out better than Heavy Rain did – mainly because I would like to see a “cinematic” game like this work. Check out the new trailer below. Read more…
Tags: beyond: two souls, PS3
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 28, 2013 in
Tech 
There’s been quite a bit of geek controversy if Google Glass will be “the next big thing” or the next Apple Newton. The biggest advocate of Google Glass is Robert Scoble, but frankly I don’t trust Scoble because he’s like a fickle mistress always chasing the latest love interest. Once upon a time Scoble was swearing that Twitter would change the world, but now you can find him ensconced at Google+. So if I don’t trust the tech bloggers to get this right who do I trust? Science fiction of course! Read more…
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 28, 2013 in
Hobbies and Collections 
LEGO has long done the Ultimate Collector’s Series for Star Wars, and the Modular series of city buildings, but Lord of the Rings hasn’t gotten anything quite so elaborate – until now. The Tower of Orthanc will be the largest LEGO Lord of the Rings model to date, featuring Saruman’s imposing dwelling as well as an eagle and an Ent! I appreciate that the Ent is made out of bricks and not a pre-molded piece. This massive set will run you $200 and is arriving in July of this year. It’s just over 28 inches high and contains 2,359 pieces. Check out more images below! Read more…
Tags: Lego, Lord of the Rings
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 28, 2013 in
Television 
Are you ready for May 26th? Arrested Development will finally return and a brand new season will arrive on Netflix, all in one batch. You know, it actually feels real now. Seeing all these ads and posters, and now our first clip, Arrested Development is truly back! This orange shipping container seems to play a big part in the story, given that they’re using it in all the promotional material. The posters are all pretty basic, but it’s good to see everyone back in character. The first clip is also available courtesy of EW, featuring Buster and Lucille Bluth, so check that out right here. Read more…
Tags: arrested development, Netflix
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 27, 2013 in
Science 
If you look outdoors tonight you’ll see Saturn in opposition, which means that it will be exactly opposite the sun as seen from Earth. To find saturn when the sun sets in the west, look for Saturn to rise in the east when the sun is farthest below the horizon then Saturn will reach its highest point above the horizon. Read more…
Tags: Astronomy
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 27, 2013 in
Animation 
In those sad years in the 80s before Disney came back Don Bluth was keeping the dream of animation alive with films like The Secret of NIMH. Most of his studio work has been donated to the Savannah College of Art and Design which has placed quite a bit of his studio’s artwork online. If you love animation I’d urge you to check the site out. Read more…
Tags: Don Bluth
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 27, 2013 in
Tech 
It’s funny that some tech ideas come out years before the actual technology is there to make it useful:
“You might think that in-car map readers are a recent invention – given that you need satellite navigation technology to make them work. But a crude form of the car tech was actually around as early as 1930. The Iter Avto, which used a map on a scroll, is believed to be the first onboard direction guide. Just like the modern devices such as a Tom Tom or Garmin, the device was positioned on the dashboard of a car – and came with a set of paper maps.” Read more…
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 27, 2013 in
Videogames 
Now that’s a mouthful! At the EVE Online Fanfast this year, the EVE Online developers showed off their latest creation: a space dogfighting game. The kicker? It’s viewed in first-person via the Oculus Rift, so it feels like you’re actually piloting the ship. This isn’t a full game yet, and the creators aren’t even sure when or if they’ll release it, as it was created as a fun side-project in just 7 weeks. Still, they set it up at the convention and showed it off, so hopefully they have aspirations to get it to the public one day. Penny Arcade Report has a longer write-up of the game, and below the jump is some video. It looks great! I’m just going to continue waiting patiently for my Rift to arrive. Read more…
Tags: EVE Online, oculus rift
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 27, 2013 in
Anime,
Fandom 
I’ve been on an Neon Genesis Evangelion kick recently (since the third movie is now out on Blu-ray in Japan), so this new model from Moko is perfect in its timing. He has made a nearly 4-foot tall Eva Unit 01, articulated, too! Kind of insane. And if you don’t know much about LEGO bricks: purple is a bit of a rare color in the LEGO world, so seeing so much of it in one place is pretty impressive. Usually LEGO mechas aren’t this big or lanky, due to their own weight, so it standing on its own is also quite a feat. Check out some more images of the model below, as well as Moko standing next to it for scale! Read more…
Tags: Evangelion, Lego
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 26, 2013 in
Videogames 
Alright, journalists, you can stop speculating over “always-online” rumors and how many random access memories this mythical Xbox will have – Microsoft has officially set the date to unveil its new system. On May 21st in Redmond, Washington, 10am a live event will stream the news to everyone. Should you get excited? It depends. While these rumors of a system that requires you to be online have been prevalent, one still wonders if Microsoft would be so bold to try that. I’m not ready to proclaim those rumors true just yet. Things are very fluid in the tech industry and enough backlash will change those components at the drop of a hat. We’ll find out more on May 21st. Stay tuned! Read more…
Tags: Xbox
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 26, 2013 in
Videogames 
Nintendo recently had their yearly investor’s meeting and quite a few big changes are happening at the company that might affect the games you play. First up, Miiverse is now available in your web browser! You can’t draw on it (boo!) but you can read, comment, search, and YEAH! posts. Nintendo says it’ll be out on the 3DS as well by the end of the year. In other big news, Tatsumi Kimishima, the current CEO of Nintendo of America, is moving over to Japan for new duties, and Satoru Iwata, the global president of Nintendo, will take over CEO duties. This should greatly streamline the process at Nintendo, and perhaps NOA will take a few more risks localizing more games. Read more…
Tags: Miiverse, Nintendo
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 25, 2013 in
Tech 
This ad for Egghead Software from 1993 is a great look at the state of technology from twenty years ago. The first thing you notice is that the hot product is an MS-DOS 6 upgrade which brings one back into a time before Windows 95 took over the world. While there were people using Windows 3.1 most nerds hadn’t fully embraced it yet if they were running older machines. The other funny thing about this ad is it features vintage floppy discs available in 3.5″ or the really ancient 5.25″ size. Read more…
Tags: MS-DOS
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 25, 2013 in
Anime,
Television 
In an interesting team-up, Pacific Rim director Guillermo del Toro has teamed up with Doctor Who and Sherlock writer Steven Thompson to adapt Naoki Urasawa’s critically-acclaimed manga Monster. It apparently took a while for del Toro to convince Urasawa, but he eventually accepted the proposal, and now Monster will be entering production on HBO. Urasawa’s original manga tells the story of a doctor who saves a child who grows up to be a sociopath, and the journey the doctor takes to right his wrongs. Read more…
Tags: guillermo del toro, HBO, manga
Posted by Michael Pinto on Apr 25, 2013 in
Anime 
This just in from Discotek Media: “The English dubbed Samurai Pizza Cats complete series official release date will be July 30th 2013! We are doing a complete series box set with all 52 episodes on 8 DVDs. It will be $79.95 retail.” So now I guess some of you are asking “Who are these Samurai Pizza Cats?” Well here’s a taste: Read more…
