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Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 29, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
We all knew that Warner Brothers and DC wanted a piece of that sweet crossover pie that the Marvel Cinematic Universe has been enjoying. But instead of doing several related movies as origin stories (like Man of Steel) and leading into a big team-up, they’re starting with the second movie in their new franchise: Batman vs. Superman (which should really have an official name by now). After many, many rumors since 2013 about a big team-up movie, Warner Brothers’s president of worldwide production Greg Silverman has confirmed that the third film in this series will be Justice League. And it will be directed by Zack Synder. Here’s where I begin to sigh. Read more…
Tags: Batman, DC Comics, Justice League, Man of Steel, Superman, Warner Brothers, Zack Snyder
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 28, 2014 in Cinema 
VFX showreels have become pretty popular online, mainly because a) they give fans a look into how the special effects are done, and b) it’s great marketing for the VFX companies showing them off. This latest video is from Nordisk Film ShortCut, showing the work done for Only God Forgives, Nicolas Winding Refn’s violent and moody film. As you might expect, a lot of the effect in this video are incredibly gory, so a bit of a warning there. Also keep in mind there are several spoilers too, so perhaps you should go watch the film first. It’s weird, but in a good way. If you like cool visuals, it’ll probably grab you. Otherwise, check out the video below. Read more…
Tags: Nicolas Winding Refn, Only God Forgives, VFX
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 28, 2014 in Videogames 
There’s been a bit of a legend going through the games industry for about 30 years now: that at the peak of the video game crash in 1983, Atari was laden with an overabundance of video game products, particularly the truckloads of copies of E.T. The game had been produced in excess, as they had assumed it would sell gangbusters, but instead they were stuck with warehouses full of them. So what did they do? Dump them all in a landfill, and never see them again. Now, as part of a documentary, the games have been dug up from the landfill, proving the urban legend to be true. Kind of crazy! Let’s hope the documentary is good, too. Read more…
Tags: Atari, E.T.
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 27, 2014 in Comic Books 
I won’t even use a spoiler-y header image, just in case you don’t want to know who’ll be killed off next in the Marvel universe. But read on to find out! Surprise: it’s Wolverine. They haven’t specified how he’ll die yet, but it’ll be part of the “3 Months to Die” series where Wolverine loses his regenerative abilities. It’ll be a miniseries titled “Death of Wolverine, ” which is maybe a bit too on-the-nose for me. I suppose it’ll make it easy to find, though. According to Marvel executive editor Michael Marts, the repercussions will be felt throughout the Marvel universe. Until 6 to 9 months from now, you know, when Wolverine comes back from the dead. Maybe a year, max. Comic book characters never stay dead. Read more…
Tags: Marvel, Wolverine
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 27, 2014 in Videogames 
To promote their upcoming game Evolve, Turtle Rock has released a full match recording on YouTube, featuring all four classes and the Goliath. It’s a little unique as far as gameplay videos go: it has recordings of every single viewpoint in the game, and you can switch between them by clicking on the annotations near the bottom. Just make sure not to click the “commentary” button, unless you want to hear an overly enthusiastic announcer holler “oh, what a play!” I’m hoping there’s enough variety in the monsters and maps by the time Evolve comes out later this year, as this seems like a fun pick-up-and-play game with a bunch of friends. Read more…
Tags: Evolve
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 26, 2014 in Star Wars 
A lot of people love the Star Wars Expanded Universe, which adds a lot of story after Episode VI. However, with the arrival of Episode VII, most people assumed that would be tossed out in favor of whatever new story JJ Abrams wanted along with Lawrence Kasdan and the other writers. I saw a lot of fans clinging to the hope that they’d include Expanded Universe elements though, however unlikely it seemed. Lucasfilm has now officially issued a statement about the Expanded Universe content, saying essentially “sorry guys! It’s not canon.” As anyone sensible guessed, Episode VII and onward will blaze its own story. Don’t worry, though, the Expanded Universe will still stick around and will be now listed under the “Legends” banner. Click here for the full press release. They’ve also released a video, embedded below. Read more…
Tags: Episode VII, expanded universe
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 26, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
The cast for Batman vs. Superman grows even larger! Yes, apparently Cyborg will feature in the film as well, played by Ray Fisher. The actor had also tested for a role in Star Wars Episode VII, but I imagine he won’t be doing that now. He recently finished up a stint playing Muhammed Ali in a stage play in New York. His role will reportedly be fairly small, so I imagine they’re attempting to prep in any way possible for an eventual Justice League film. Although, at this point, this movie could very well just be the Justice League film with the cast they’ve got: Henry Cavill as Superman, Ben Affleck as Batman, Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman, Jesse Eisenberg as Lex Luthor, and Jeremy Irons as Alfred. Fisher should get a more prominent role as the universe expands since Cyborg is an important member of the Justice League. Read more…
Tags: Batman, Man of Steel, Superman
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 25, 2014 in Cinema 
Peter Jackson is a fickle man, it seems. First The Hobbit changed from two films to three, then the titles got mixed around, and now the third film is getting a name change. Originally it was subtitled “There and Back Again,” but now it’ll be altered to a much more straightforward subtitle: “The Battle of the Five Armies.” I imagine this was mainly because it sounds more interesting and exciting (and promises plenty of battles to audiences), but Jackson also lays out other reasons on his Facebook post: “[…] with three movies, it suddenly felt misplaced—after all, Bilbo has already arrived ‘there’ in the ‘Desolation of Smaug.'” You can read his full reasoning here, but he does mention that “There and Back Again” may return as a box set title in the future. Read more…
Tags: Lord of the Rings, Peter Jackson, The Hobbit
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 25, 2014 in Cinema, Videogames 
The writers behind Zombieland have latched on to Ubisoft’s big new game, Watch Dogs. They’ll be writing the movie script for a live-action adaption of the game, which will (presumably) follow the tale of Aiden Pearce, a hacker who wants to avenge his family after a violent tragedy (I assume murder). Because MANPAIN! You want to hack anything? He can, and will! If you can’t sense the sarcasm, I’m a little bored of Watch Dogs at this point, because we’ve seen it advertised for so long and the backstory simply makes me sleepy. Still, the amount of talent behind the game is big, and it looks like it’ll also get a good script from Paul Wernick and Rhett Reese. Read more…
Tags: Ubisoft, watch dogs
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 24, 2014 in Videogames 
Nintendo’s Satoru Iwata had previously said that the next Ace Attorney game would be totally different, and now we know why: it’s set in Japan’s Meiji era (1868-1912). The main character is no longer Phoenix Wright, but his ancestor, who has a new sidekick as well. The game is for 3DS, so hopefully Capcom will still bring this over. (I’m nervous ever since they declined to localize Ace Attorney Investigations 2.) I just wonder how they’re going to localize the game now that it’s very clearly, unavoidably set in Japan. You can’t just say that sushi are hamburgers now. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Ace Attorney, Capcom, Phoenix Wright
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 24, 2014 in Anime 
Most fan-made anime versions of Harry Potter seem to focus on how perfect the series would be for a romantic comedy, set in Hogwarts with attractive characters. Very few people go crazy with their mash-ups, like this new video from Nacho Punch. Take Harry Potter, then mix it with Akira to get a cyberpunk 80s anime version of everyone’s favorite wizard. Sure, I don’t think Akira is actually cyberpunk, but it’s got a lot of the visual cues from similar cyberpunk anime from the late 80s and early 90s. Beyond the parts that mesh well, I laughed at the superficial changes, like adding “cyber” or “neo” to words to indicate how futuristic things are. Read more…
Tags: Akira, harry potter
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 23, 2014 in Videogames 
Final Fantasy fans enjoyed Theatrhythm Final Fantasy when it was released on 3DS in 2012. Maybe a part of that was that the 3DS was just starting to gain momentum, but some of it had to do with how fun it was to tap out rhythms to your favorite Final Fantasy music. Theatrhythm Final Fantasy: Curtain Call, the sequel, is releasing in Japan this Thursday, so of course Square Enix is just now announcing that it will come to America like we still live in the dark ages of localization. But hey, it’s coming out in North America sometime this year, and with more characters (over 60) and more songs (221!) than the original game. In my ideal world, this sequel has every original song, every DLC song, and then even more new, exclusive songs so that I never have to put the original game into my 3DS. It’s a lot to ask considering Square Enix made a game just designed to separate you from your money, but hey, I can dream. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Final Fantasy, Music, square enix
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 23, 2014 in Videogames 
I wrote this yesterday, and then BioWare releases a gameplay trailer for the game. I should complain about other games we’ve barely seen anything of, just to see if developers will release more info! (Looking at you, Half-Life 3.) Yes, there’s a full trailer of Dragon Age: Inquisition, and it’s all looking pretty awesome. Varric returns, which is great, and there are certainly dragons. It seems that the game is still coming out in 2014, since we have a release date: October 7. This is another of those cross-generational games, as it will release on PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, and PC. But enough talk, just go watch this trailer and hope that it satisfies you better than Dragon Age 2 did! Read more…
Tags: BioWare, Dragon Age, EA
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 22, 2014 in Videogames 
The third Dragon Age game is supposedly coming out in Fall 2014, but we still haven’t really seen anything. I wouldn’t be surprised if EA featured Dragon Age: Inquisition at their E3 presentation in June, but until then, we’ll just have to take it on faith that it’s still on track. As if to prove it, this box art has been released. It has some interesting composition, and it’s just good to see a game box for a fantasy game that has some color in it. Pale blue, red/orange, and is that some bright green I see? It’s not just browns and grays! Read more…
Tags: BioWare, Dragon Age, EA
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 22, 2014 in Cinema 
Got an hour to spare? Then head over to this playlist: A Timeline of World Cinema. While the production quality is sometimes a little amateurish, this is a great way to learn about the various periods of film, from its inception as clips and shorts all the way to the present day. As my college major was TV and Film, there’s a lot here that I knew, but there’s a lot I didn’t know. There’s certainly a lot to say about movies beyond the Western films that dominate the medium! Read more…
Tags: Retro Movies
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 21, 2014 in Star Wars 
The first clip for Star Wars: Rebels has been released at Wondercon 2014, and it definitely impresses me more than the Clone Wars series. In the clip we see Hera, the pilot of the Ghost, engaged in a space battle with two TIE Fighters, complete with original laser sound effects. They’re really pulling on the ol’ nostalgia strings, aren’t they? I appreciate the attempts to appeal to older fans while still roping in the younger set, so I hope it goes well. The animation also seems to be a notch up from previous endeavors, which is nice to see. Check out the full clip below! Read more…
Tags: Star Wars: Rebels
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 21, 2014 in Videogames 
A little surprise in the last few days: Hitman GO hit iOS devices recently, and it caught my eye, mainly because it has such an unconventional and cool style. It looks like little models and figurines being moved around a wooden board, complete with tilt-shift effect. You still hunt down a target to eliminate, but instead you’re moving along various paths etched into the board and must plan your moves accordingly. The devil is in the details here, as all the little flourishes and movements reflect real figurines. I’ll have to check it out later, because it definitely looks like a unique game. Watch the trailer below and download it here! Read more…
Tags: Hitman, iOS
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 20, 2014 in Fandom, Hobbies and Collections 
I know a lot of people were incredibly excited to hear that LEGO had greenlit the Ghostbusters Ecto-1 and minifigures, but now the creator behind that set has posted new one to CUUSOO: the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. To (half-) scale. Yes, if this gets enough votes, there’s a good chance LEGO will actually make this a set. The initial hurdle of getting the Ghostbuster rights is already complete, so it’d just be a financial and design decision. The model is 13 inches tall and features 1800 pieces. I imagine they’d have to cut down on pieces, but it’d still be doable. Let’s get those votes! (And check out some more images below!) Read more…
Tags: Ghostbusters, Lego
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 20, 2014 in Cinema 
There’s always some cheese going on in a giant monster movie. I mean, come on, your monster defies physics! But it looks like this latest TV spot for Godzilla is playing up the emotion and drama side of the film rather than Godzilla himself. They’re definitely aiming for different demographics here, but maybe that “It’s not like it’s the end of the world” line is a little too on the nose… Actually, wait, maybe this is that “cheese” factor I was talking about! Or maybe I’m just over-thinking it. Anyway, check out the TV spot below the break. Read more…
Tags: Godzilla
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 19, 2014 in Videogames 
We still don’t know if the game Alien: Isolation will be any good, but at the very least the developers seem to have their hearts in the right place. In this recent developer diary, they go over their love for the original Alien film and how they’re working to preserve the “lo-fi sci-fi” feel it had. They also state that they refused to make anything that couldn’t have been built on the original set, which is a bit of a stretch, but I appreciate the care and thought they’re putting into it. According to this, they also ran UI elements through VHS tapes to give them that “rough” and “fuzzy” feeling. I hope it all pays off! The video is embedded below. Read more…
Tags: Alien, Alien: Isolation, Aliens
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 19, 2014 in Fandom, Hobbies and Collections 
Well, go home everyone. You won’t be able to top Nona Neon’s amazing rendition of Gipsy Danger from Pacific Rim. She built her cosplay outfit over the course of six months, using EVA craft foam, recycled household items (like a vegetable strainer!), and an acrylic visor. And it looks amazing! She’s done some fantastic work, and apparently she’s fairly new to the cosplay scene, so it’s doubly impressive. It particularly love the detail on the chainsword, it looks pretty lethal! Check out some more images below, then see her Facebook page to watch what she makes next! Read more…
Tags: cosplay, gipsy danger, Pacific Rim
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 18, 2014 in Videogames 
Yes, true believers, you can now get the most addictive digital card game on iPad, so you can play anytime. Say goodbye to your family and productivity as you whittle away the hours building the perfect deck and battling foes online. I’ll be honest, I haven’t played Hearthstone yet, but I’ve seen plenty of my friends really get into it. I’m not sure if I want to take the plunge just yet. Then again, it is free-to-play… No, no, not yet. But soon! Until then, I’ll just watch the trailer and marvel at the gorgeous playing animations and excellent art. Download the app here or watch the launch trailer below! Read more…
Tags: hearthstone, iOS, iPad
Posted by Ben Huber on Apr 18, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Here’s the third and most lengthy X-Men: Days of Future Past trailer yet, featuring a large amount of plot explanation. You know, just in case time travel is confusing. Granted, it’s not always done well, but I’m sure this doesn’t look very simple to the average moviegoer, so I can understand the desire to market it this way. However, given some recent allegations regarding Bryan Singer, I’m not sure I want to give him my money anymore. I think I got most of the plot from the trailer anyway! I’ll check it out on Netflix someday. It does look like a competent culmination of all the X-Men films so far, though, so if you want most of the plot, check out the trailer below. Read more…
Tags: X-Men
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 17, 2014 in Videogames 
In incredibly stupid news, Bungie has fired longtime collaborator Martin O’Donnell. The man has worked with Bungie since 1997’s Myth, but he is most well-known for composing the music to Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, and Halo: Reach — all of the Halo games made by Bungie. His last work for the company was this fall’s Destiny, for which he composed with frequent collaborator Michael Salvatori and former Beatle Paul McCartney. O’Donnell tweeted that he was terminated by Bungie’s board of directors “without cause” on April 11. Bungie issued a statement saying goodbye “as friends,” but that seems pretty optimistic after firing someone for no reason. It’s a real shame, but I’m sure O’Donnell will land on his feet. As the composer of one of the few memorable, hummable soundtracks in 21st century Western console games, he’s well-known for his craft. I’d imagine many developers would love to have him on board to create more wonderful tracks. Read more…
Tags: Bungie, Destiny, Halo, Music
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