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Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 28, 2013 in Cinema, Fandom 
Alright, I know what you’re gonna say: another Kickstarter? But this one’s good. And with so many people using it, it really has become less of a novelty and more a legitimate pathway to funding your project. Kung Fury is an 80s-themed live-action movie by David Sandberg. It features vikings, Norse Gods, dinosaurs, guns, neon lights, and renegade time-travelling kung fu cops out to kill Hitler (the Kung Führer, of course). It looks suitably insane and has the look down pat. You can watch the trailer below made up of their existing footage, and then head over to their Kickstarter page to find out all the juicy details! Read more…
Tags: Kickstarter, Kung Fury
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 27, 2013 in Cinema, Fandom 
Sigh. We’d all like to forget the Star Wars Christmas Special, wouldn’t we? What if other beloved movies had gotten something just as terrible? Well, Nerdist decided to subject us all to the hilarious pain of imagining what a Blade Runner Christmas Special might look like. Yes, it’s as silly and terrifying as you might guess. Santa, Jesus, and elves that “just do toys” are involved… although I’m not sure what the point was of the random Chuck Norris joke? Maybe I’m missing a deeper level of meta-commentary. Check out the video below. Don’t say I didn’t warn you! Read more…
Tags: Blade Runner
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 27, 2013 in Videogames 
Another returning character has been announced for Smash Bros., and it’s Zelda! This is really no surprise, but her upgraded look and (seemingly) some new moves involving the Phantom Armor from Spirit Tracks. Just recently we had gotten news of Rosalina being included in the game, so I’m glad to see more female fighters in the game. Especially when it’s called Smash Bros. I will say, I really like her design, as she looks even more fierce than before. Now we just need to wait for the inevitable Sheik reveal, eh? I’d also like to see Ganondorf get a more original moveset, ok Sakurai? Thanks. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Super Smash Bros., Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 26, 2013 in Videogames 
Nintendo’s “Year of Luigi” — celebrating 30 years of both the original Mario Bros. and Mario’s younger brother Luigi — was a great success. With Luigi’s Mansion: Dark Moon, New Super Luigi U, Mario & Luigi: Dream Team, Luigi Bros. in Super Mario 3D World, Dr. Luigi on December 31, and tons of merchandise, I’m almost Luigi-ed out. Nendoroid finally revealed their Luigi Nendoroid, and it’s adorable. It won’t be available by the time 2013 ends, but I suppose Club Nintendo’s Luigi statue won’t be available either. It comes with a Goomba, Bullet Bill, warp pipe, dust cloud, 2 extra faces, and running legs. Plus, look at his big head! Read more…
Tags: Mario Brothers, Nendoroid, Nintendo, Toys
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 26, 2013 in Tech 
Sometimes I have difficulty really seeing optical illusions. My brain will just break the image down and I’ll see how it works, or if it’s one of those hidden image things, I can never cross my eyes just right. But this T-Rex Illusion by brusspup, based on a dragon illusion by Jerry Andrus, is just mind-boggling to me. The way it turns its head to keep looking at you had me thinking it was somehow mechanized. But no, it’s just a stationary cut-out, which you’ll realize near the end of this video. But even once you’ve seen the secret, your brain will likely snap it back into the illusion once the camera pans back around. Read more…
Tags: Magic
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 25, 2013 in Videogames 
Living in Los Angeles, I can attest to the fact that we barely get any sort of bad weather, much less snow. But Grand Theft Auto V‘s similar setting, Los Santos, is getting a winter make-over, along with various holiday treats. If you’re reading this on Christmas Day, you can hop into Grand Theft Auto Online and see the snow, which will also affect driving conditions. There are now special holiday items to buy such as Santa hats, snowman masks, and elf jackets, but they’re only available until January 5. There are new filters to use on your camera as you take selfies, as well as other additions like facial expressions, depth of field, and the ability to add text for easy meme pictures. And finally, some items like weapons and vehicles are up to 50% off, if you need to buy a gift for your online character or a friend. Read more…
Tags: Grand Theft Auto, Rockstar
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 25, 2013 in Tech, Videogames 
The Legend of Equip Pants is a retro-styled adventure game that usually doesn’t feature any player death. But for Christmas, there’s a new episode called Panta Claus where you can die. The developer tracked some data about where players went and where they died, then compiled it into this animation of the level’s layout. It’s a Christmas tree! The green lines are where 2000 players went in the level, and the red lights are where they died 6000 times, or about 3 per playthrough. If dying over and over in order to give a faux-Christmas tree twinkling lights doesn’t fit the spirit of Christmas, then I don’t know what does. Read more…
Tags: Christmas
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 24, 2013 in Animation 
Craig McCracken’s The Powerpuff Girls was one of Cartoon Network’s best series. Beneath the pink-colored veneer was a wonderful action series with strong scripts and smart jokes. Cartoon Network is reviving the characters for a new special to be aired on Monday, January 20, 2014 at 7:30PM. Unfortunately, going by this new trailer, the whole thing is animated with unattractive CG, trying to give it a flat look. It’s also lacking vibrancy, like some of the color has been sucked out in the interest of making the world look more realistic. It could still be good, but it’s a shame that so many people seem to have practically abandoned 2D animation in favor of trying to do the same thing with CG. Read more…
Tags: Cartoon Network, Powerpuff Girls
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 24, 2013 in Videogames 
Sega bringing back Typing of the Dead with Typing of the Dead: Overkill (and including the original House of the Dead: Overkill as a bonus) on Steam was a pleasant surprise. Now that Lab Zero has to put out Skullgirls Encore to replace the version delisted by Konami, they’re including a typing mode too. Plug in a keyboard and you can play The Typing of the Skullgirls Encore. Type well to deal super moves with bonus damage, then type well to defend against an opponent’s super move. I love when companies toss in weird extra modes like this as a way to reuse a game’s assets while offering a different experience. Read more…
Tags: Skullgirls
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 23, 2013 in Videogames 
Get ready to be sucked back in again: Co0kie Clicker has returned with a new holiday update. It adds a bunch of Christmas cheer, holiday upgrades, and a little elf that you can upgrade in the bottom corner. I’m not sure what this elf will do, given that I haven’t upgraded him the whole way yet, but it seems slightly nefarious. If you haven’t played the addictive web game Cookie Clicker before, it’s basically all in the name. You click, you get cookies. Once you click enough, you can spend those cookies on devices that will auto-click for you, thus netting you more cookies, which allows you to buy even more auto-click items. Suddenly, you’re opening portals to hell and generating millions of cookies per second and it all becomes quite terrifying. Try it! Read more…
Tags: cookie clicker
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 23, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Well this is a weird story to write. Apparently Vin Diesel, despite saying publicly that he was playing Groot, was not “officially” announced as part of the project. Disney and Marvel never denied it, and Vin Diesel was talking about it, so everyone assumed it was a done deal. But now, Disney has sent out a press release along with a new promotional image officially telling us all about this super-cool new actor in Guardians of the Galaxy. Thanks guys! Hey, if anything, at least we’re getting a better look at how Groot will look in the film, although James Gunn says that his appearance has changed slightly in the final version. Neat stuff! So, Disney, when are we going to get that first real trailer? Soon I’d hope? Read more…
Tags: Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 22, 2013 in Cinema 
Here’s the first trailer for Wally Pfister’s directorial debut, Transcendence. Christopher Nolan’s dedicated director of photography is stepping out on his own to make his own films, and he’s got quite the cast for his first: Johnny Depp, Morgan Freeman, Rebecca Hall, Paul Bettany, and Cillian Murphy just to name a few. It looks like working on the Dark Knight trilogy paid off, eh? It features Depp as a scientist who promises a world of super-intelligent computers and the eventual merging of man and machine. But once he’s killed by anti-technology radicals, his wife uploads his consciousness into a superpowered computer and things get a bit crazy from there. It seems like an interesting idea, but I’m not sure where Depp is getting those supernatural powers from? I suppose we’ll understand more when the film comes out on April 18th, next year. Read more…
Tags: Johnny Depp, Wally Pfister
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 22, 2013 in Design 
You’ve probably seen some of those Photoshop videos that reveal how much retouching goes on in a typical model’s photoshoot. It’s made to show that we shouldn’t rely on ads and magazines for the body image to strive for, as it’s completely artificial. Well, Victor & Spoils has done a great little video about the dangers of Photoshop, except this time they’ve put a holiday twist on it. I won’t spoil it for you, but suffice to say, if you’re looking at Photoshopped models, you should be prepared to see some skin. It just might surprise what you’re seeing though! Read more…
Tags: Christmas, Photography, Photoshop
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 21, 2013 in Fandom, Hobbies and Collections 
Sure, it’s not street-legal, but still! A crazy LEGO fan from Romania, Raul Oaida, along with a entrepreneur, Steve Sammartino, built a life-size LEGO car that actually can be driven. It’s powered by air and pneumatic LEGO parts, which is the most crazy part. It doesn’t go very fast, but it’s still quite the engineering feat, using 256 LEGO pistons. Overall, it uses just over 500,000 LEGO bricks total, and can reach speeds of 20-30km, according to their YouTube page. What an insane project! Maybe they could make a car that’s street-legal next? Read more…
Tags: Lego
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 21, 2013 in Videogames 
It’s the time of the year, when everyone gathers around the warmth of the computer screen and buys games for cheap on Steam. The holiday sale has started now and will run until January 3rd. There’s a lot of really great games on sale, so be sure to check out the full list for everything. Konami also has the PC port of Metal Gear Rising up for pre-order… and on sale! Jump on that ASAP if you’re interested. In other Steam-related news, you can get items for your favorite free-to-play games by participating in the sale. And, as part of that, Team Fortress 2 has just gotten a holiday update that adds new Smissmas-themed items and more! Read more…
Tags: sales, Steam, Team Fortress
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 20, 2013 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Get excited, Ant-Man fans! Variety is reporting that the rumors that have been swirling for months are true: Paul Rudd will star in Ant-Man, Edgar Wright’s adaptation of the Marvel comic book. Paul Rudd is a great actor, and given the more comedic angle Wright will be taking (presumably) I think it’s a great fit. I really hope they still integrate it with the other Marvel films too. In the end, I’d love to see Ant-Man join up with the Avengers in their third film, but who knows how Marvel will handle that right now. Below the jump I’ve embedded the FIRST footage of the film, which is TOTALLY LEGIT. I’m serious! Read more…
Tags: edgar wright, Marvel, paul rudd
Posted by Ben Huber on Dec 20, 2013 in Uncategorized 
It looks like her role in Super Mario 3D World has gotten Rosalina, the princess from Super Mario Galaxy, some more work! Her two most recent cameos seems to be cementing her position as a stable Mario character. First up, she’s a playable character in Smash Brothers for Wii U and 3DS, along with her Luma star pal. They seem to have a bit of a 2-player vibe going on, too! Then, she’ll also be appearing in Mario Kart 8 as a racer, but given her appearance in the previous Mario Kart, that’s not as surprising, but it’s nice to see her sticking around. I’m cool with Rosalina being a new Mario mainstay, as we need to female characters in our video games. Check out the Mario Kart 8 and Smash Bros. trailers below! Read more…
Tags: Mario Kart, Super Smash Bros.
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 19, 2013 in Videogames 
Everyone’s excited for the next console installment of The Legend of Zelda, which is in development for Wii U. The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker HD was a great holdover while the game is in production, but it seems that there will be at least one more console Zelda in the meantime before we get to that game. Nintendo has announced Hyrule Warriors, a collaboration with Tecmo Koei, that is basically Dynasty Warriors, but with Link fighting classic Zelda enemies. It looks a bit more fluid than the usual Dynasty Warriors games I’ve played, though it’s still clearly a similar game. The name is tentative right now, and I’d imagine a lot could change, but not too much: the game is due out sometime in 2014. If it takes most of the year to be released, does this mean that we won’t be seeing the next main Zelda installment for Wii U until 2015? Read more…
Tags: Legend of Zelda, Nintendo, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 19, 2013 in Videogames 
It seems Nintendo is taking inspiration from the fan-game Super Mario Crossover with their latest digital Wii U game. NES Remix offers short challenges based on classic NES games; it’s sort of like a longer, more expanded version of the retro segments of the WarioWare series. But besides regular challenges, they’re mixing it up with weird versions of the games, like Super Mario Bros. in silhouette, or playing as Link from The Legend of Zelda in the first level of Donkey Kong. It’s available now, right after it’s announcement, on the Wii U eShop. NES Remix will set you back $15, which seems a little steep for what is basically a series of creative ROM hacks, but knowing Nintendo, they probably put enough content in there to justify the cost. At least, I hope! Read more…
Tags: NES, Nintendo, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 18, 2013 in Videogames 
It’s a shame that Lab Zero’s Skullgirls has had so many problems. Being an indie fighting game designed by fighting game players already seemed risky, since it’s hard to launch new fighting games from unknown companies and get a community going. But of course, there are more and more problems. The latest one stems from co-publisher Konami, who Lab Zero dropped to only be published by Autumn Games because Konami was dragging their heels on additional DLC characters funded by fans on IndieGoGo. Because they’re no longer the publisher, they arranged to have it delisted from Xbox Live Arcade and PlayStation Network by December 31 because their name is on it. But there’s still some good news. Read more…
Tags: PS3, Skullgirls, Xbox 360
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 18, 2013 in Cinema 
“You shall not pass” is a great line from The Fellowship of the Ring that’s perhaps been used a bit too much over the years. It’s still not too old yet, though. Some Norwegians decided to stop a tram, complete with a fully-dressed Gandalf. But what’s cooler is what happens afterwards, as some other people are told to “fly, you fools.” If I was on that tram, I’d be laughing my ass off, no matter how late I was to work. I’d be slightly less enthused if I saw a Gollum cosplayer run across the tracks shortly after. That’s just creepy. Read more…
Tags: Lord of the Rings
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 17, 2013 in Videogames 
I’ve only had my PS4 copy of Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag for a month, so it’s easy to forget that the game was out a bit earlier for last-gen systems. In that context, I suppose it’s not too strange that it’s getting its first story-based DLC today, after some previous multiplayer content. The DLC is called Freedom Cry, and it follows first mate Adewale in his quest to free slaves 15 years after the main game’s events. There are nine missions, and as a reminder, you get them for “free” if you purchased the Season Pass. The game is getting a great reception, so more content is good, but I’m more curious if they’ll make a sequel to this game, perhaps even separate from the Assassin’s Creed series proper. Read more…
Tags: Assassin's Creed, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 17, 2013 in Dr. Who, Television 
Humanity can fly with planes, helicopters, jetpacks, and more. But can we make a TARDIS fly? Flyonix is trying to make that happen. They made a styrofoam TARDIS, and it actually flew a bit! Sure, it’s not flying on its own, but let’s consider the 12 rotors to be TARDIS “training wheels.” It’s obviously not ready for human (or Time Lord) passengers, since I’m sure part of the reason it’s flying is because it’s light. But hey, maybe they can keep working on it, get it to support heavier loads, and then put a person inside! And then maybe work on the whole “bigger on the inside” bit so more people can fit in. And then get it to travel through time and relative dimensions in space… Read more…
Tags: Doctor Who, Tardis
Posted by Bob Muir on Dec 16, 2013 in Animation, Cinema 
Frozen just came out, and Disney’s next animated film is Big Hero 6 in November 2014. But what everyone really wants to know is what’s planned for 2018? For those who are interested, Disney has announced what the movie is going to be: Moana. Disney is returning to the Pacific area they last explored in Lilo & Stich, though this time they’re venturing away from Hawaii and straight to Polynesia. But what will the film be about? Read more…
Tags: Disney
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