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Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 22, 2014 in Animation, Cinema 
If you really loved Disney’s latest animated movie Frozen, you may want to consider visiting Quebec City. Disney has worked with Hôtel de Glace to create a hotel suite fashioned out of ice and snow. Frozen art director Michael Giaimo supervised the design to make sure it looked similar to the movie’s aesthetic. There’s also a “Frozen Activity Cave,” which isn’t explained, so it could be anything, but I’d guess it’s where you’d toss the kids if you and your partner wanted some alone time on that frozen bed. I’ve always appreciated ice sculptures, but I think sleeping in one might be a bit too much for me, so I’m happy to just look at these photos. Read more…
Tags: Disney, Frozen
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 22, 2014 in Videogames 
La-Mulana was a great retro-inspired 2D game with lots of exploration and secrets to uncover. (In fact, you can buy it on Steam for only $1.49 if you get it quickly!) Indie developer Nigoro wants to make a sequel that doesn’t require you to have played the original, and it needs your help to kickstart it on Kickstarter. In La-Mulana 2, you’ll play as the previous protagonist’s daughter, though it looks like her father is still in the game. There will be new monsters to fight in new ruins called Eg-Lana. Nigoro needs to raise $200,000 in funds by February 22, which seems totally doable, but there are of course tantalizing stretch goals to make the game even better. This is something any retro-enthusiast should want to exist! Read more…
Tags: Indie Games, Kickstarter
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 21, 2014 in Animation 
TV Guide premiered the first trailer for DC’s next animated movie, Son of Batman. This is an adaptation of the 2006 storyline Batman & Son, in which Bruce Wayne learns that he has a son from the boy’s mother, Talia al Ghul, leader of the League of Assassins. Bruce raises him, and soon young Damian is going out with Batman as Robin, though he certainly acts like someone who was raised by the League of Assassins. The animation looks good enough, though Damian seems a bit whinier and less aggressive than he is in the comics. Take a look and see what you think! Read more…
Tags: Batman, DC Comics, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 21, 2014 in Animation, Cinema 
When I was younger, I really wanted a lot of live-action versions of things I had seen animated. How cool would things like Dragonball Z and Evangelion be with real people? (Turns out not so well.) Now that I’m older, I’m perfectly content with these things to stay the way they are, because good animation can do things live-action can’t and should be respected as its own art form, not just something to distract kids. But Disney seems committed to redoing its most famous animated movies in live-action. Alice in Wonderland came out in 2010, Cinderella will be out in 2015, but this year is Maleficent, the Sleeping Beauty reimagining that focuses on its main villain of the same name. Read more…
Tags: Disney, Sleeping Beauty
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 20, 2014 in Cinema 
Martin Scorsese’s The Wolf of Wall Street was one of my favorite films I saw this year. It had it’s fair share of controversy, but I think much of it was from people who didn’t catch the core message of the film and just laughed at Jonah Hill acting goofy. That aside, the special effects in the movie were impressive! You might say, what effects? The lion? No, the lion is real, but it’s all the other special effects that are so well disguised that you don’t notice them. Brainstorm Digital has put together a video showing off their best work on the film — check it out below! Read more…
Tags: Martin Scorsese, wolf of wall street
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 20, 2014 in Videogames 
Kickstarter! How dare you fulfill young designer’s dreams to finally make the game they’ve always wanted! Yes, Rain World is on Kickstarter. This new indie game stars an adorable little cat-slug creature as it tries to survive in a desolate, possibly post-apocalyptic world. Given that you’re part cat and slug, clambering up pipes, across thin ledges, and through tights spaces in your favorite way to travel. Creepy-crawlies will hunt you, so you must do everything to protect yourself — and your eventual catslug family! They’ve already hit their goal, but you can still pledge if you’d like. Check out some images below, too! Read more…
Tags: Indie Games, Kickstarter
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 19, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
A movie with a nebulous future date has gotten pushed back to another nebulous future date! Yes, the sequel to Man of Steel, which will feature Batman facing off against Superman has been moved to May 6th, 2016, which is nearly a year’s delay. Rather than heading off against the rest of Disney’s onslaught in 2015, it’ll instead battle X-Men: Apocalypse and Amazing Spider-Man 3 which come out the same month. Rumor’s have been circulating that Ben Affleck hurt his leg, but studio execs say that’s not the case. So, that means script problems then, eh? Maybe. Read more…
Tags: Batman, Man of Steel
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 19, 2014 in Star Wars 
Here’s some small rumors about the upcoming Boba Fett spin-off film. Granted, the movie isn’t even officially confirmed yet, but we’ve been consistently hearing rumors about it for a while now, and it fits in with Disney’s plan to have other Star Wars films fill the gaps between mainline entries. Lawrence Kasdan is reportedly scripting it, and supposedly dislikes the prequels interpretation of Boba Fett, so his story will tell of a total stranger who kills Boba and begins wearing his armor. This fits right in with Fett’s original concept of “a Man With No Name but in space” so I’m actually perfectly fine with this, especially if the switcheroo happens before the original trilogy takes place. LR also says that Joe Johnston is the top pick to direct the film, but in my opinion, the crew behind Dredd should make it! Never take that helmet off! Read more…
Tags: Boba Fett
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 18, 2014 in Videogames 
This was some nice news to see this morning: Octodad: Dadliest Catch will be releasing on Steam, GOG, and Humble on January 30th! The popular indie game features an octopus who’s doing his best to fit in. He might be an octopus, but he’s still got a family, a job, and he’s got to make sure no one realizes that he’s an ocean creature! The trailer shows off a lot of goofy fun – most of the entertainment comes from trying to do basic tasks and your tentacles getting in the way, flopping around – but the second half threw me for a loop. Is Octodad going to make me cry, too? Check out the trailer below. Read more…
Tags: Indie Games, Octodad
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 18, 2014 in Videogames 
Just a few days ago now, Nidhogg, the intrepid indie title that has been in development for several years now, jumped onto Steam. It’s a simple-looking game on its surface: two dudes face off against each other with swords. But despite only having one button to jump and another to jab with your blade, it becomes very complex, very quick. While you can play single-player or online, the real joy is playing against someone in the same room. Ducking, dodging, and stabbing each other is some of the most fun I’ve had in ages. It’s $11.99 on Steam until January 20th. Read more…
Tags: Indie Games
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 17, 2014 in Cinema 
I don’t even know what to say here, guys. ET Canada went to visit the set of the upcoming Gozilla film, and they took some time to quick interview Bryan Cranston about his role in the film. He seems to be a huge fan of the character, saying ever since he was a kid he loved Godzilla. Then he proceeds to break out his best Godzilla roar and encourages the reporter to join in with him. Now that’s how you make an interview interesting, eh? They also talk to Sally Hawkins for a bit, then grab a little footage of the sets and destruction they’ve made for the movie. Nothing else super new, but seeing Cranston yell made my day. Read more…
Tags: Godzilla
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 17, 2014 in Animation, Anime 
Many folks wondered if Hayao Miyazaki’s film film, The Wind Rises, would get nominated for Best Animated Feature Film. Well, the noms came out and surprise, surprise, it’s on the list. It’s in the company of The Croods, Frozen, Ernest and Celestine, and Despicable Me 2. This is also the first time in a long, long while that Pixar has not had a film nominated for the category. I’m honestly a bit surprised that Monsters University didn’t beat out, say, The Croods. Also interesting, is that Shuhei Morita’s Possessions short animated film got nominated as well (it was part of Katsuhiro Otomo’s Short Peace collection). Read more…
Tags: Hayao Miyazaki, The Oscars
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 16, 2014 in Television 
These days, everyone’s on board with Batman being a dark, gloomy character. The movies have shaken off Schumacher’s stench and gone gritty and realistic. But there was a time when Batman was downright camp: the 60s live-action Batman TV series. DC sometimes revisits this time with things like the Batman: The Brave and the Bold cartoon, but there’s really nothing quite like the original. Through Conan O’Brien (whose show Conan shoots right on the WB lot near my apartment), WB has confirmed that they are releasing Batman — presumably all 120 episodes — in a complete box set later in 2014. Conan tweeted the news with a picture of him and the Batmobile, which was retweeted by Warner Bros. Home Entertainment. There are no further details yet, and I’m not sure if the 1966 Batman movie with nearly the same cast from the TV show will be included. Regardless, it’s good that this is finally getting a release so we can see Adam West, Burt Ward, Cesar Romero, and all the other wacky actors. Would a Blu-ray version be asking too much? Read more…
Tags: Batman, Conan, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 16, 2014 in Videogames 
Dark Souls II is out on March 11, 2014, so it’s time for those trailers to start rolling in and hyping up all the ways you can die. As expected, you play a cursed character of some sort, and you’ll be dying over and over again against brutal defenses in order to progress through the game. Look at some of those bosses! Though it’s not the most impressive enemy, the guy in shackles creeps me out; maybe I’m thinking of the deformed (and unkillable) Lisa Trevor in the Resident Evil remake on Gamecube? Regardless, everything here looks deadly. It should be fun! Read more…
Tags: Dark Souls, Namco Bandai, PS3, Xbox 360
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 15, 2014 in Videogames 
Yasumi Matsuno has made some of the best strategy RPGs, like Ogre Battle and Final Fantasy Tactics. He’s since left Square Enix and gone freelance for almost a decade, but he’s ready to reveal his latest game. Unsung Story: Tale of the Guardians is another medieval strategy game inspired by some of his earlier work. You’ll play as several heroes as they take part in the “Seventy-Seven Years War” in the land of Rasfalia, with each hero getting their own episode. The title is being made by American developer Playdek and is planned for PC, Mac, iOS, Android, and Windows tablets. The game is being posted on Kickstarter, so it will have to meet its minimum funding goal. Two of the stretch goals, however, will add PS Vita and 3DS versions to the development schedule, so you have the option to play it on more systems. Other stretch goals include additional scenarios, voice-overs, and a soundtrack composed by Hitoshi Sakamoto, who has scored some of Matsuno’s past games. I’m interested because of Matsuno, but I have to point out that the game has one of the most generic fantasy titles ever. Read more…
Tags: Fantasy, RPG
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 15, 2014 in Tech 
Well damn. Net neutrality has been considered one of the most important policies for the Internet to have. The concept is that the Internet should be a free and open space to encourage competition and allow smaller sites to grow big; therefore, internet service providers (ISPs) must give equal treatment to all websites and traffic, regardless of how big or small they are. ISPs have wanted to offer faster connections that bigger sites must pay for, or section off certain types of websites for an additional fee. Net neutrality argues that a start-up like Amazon may not have been able to fully grow if it had to compete with other websites that could afford to load faster. Unfortunately, that just got thrown out the window. Read more…
Tags: The Internet
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 14, 2014 in Cinema, Hobbies and Collections 
Magic: The Gathering is still one of the most popular trading card games out there, despite being 20 years old. And since Hollywood has shown it is willing to develop even simple board games like Battleship into a reasonable facsimile of a movie, I can’t be entirely surprised that there’s a Magic movie on the way. Yes, Hasbro has made a deal with 20th Century Fox to adapt a card game into a movie. They’re aiming for something as epic as Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, which sounds silly, but there’s a ton of lore (often expanded upon in books and comics) for writers to draw from, so it’s possible. Simon Kinberg, who helped produce the X-Men and Fantastic Four universes for Fox, will produce Magic as a franchise, with multiple movies being the ultimate goal. All well and good, but do we really need a Magic movie? Does everything need to be tied to a preexisting product or franchise these days? Read more…
Tags: 20th Century Fox, Magic the Gathering
Posted by Bob Muir on Jan 14, 2014 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Paul Rudd will play Ant-Man in Edgar Wright’s Marvel Cinematic Universe Phase 3 film, fittingly called Ant-Man. But he’s not playing Hank Pym, the classic character. No, Marvel has clarified that Rudd is playing Scott Lang, the second Ant-Man who steals equipment from Pym. Of course, it makes sense for Pym to be in the movie, so Michael Douglas has been cast in that role. Now that we finally know which Ant-Men are involved, I can make some guesses as to some plot points. I’d imagine that in this universe, Hank Pym might just be a scientist instead of also being Ant-Man. Scott Lang steals his equipment for some reason, uses it to become Ant-Man, and eventually gets mentored by Pym. I’m still curious as to what the conflict will be. Could it be related to Ultron in The Avengers 2, since Pym created him? Read more…
Tags: ant-man, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 13, 2014 in Star Wars 
We haven’t heard much from JJ Abrams recently, and that’s probably because he’s got his nose to the grindstone cranking out a new Star Wars script with Lawrence Kasdan. We’re just now getting the first rumors coming out of the big script changes after kicking Michael Arndt out. Apparently Abrams really wanted the focus of Episode VII to be on Luke, Han, and Leia for one last time before passing the torch to a new generation, which is what prompted these changes. Another big change is that Abrams is reportedly looking for a 20-something mixed-race or black woman to play the daughter of Obi-Wan. Of all the rumors, I actually really like this idea, especially if she’s one of or the main character in the next films. Also up? Michael Fassbender, Hugo Weaving, and Adam Driver. Weaving is reportedly being looked at for an Imperial Officer role, which is so perfect I can’t even handle it. Read more…
Tags: Episode VII, J.J. Abrams
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 13, 2014 in Cinema 
Deadline is reporting that Quentin Tarantino is back and has finished the first draft on his next film, reportedly titled The Hateful Eight. Last time Tarantino was on Jay Leno’s show, he mentioned that this film would be a Western. He just couldn’t stay away after Django Unchained! Tarantino is also apparently shopping his script around to several actors he wants to be in the film. Unsurprisingly, Christoph Waltz is at the top of the list. Another name Deadline is hearing is Bruce Dern (who had a small part in Django), who’s been getting a lot of buzz for his performance in Nebraska. I’m really interested to see Tarantino do another Western, so I hope we get more details soon. Read more…
Tags: Quentin Tarantino
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 12, 2014 in Videogames 
After all this time, we’re finally getting Broken Age… part 1. Yes, as previously announced, the game will be divided into two parts, one releasing soon — to finance the production of part two. It’s a risky bid for Double Fine as they try to make their Kickstarter baby work, but they’ve done a great job so far. Part one will arrive on January 14th for backers, and on the same day the public release date will also be announced. The funds from the sale of part one will top off part two, and completing the game. So far a star-studded cast has been revealed, feature names like Elijah Wood, Jack Black, Pendleton Ward, Wil Wheaton, and Jennifer Hale. Read more…
Tags: Broken Age, double fine, tim schafer
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 12, 2014 in Videogames 
It’s been a while since a skateboarding-themed game has come out, hasn’t it? Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater and Skate both had their success (the former more than the latter) but then quickly died out. Since then, no one else has really tackled that genre, but I suppose skateboarding isn’t really “in” right now anyway. Still — that’s no hindrance to roll7 Games, who are releasing OlliOlli on the PlayStation Vita later this month. The game takes a unique side-scrolling perspective, but still focuses on tricks and not falling flat on your face. Although that’ll probably still happen a lot. Check out the neat trailer and grab the game itself on January 21st. Read more…
Tags: Playstation Vita
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 11, 2014 in Videogames 
Yoshi is finally back! Nintendo has announced that Yoshi’s New Island will come out in the US on March 14th. Thankfully that’s not too far away. The game is a new addition to the Yoshi’s Island series featuring Yoshi once again rescuing baby Mario. The art style attempts to recreate the classic original’s visuals, but I’m not sure it’s quite there. It still looks alright, but I feel that one more pass might’ve made it pop a bit more. I love the idea of soft, painted graphics though. It’ll be available in stores and digital download via the eShop. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Nintendo, yoshi
Posted by Ben Huber on Jan 11, 2014 in Animation, Anime 
You know, a lot of people pick on The Simpsons nowadays, but when they put their heads together and do a tribute in reference to something, they really do it well. The latest tribute features Homer getting drunk in Little Tokyo and then everything goes as little crazy, Miyazaki-style. Cat-bus, the moving castle, Kiki, and of course, Spirited Away, are all there. I think I saw a few smaller references as well, so watch the video below and see if you can catch them all. It’s a pretty lengthy sequence to devote to one gag. Read more…
Tags: Hayao Miyazaki, The Simpsons
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