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Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 20, 2015 in Cinema 
Usually TV spots are pretty throwaway, often focusing on one goofy clip or really short shots of action scenes. They’re more just there to keep the movie’s name in your mind rather than actually convince you to see it, as they’re only 30 seconds long anyway. This new Avengers: Age of Ultron TV spot, however, runs 1 minute long and actually features quite of a lot of funny and interesting footage. If you’re still not sold on Avengers 2 yet (which, hey, maybe there are a few of you who haven’t fallen on one of the two sides of the superhero-movie-fest fence), this will definitely be something to watch. Check it out below! Read more…
Tags: Avengers: Age of Ultron
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 20, 2015 in Videogames 
Some big gaming news is rumbling through the industry right now: it appears Konami is going through a restructuring right now and want the Konami branding front and center, instead of other studio names like Kojima Productions. As part of this, they’re renaming Kojima Productions LA Studio to Konami Los Angeles Studio, and the “A Hideo Kojima game” branding on Metal Gear Solid V ads and website has been removed. According to Gamespot and their anonymous source, the restructuring has resulted in a power struggle between Kojima Productions and Konami, the latter of whom has embargoed corporate internet, emails, and phone of KojiPro. Kojima and other senior studio staff are essentially only on as contractors now, and plan to leave once their contract is up in December. Gamespot goes into more details here, but suffice to say, it appears Kojima and Konami won’t be working together after MSGV. Read more…
Tags: Hideo Kojima, Konami, Metal Gear Solid
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 16, 2015 in Animation 
Things are tough out there for Genndy Tartakovsky. The dude seems like a stand-up fellow, so why do all of his projects seem to have such a hard time getting made… or staying around? It must be hard on him! Yes, Genndy has told Moviefone that he has moved on from Sony’s CGI Popeye film (with the amazing sizzle reel from last year). In fact, he implies Sony may can the project entirely. He’s still working on finishing up Hotel Transylvania 2 (which actually has a high chance of being better than the first film since he’s not picking up someone else’s leftovers), and will then move on to an original project he created, Can You Imagine?, which will hopefully have better luck! Read more…
Tags: Genndy Tartakovsky, Popeye
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 16, 2015 in Television 
Just a few weeks ago we saw a cute Birdman parody with the man behind Big Bird, Caroll Spinney. If you watched that and wondered about Spinney and his life, then look no further, because a great-looking documentary is coming out soon, titled: I Am Big Bird. It’ll follow Spinney from his humble beginnings to mesmerizing children all around the world with his iconic characters. Amazingly, at age 81, he’s still playing Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch, and plans to continue as long as he can! Check out out the trailer below. The documentary comes out May 26th. Read more…
Tags: Caroll Spinney, Sesame Street
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 15, 2015 in Star Wars 
Okay, maybe we should call it an interlude? A post-Return of the Jedi comic? A pre-Awakening story? Whatever you want to call it, a new Star Wars comic is coming in September, titled Shattered Empire. The tale will take place between the sixth and seventh Star Wars films, and will be told from the perspective of C-3PO. The first image of it (presumably a cover) has been revealed by Disney and Lucasfilm and… it’s a nice drawing of the final scene of Jedi! Hope you weren’t hoping for anything more spoiler-y! This is just one of 20 books planned to come out this fall and also with The Force Awakens in December, all as part of the new canon. So there will be more on the way soon! Check out the cover below. Read more…
Tags: Comic Books, The Force Awakens
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 15, 2015 in Television 
With the AMC Preacher pilot planning to film this summer, things are heating up in the casting room. Rumors are now circulating that AMC has a certain actor in their sights to play Jesse Custer: Dominic Cooper. The actor has just finished up a stint as Howard Stark in Agent Carter, and is reportedly the top pick to play the tough reverend. As of yet, he hasn’t been offered the part, but Tracking Board claims he’s the most likely choice at the moment. Preacher is being produced by Evan Goldberg and Seth Rogen. The frequently violent and gross series will definitely be tough to adapt for an AMC audience. It remains to be seen how it’ll turn out! Read more…
Tags: AMC, Preacher
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 14, 2015 in Hobbies and Collections 
If you loved the Simpson’s minifigures and their house that was released last year, get ready for some more! LEGO has announced The Simpson’s Kwik-E-Mart, featuring a removable roof, a fully-stocked convenience store, tons of accessories, and Chief Wiggum in his police car. The building also folds out in the back, so you can get easy access to everything inside. 6 minifigures are included too, featuring several iconic Simpson’s characters. But if that’s not enough, LEGO is also releasing a second line of randomly bagged Simpson’s minifigures separately. The Kwik-E-Mart will be out in April for $199.99 USD. Check out all the images below! Read more…
Tags: Lego, The Simpsons
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 14, 2015 in Comic Books 
Engineering student Albert Manero is the man behind the Collective Project, a program in which he and his crew provide 3D-printed artificial limbs to kids and families for free. It’s a really cool project, but it just got a little cooler thanks to Robert Downey Jr. showing up. The one and only Iron Man showed up to deliver a bionic arm to Alex, a young boy born with a partially-developed right arm. The arm they provide lights up and well, the fact that it was delivered by Iron Man is pretty cool. Alex is surprisingly composed for meeting one of his heroes! If only all marketing ploys were as helpful and uplifting! Read more…
Tags: Iron Man
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 13, 2015 in Star Wars 
After much theorizing about the story and characters, Lucasfilm and Disney have finally revealed some critical information about the first stand-alone Star Wars film: the title, “Rogue One.” The Gareth Edward’s-directed film will also feature Felicity Jones as one of the leads (although Disney simply lists her as “the first actress cast”). All of this was officially announced in Disney CEO Bob Iger’s shareholder meeting. In addition, they also confirmed what we all already knew, that Rian Johnson would write and direct Star Wars: Episode VIII… but then they added a new tidbit: Episode VIII will release May 26th, 2017. So, uh, start saving your spot in line now? Read more…
Tags: Episode VIII, Rogue One
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 12, 2015 in Uncategorized 
Today we’ve lost one of the most prolific writers of our age: Sir Terry Pratchett. The fantasy author and renowned creator of the Discworld series passed away today at the age of 66, his publisher Transworld said via Larry Finlay, “with his cat sleeping on his bed, surrounded by his family.” They also spoke of Terry’s battle with Alzheimer’s, saying, “Terry faced his Alzheimer’s disease (an ’embuggerance’, as he called it) publicly and bravely.” After the announcement was made, his daughter, Rhianna, said, “Many thanks for all the kind words about my dad. Those last few tweets were sent with shaking hands and tear-filled eyes.” I’ve embedded those tweets below. We’ll all miss you, Sir Terry Pratchett, the world is richer for your words. Read more…
Tags: Discworld, Terry Pratchett
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 9, 2015 in Television 
The pilot episode for Supergirl is now in production at CBS, pushed forward by the success of The Flash and Arrow. Finally! Here’s the first look at the costume, and… it looks like Supergirl! Nothing too scandalous, nothing too unique. Simple, safe, and pretty faithful to the original design. The colors are muted a bit more than I would prefer, but everything has to be darker and grittier these days, right? Still, it fits within the universe CBS has created for the Flash and Green Arrow, so expect plenty of crossovers. Melissa Benoist will play Supergirl. Hopefully we’ll see this pilot get picked up! Read more…
Tags: CBS, DC Comics, Supergirl
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 9, 2015 in Cinema 
Tomorrowland is one of my most anticipated films this year, but it’s also shrouded in mystery. In this age of leaks and spy-photos, we’ve seen surprisingly little of the story. (I’m sure there are some legitimate leaks out there, yet they haven’t really gone mainstream. But I digress.) I think this is great, as it’ll let many people jump into the film fresh. Brad Bird’s talent as a director will hopefully be on full display here (the teaser trailer was fantastic). In this new poster George Clooney and a young boy stand in a field, waiting for something. Maybe they’re waiting for the new trailer that will premiere today? When the trailer is up, it’ll be here! Until then, check out the poster below. Read more…
Tags: Brad Bird, Tomorrowland
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 8, 2015 in Videogames 
Here’s a sweet, stylish, and funky new game coming from the folks at Harebrained Schemes (the people behind Shadowrun Returns) called Necropolis. It takes its cues from Zelda and Dark Souls, it appears, with third-person combat that is methodical and punishing. There also appears to be an ability to “re-shape” the levels to some degree. That, combined with a semi-procedural world and some beautiful visuals, made this game easily jump up my “anticipated games” list. The game isn’t out until 2016, but you can follow along at the dev’s blog, here. Then check out the trailer below! Read more…
Tags: Necropolis
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 8, 2015 in Cinema 
I just wanted to write the phrase “car skydiving” a few more times before Furious 7 comes out. Yes, this is an extended clip of the scene from the trailer in which the entire crew drives their cars out the back of an airplane with parachutes attached. Why are they doing this? I have no idea. I don’t really care, either. It just looks silly and cool. My only concern is this: how will the Fast and Furious series continue to top itself with each following movie? Eventually they’ll have to attach rockets to the cars! Also check out the new poster as well, which also features skydiving cars. They’re leaning heavily on this scene! Read more…
Tags: Fast and Furious
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 7, 2015 in Videogames 
The Hearthstone train never stops! The next large update for the game will feature the Blackrock Mountain adventure, a new campaign made up of five wings, with one being released each week over five weeks. The adventure will have 17 bosses total, 31 new cards, and other items like a new game board and pre-order exclusive card backs. The adventure begins in April for 700 gold per wing, or $6.99 per wing. You can also pick up the whole package for $24.99. It’ll be available on PC, Android tablets, and iPad, but Blizzard also showed off a phone build of the game, and promised that the Android and iPhone version would arrive in the “next couple of months.” Read more…
Tags: Blizzard, hearthstone
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 7, 2015 in Videogames 
At PAX East Blizzard is bringing the big guns — some especially big guns, actually. Two new characters have been revealed for Overwatch, Blizzard’s hero-based first person shooter. McRee is your deadly gunslinger archetype, with both short range and sniping attacks. Plus, he wears a belt buckle that says “BAMF” on it. On the other hand, Zarya is a weightlifter who abandoned her championship dreams to fight for freedom — and she looks awesome. With her Russian accent, she reminds me of another heavy-class character in some other game… Check out the two new gameplay videos below, then get ready for a beta this fall! Read more…
Tags: Blizzard, Overwatch
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 6, 2015 in Tech, Videogames 
If you’re waiting for a Steam Machine and the accompanying Steam Controller, get ready, because Valve has added them all to the Steam store. You still can’t buy them yet, but their prices and specs are listed, along with a nebulous “November 2015” release date. The Steam Controller is there, featuring its curious dual haptic touch pads and myriad of buttons. The streaming Steam Machine, the Steam Link, is also listed. I’m not really sold on a Steam Machine yet, aside from maybe a smaller streaming box. The controller is definitely something I want to get my hands on, though! Check out everything here, then also see Valve’s VR prototypes they’re showing off at GDC here. Read more…
Tags: Steam, Valve
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 6, 2015 in Videogames 
No, your eyes aren’t deceiving you: Harmonix has announced Rock Band 4. For real. For Xbox One and PS4. For 2015. There’s not a ton of details yet, and no screenshots yet either, but several big promises: almost all your DLC and music from previous games will work with it, and they’re working hard to ensure all old instruments work as well: “The Sony instruments were wireless via a USB dongle; that’s pretty straightforward. Things are complicated on the Xbox side, and I’m not prepared to talk specifics yet […].” Only one instrument will be left out: the keyboard. Oh well? Harmonix promises that more details will be on the way soon, until then you can read this article at Polygon about how they’re making it happen. Read more…
Tags: Harmonix, Rock Band
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 2, 2015 in Television 
HBO has released a brand new poster for Game of Thrones season 5, which features a big ol’ dragon on it. Not that surprising! However, the bottom half of the poster (which I’ve placed below the break) features a character encountering the dragon that show fans might not expect (especially if you’re avoiding spoilers). Check it out if you dare! Also included are two new clips, one featuring Jon Snow and the criminally underused Mance Rayder, and another featuring Brienne and Pod reflecting on the failed kings of Westeros. It’s not far away now: season 5 begins April 12th. Read more…
Tags: Game of Thrones, HBO
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 2, 2015 in Tech 
The past few days, rumors swirled of a Valve virtual reality headset being announced with a major hardware producer. Today, in Barcelona, HTC announced that they’ll be the ones partnering with Valve to create a new VR headset called the Vive that will release before the end of 2015. The device will use two 1200 x 1080 screens (one for each eye) that’ll refresh at 90 frames per second. In addition to the standard accelerometer and gyrosensor, there will also be two laser position sensors that’ll track your head in a 15-by-15 foot space. The VR hardware race is heating up, now with Oculus, Valve, Sony, and possibly Nvidia all planning headsets (plus Apple is investigating the area too). This should be fun to watch! Read more…
Tags: HTC, oculus rift, Valve, Virtual Reality
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 1, 2015 in Animation, Cinema 
Adventure Time is everywhere and it probably one of the biggest TV shows for kids these days. Creator Pendleton Ward and the crew at Cartoon Network have done an impressive job keeping the show interesting as the cast and story expands. Now, the series will be getting a feature-length animated film in theaters, courtesy of Warner Bros. Chris McKay and Roy Lee will be producing the picture, some of the folks behind The LEGO Movie. I’m actually surprised this hasn’t happened sooner, as an Adventure Time movie seems like a license to print money! I wonder what sort of story they’ll tell, or if they’ll end up with “just a longer episode on a bigger screen” syndrome? Read more…
Tags: Adventure Time
Posted by Ben Huber on Mar 1, 2015 in Cinema, Star Trek 
At this point, I don’t think I can say anything about Leonard Nimoy that hasn’t already been said by more eloquent people. He and his acting have left indelible memories with all of us and our pop culture. And not only was he a great actor, he was also a great person. Often that’s all too rare a combination these days. In this post I’m simply going to let some of Nimoy’s work speak for itself. Live love and prosper. Read more…
Tags: Leonard Nimoy, Spock
Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 28, 2015 in Cinema 
There’s been news going around of the town Rincon de la Victoria in Spain announcing their intentions to build a “theme park” (although it sounds more like a plain old regular park with some minor themed elements) called La Comarca… aka, The Shire. It’s very clearly inspired by the Lord of the Rings, but lacks one key element: approval from the Tolkien Estate or Warner Bros. Whoops! Council representatives behind the park design claim “All the concepts will be original, they will not be able to be considered ‘copies’,” but yet “representatives from the council were accompanied during the presentation by an actor dressed up as Frodo.” Warner Bros. is currently investigating the project. I’m not so sure this park will happen in this form… Read more…
Tags: Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit
Posted by Ben Huber on Feb 28, 2015 in Cinema 
If you were wondering the most likely candidate would be to direct the Blade Runner sequel now that Ridley Scott had offered it up, wonder no longer! Denis Villeneuve, the director behind such films as Prisoners, Enemy, and Incendies, is in negotiations to direct the cyberpunk movie. The production company sent out a press release about it, which basically means it’s already official. Harrison Ford is also confirmed to return to his role as Rick Deckard, which I’m not entirely sold on yet. Still, one of the original co-writers of Blade Runner, Hampton Fancher, has written the script with Michael Green (Green Lantern, The River). The film will begin filming in summer of next year. Villeneuve is one of the best directors out there right now, so this suddenly set my hopes a tad bit higher. Read more…
Tags: Blade Runner, Denis Villeneuve, Harrison Ford
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