Hungry for some Hunger Games Footage?
Posted by Gia Manry on Aug 29, 2011 in Cinema
It’s Time To Play the Music! It’s Time to OK Go!
Posted by Gia Manry on Aug 29, 2011 in Cinema
As Kermit the Frog has said oh so many times…it’s the Muppet Show! Read more…
The Lone Ranger Leaves Us In The Dust
I confess that of the 16.2 zillion reruns I caught as a kid, the 1950s’The Lone Ranger isn’t one I particularly took to— I was more of a Zorro girl— but plenty of nerds grew up with Kemo Sabe and Tonto, whether as a new radio/television series or in rerun form, and I was certainly interested in Johnny Depp’s take on the character (I haven’t reached critical mass on Depp flicks, apparently).
Unfortunately, production on the flick has just been shut down. Read more…
The Super Mario Movie, As It Should Have Been
Posted by Gia Manry on Aug 15, 2011 in Cinema, Videogames
Comedy studio Pixels Per Second recently launched this awesome parody trailer for a Super Mario Bros. movie. No, not that one (which…okay, which really never should have been), but a better one. Think Super Mario Bros. as an indie flick about a down-on-his-luck guy who find the spark he needs to become a hero. And maybe takes a few drugs on the way. Hit the jump for the video! Read more…
Teens Go Geek at 2011 Choice Awards; Let’s Talk About the Future
The results for tonight’s Teen Choice Awards— established by Fox in ’99 —will make most full-grown geeks eyes’ roll: the befanged stars of The Vampire Diaries and Twilight took home awards, as did the wizards of Harry Potter and the awfully attractive and talented “outcasts” of Glee.
But maybe instead of rolling our eyes, we should consider opening them. Read more…
Planet of the Apes Wins; CG Andy Serkis Can’t Lose
Posted by Gia Manry on Aug 8, 2011 in Cinema
Everybody cue the banana jokes: Rise of the Planet of the Apes, the prequel to/reboot of 1968’s Charlton Heston flick Planet of the Apes handily beat out its competition at the box office this weekend. But there’s another, possibly more interesting story at work here than the tale of how humanity doomed itself by making super-intelligent simians: the tale of actor Andy Serkis, who has single-handedly become the go-to guy for awesome motion-capture CG acting. Read more…
The Muppets Take On the Superheroes
Posted by Gia Manry on Jul 25, 2011 in Cinema, Comic Books
The first trailer for Jim Hensons’ Muppets return ot the big screen— which starts out looking like a romantic comedy before revealing the inclusion of the cloth characters — was pretty cute. But it doesn’t compare in the least to the newest trailer, in which the Muppets take on superheroes in a big way…especially Green Lantern (and a little bit of Batman, if you squint).
But that’s just the above trailer. Hit the jump to see who the Muppets will challenge next…in poster form! Read more…
SDCC11: A Few Highlights
Posted by Gia Manry on Jul 25, 2011 in Fandom
There is more to see and do at Comic-Con International than any blogger can cram into a single post, so here are just a handful of highlights spotted around the show— and they barely scratch the surface! (What can I say? I had panels to attend and swag to grab!) Read more…
Me and My First Michael Bay Movie: Transformers 3
Posted by Gia Manry on Jul 19, 2011 in Cinema
On the night that Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 opened, several cohorts and I picked our way through the be-spectacled and be-robed fans lining up for back-to-back showings of Part 1 and 2 and made our way into another theater in the back of the megaplex. We settled in, watched some previews, and then sat through a film that was actively painful to watch.
Its name…was Transformers 3. Read more…
Harry Potter Takes On Batman, Wins
Posted by Gia Manry on Jul 18, 2011 in Cinema
Yes, Virginia: the Harry Potter movies are over. But they went out with a bang— Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 broke the record previously held by The Dark Knight by earning $168.5 million in the U.S. The BBC also notes that the film broke four of the five records smashed by its predecessor, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1, earning £23 million (about US$37 million) in its country of origin. Read more…
Canada’s Space TV Gets Fanboy Confessional Special
Posted by Gia Manry on Jul 11, 2011 in Fandom, Television
When I heard about this news, I went over to the U.S. SyFy Channel’s schedule and saw that the cable network is showing the three original Indiana Jones flicks, National Treasure, and six hours of Hollywood Treasure, a reality show about a team of Californians who acquire and resell props and other memorabilia. Blech. Meanwhile, Canada’s Space TV is getting a reality show spotlighting actual fans.
WTF, SyFy. Read more…
My Little Pony: Fighting is F@#!ing Awesome
Ever heard of game developer Mane 6? No? Yeah, that’s not surprising: it’s a batch of bronies (and presumably a few female fans as well) who are working on a 2D indie fighter game featuring the characters from Hasbro’s surprisingly popular television cartoon My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic. Read more…
SVU’s Chris Meloni to Play ‘A General’ in Superman – General Lane?
Posted by Gia Manry on Jun 27, 2011 in Cinema, Comic Books
You may not recognize the name Chris Meloni, but I guarantee you’ll recognize his face, seeing as for the past 12 years he’s been one of the two primary faces on Law and Order: Special Victims Unit (the other being the talented Mariska Hargitay). Word on ComingSoon.net is that Meloni, who is departing SVU for greener pastures (or at least less “blue” ones…get it? Cop uniforms? No? Okay then!), will play “a general” in Zack Snyder’s upcoming Superman flick, Man of Steel. So no, everyone who thought he’d play Lex Luthor is (sadly) wrong. But… Read more…
MJ’s Thriller Jacket Sells for More than Superman #1
Music fans— and horror fans — will doubtless nod knowingly when they hear that Michael Jackson’s trademark red and black leather(-that-looks-like-vinyl) jacket from the music video for “Thriller” has sold for US$1.8 million dollars at auction. That’s nine times the initial estimate of “at least $200,000.” That’s a damn high price, even if you factor in that the jacket is signed. Read more…
A Game of Thrones Finale Review: OMGWTFCoK!
Posted by Gia Manry on Jun 20, 2011 in Fandom, Television
HBO aired the last episode of its adaptation of Game of Thrones, the first book in George R. R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire, last night, and by and large the response is: OMGWTFCoK! CoK, of course, referring to A Clash of Kings— the second book in the series, which HBO will also adapt. And which everyone who watched all of Game of Thrones is now salivating for (even if they already read the novels).
But before we get too excited for the second season, which hasn’t even been slated for broadcast yet, let’s talk about what HBO did right (and wrong) with the series so far. (Spoilers: they did almost everything right.) Read more…
‘Not All Men Are Created Prequel’: A Film About George Lucas
Okay, it’s not really a full film, just a trailer — but seriously, can we please start up a Kickstarter project to fund a full-length feature? I love the joking conspiracy theory that the George Lucas from the original Star Wars prequels and Indiana Jones was kidnapped and replaced with a pod!George who released the prequels and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. What’s not to love? Read more…
Magneto Sings to His Own ‘Little Monsters’
Posted by Gia Manry on Jun 13, 2011 in Comic Books, Fandom
Ever since I saw Lady Gaga’s “horns” — an addition she made for the release of her single “Born This Way” — I’ve thought that she would make for a pretty good character in X-Men. The question is just whether she’d be on Xavier’s side, or Magneto’s.
One X-Men fan has a theory… Read more…
Batman Deliverance: Not What It Sounds Like
Posted by Gia Manry on Jun 7, 2011 in Comic Books, Fandom
No, no– it’s not about Batman raping hicks. Or hicks raping Batman. It’s a French fan-made film about a Batman getting on in his years but still suiting up for one last fight…against Wolverine.
Yeah. I said Wolverine.
Seriously, who cares about Superman versus Batman? Watch the epicness after the jump– the important part starts up at about 4, 4:30. Before that is introspection in French, which is apparently a requirement of all French cinema.
Read more…
X-Men First Class: Better Than Expected
Posted by Gia Manry on Jun 6, 2011 in Cinema, Comic Books
I’m going to give you a rough review of X-Men: First Class, but before I do that I’m going to give you the highlights:
1. It’s better than it looks.
2. That’s mostly not due to special effects.
3. Michael Fassbender completely works as Erik.
4. January Jones completely works as Emma Frost…as written in this film.
5. Xavier is kind of a dick Read more…
A Pony Fan Is Born
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve seen this question asked in recent months, be it on Facebook, Twitter, or in real life: “what is the deal with all my friends getting into My Little Pony all of a sudden?!” So I thought I’d save you fan-persons a bit of trouble and trot out an explanation (get it?). I’ve split it into two sections: first, how adults come to the new animated series from Hasbro, My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, and second, why they tend to fall in love with it. Read more…
Lenny Kravitz Joins The Hunger Games…Really
Posted by Gia Manry on May 30, 2011 in Cinema
So, Lenny Kravitz is set to play the role of Cinna, a serious (if small) role in the upcoming adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ kinda-sci-fi young adult novel The Hunger Games— a role that would become bigger if the second book, Catching Fire, were to be adapted. In the first book, Cinna serves as the remarkably sedate fashion designer for the series’ protagonist, archer Katniss Everdeen. Read more…
A Weekend at Scarborough Faire
Posted by Gia Manry on May 23, 2011 in Fandom
Photo © Play Faire Productions
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…
Who You Gonna Call? A Real Estate Agent!
Photo © Wally Gobetz
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…
Why Is There No !%#$ing Death Star Umbrella?
Posted by Gia Manry on Oct 4, 2010 in Star Wars
The above photo is of an umbrella shaped like a star destroyer from Star Wars. I think. I’m not enough of a Star Wars nerd to know the difference between all these things. Anyway, it’s bizarre because it’s such an artsy-fartsy photo and it’s such a dumb shape for an umbrella. Which begs the question: where the hell is the Death Star umbrella?! Read more…