U.S. currency is full of references to the Freemasons, the so-called secret brotherhood that oversaw and controlled the burgeoning nation (and, some people say, still does). That sounds an awful lot like a certain evil overlord who dwells in the scarred land of Mordor, doesn’t it? It looks like dschwen on Threadless had the same idea, and he turned into a shirt pitch. It’s a fantastic mashup of the famous “e pluribus unum” Masonic pyramid and the Eye of Sauron. Let’s hope this one makes it to the printing phase. Read more…
Marvel’s been doing a pretty good job of tying their shared-universe films (Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, etc) together, and it looks like they won’t stop trying after The Avengers is released. MTV’s Splash Page spoke with Jon Favreau, who said that the third installment of the Iron Man film franchise will continue the story threads started in the Avengers movie. It’s good that they’ve decided to let the superheroes lead separate lives, so to speak, while also letting them get together for coffee and Cosmic Cubes every now and then. Read more…
It seems like every geeky show or movie has some kind of ID card on it, whether the nametags that Chuck and the Nerd Herd wear on, uh, Chuck, to the CSI lab tech badges, to Jack Bauer’s Counter-Terrorism Unit ID cards (above). Of course, since those places and people don’t exist, we can’t just apply for jobs at those locations and grab a badge for ourselves. Thankfully, Identity Props exists, and they sell replicas of famous (or even obscure) ID cards from various media. Just what you need for your Commissioner Gordon cosplay. Don’t pretend like you haven’t been thinking about it. Read more…
We’ve had a rough, unfinished teaser for the upcoming Thor film making the rounds online for a few months now, but now we’ve got a crisp, glorious, official trailer on which to feast our eyes. The trailer’s got pretty much everything you need — Natalie Portman for the fellas, shirtless (and built) Chris Hemsworth for the ladies, a beautiful Asgard for Jack Kirby fans. Heck, there’s even some action in there. It certainly looks great, and we finally get a taste of the Kirby cosmic mythos that could bring the Marvel films up to that next level of awesome. Let’s hope the film itself hits as hard as Mjolnir does in the trailer. Read more…
Yeah, so, Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen was missing something. A lot of somethings. And Michael Bay, director of the Transformers live-action films thus far, has listened to your complaints. If you thought the answer to “Just what was the Transformers franchise missing?” was “Apollo 11 astronaut and first man on the moon Neil Armstrong,” then you’re going to love the teaser trailer for 2011’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Okay, so it’s just an actor playing him, but still! Admittedly, the trailer’s gorgeous, and Bay says that the CGI in it is only 75-80% done, so it’ll look even better when it’s complete. Bay even reassures fans that this entry into the series will ditch the “goofy comedy” (his words) of Revenge. Hopefully the racial stereotypes, too. Now to figure out who that Transformer rocking the Fu Manchu mustache is… Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Dec 10, 2010 in Cinema, Horror
Word was that Ridley Scott’s long-planned prequel to the sci-fi classic Alien had been pushed back to 2013 or 2014 at best, or shelved at worst. But it looks like it’s finally happening, with production slated to begin in March and a promise of old-school claustrophobia and horror. There’s even casting going on, with some notable hopefuls, including Michelle Yeoh. Sounds good so far! The only weird thing is the actual title, which is “Paradise,” though we’re not sure if it’s just Paradise or whether it’ll be called Alien: Paradise or something along those lines. Kind of an odd name for an Alien movie, but maybe it’s supposed to be ironic. Read more…
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Dec 9, 2010 in Cinema, Tech
I know what you’re thinking. “This doesn’t look anything like a portable hard drive,” and you’re right, it doesn’t, but that’s kind of the point. Rather than simply taking an existing model and slapping a logo on it like Buffalo and Warner Brothers did with their recent Harry Potter portable drives, the guys over at FlashRods specialize in making portable hard drives with some serious flare and attention to detail. The Doc Brown’s iconic Delorean just happens to be one of their most recent projects. This amazing little hard drive connects externally via usb and stores up to 500 GBs worth of data. In addition to sitting and looking pretty, both the hood and the trademark gull-wing doors open up for a better view. Like most customs, these babies will end up costing you $250, so if you have the cash to spare, head over to FlashRods and order yours today. Read more…
The film that would have been Spider-Man 4 has officially started shooting this week. I know some of you have mixed feelings about the prospect of rebooting the Spider-Man franchise, especially after three wildly successful outings featuring a cast we’ve grown familiar with. However, after the latest film failed to impress critics and fans alike, it probably came as no surprise when Sony decided to drop the proverbial axe. The director, Sam Raimi, had already left the project citing an inability to complete the film on schedule for May of 2011, but rather than simply replacing him, they figured it’d be easier to start from square one. Personally, I don’t mind rebooting the series but I’m starting to wonder if rebooting in general has become a little too prevalent in recent years.
Ever since Heath Ledger’s untimely death prior to the release of The Dark Knight, there’s been questions as to the fate of The Joker in the Batman film series. There’s even been rumors lately that director Christopher Nolan would bring Ledger’s Joker back in digital form for The Dark Knight Rises, using CGI and deleted scenes from The Dark Knight. IndieWire reports that they’ve spoken with Nolan and the rumors are not true — he says that Ledger’s performance in The Dark Knight is singular and he won’t be “imported” into The Dark Knight in any way. Good call. Read more…
Telltale Games, the studio behind the new Sam and Max games, acquired the rights to make two awesome IPs — Jurassic Park and Back to the Future — into their classic point-and-click adventure style. Ever since we heard that Christopher Lloyd would be returning to voice Doc Brown, we’ve been pumped to hear Marty McFly and see the game in action, and now Telltale has given us the first teaser trailer for much-anticipated game. Is it me, or is the Marty McFly voice actor eerily accurate? Heavy. Read more…
Classic anime series Space Battleship Yamato, a.k.a. Star Blazers in the US, is gearing up for its theatrical release in Japan, along with a limited US release. And now you can watch five whole minutes of it! It looks like a certain other show with “Battle” in it that takes place in space, and the action is pretty 70s, but it’s a pretty neat adaptation. And, for the ladies, the super-hunky lead singer of SMAP, Kimura Takuya, is playing one of the main characters, Susumu Kodai. That’s Derek Wildstar for you 80s kids out there. Read more…
I actually can’t remember the last time this has happened, but it looks like the upcoming live-action adapation of Hiroya Oku’s action-packed manga, Gantz, will be hitting US theaters a week ahead of Japan. Unfortunately, if you’re one of those people who can’t take dubs, you may be out of luck. While the film will show on over 300 screens nationwide, none of them are currently scheduled to be subtitled. Still, it looks amazing and might be worth checking out. The film centers around a boy and his friend who end up dying, only to be revived for the sole-purpose of hunting hostile aliens. While there was an anime, the film itself will be based on the original manga and is currently set for release on January 20th.
Posted by Tim Sheehy on Nov 30, 2010 in Cinema, Horror
So you want to be a bald space marine? If that’s the case, you’ll need one of these — that, and the $900 it’ll cost you to buy it. Sounds like a bit much, but when it comes to faithful replicas of our favorite hollywood props, it usually is. This particular prop happens to be a replica of the M41-A pulse rifle from the sci-fi classic Aliens. Of course, you won’t stand a chance against a real alien, let alone one that bleeds acid, but at least you’d look pretty awesome carrying one of these around. Weighing in at a solid 15 pounds, it features a collapsible shoulder stock, pump action underbarrel, and a working LCD ammo display that requires some AA batteries. You’d think for $900 they’d make it a lithium battery, but I guess that’d be asking too much. At least it comes with a nice mount and plaque for when you’re done playing with it. If you’re crazy enough to drop the cash for this, ThinkGeek currently has them in stock.
I was saddened to hear that Leslie Nielsen had passed away: While he was a brilliant comedic actor being a sci fi fanboy I’ve always loved his work in the 1956 film Forbidden Planet. Even fifty years later the craftsmanship on this film is quite amazing even if the special effects are no longer cutting edge. In fact I’d also dare say that in may ways Nielsen helped pave the way for Star Trek which hit television a bit over a decade later. Read more…
When a character is ingrained in our heads well enough, we can recognize their color and shape even after they’ve been simplified many times over. 4×4 Pixels is out to prove this, with a growing gallery of 16-pixel renditions of pop culture heroes, like Legend of Zelda’s Link, shown above. I personally loved their interpretation of Jaws (yes, the shark) and Chewbacca — both instantly recognizable despite being little more than blocks of color. It really is amazing the gaps that our brain can fill. Read more…
Though it’s no great surprise to people who’ve been following the development of the past two Batman films, Christian Bale recently admitted that unless Chris Nolan tells him otherwise, the upcoming Dark Knight Rises will be his last Batman film. The statement does make sense — Bale is only contractually obligated to star in three Batman movies, and he’s said several times that he’d only star if Nolan was at the helm. He does leave some wiggle room, though; Nolan could very well decide to do another Batman film, and Bale could likely be convinced if that was the case. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Nov 26, 2010 in Cinema, Horror
The prequel film to John Carpenter’s The Thing was originally slated for an April 2011 release, but it just got bumped from that slot thanks to some reshoots. Thankfully, Universal decided not to just give up on the film entirely — it’s set to be released October 14th, 2011. Just in time for Halloween! Carpenter’s original film is a tense, claustrophobic horror classic, and the fact that the prequel is being handled by another director gives me cause for concern, but honestly I’m a little surprised it got made at all. Maybe there’s something here after all — and with a year until the release date, there’s enough time for the film to shapeshift into something compelling. Read more…
The other week, we showed you Michael Cera and the cast of Scott Pilgrim vs The World attempting British accents. They weren’t so bad with the exception of Cera, but then again, it’s a difficult accent to master. This time, however, the shoe’s on the other foot as Daniel Radcliffe and the cast of Harry Potter try their hands at an American accent. Being American, I couldn’t imagine our accent is so difficult to emulate, especially when I listen to actors like Hugh Laurie pull it off with such ease — that was, until I saw this clip. Of all his castmates, the only one who had me convinced was Rupert Gint, but Tom Felton wasn’t so bad either. Emma Watson, who I thought would have it in the bad, seemed to struggle the most. In case you live under a rock, and haven’t seen it,or read it already, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows part 1 hit theaters last week.
The upcoming Judge Dredd remake, spartanly titled Dredd, has just started filming, but a set photo of Karl Urban as the titular ass-kicker has already leaked, giving us a sneak peek at his costume. Thankfully, it looks like very few liberties have been taken with Dredd’s getup, and it looks slightly more gritty than the version used in Stallone’s terrible take on the character. Urban has done pretty well in the other genre pieces he’s been in, sometimes in spite of the subject matter, so it’ll be interesting to see how we judge this Dredd. Read more…
Casting has officially begun for the upcoming Superman reboot (yes, another one), and Warner Bros. is ready to make a star, whether they like it or not. Not only are they looking for relatively unknown actors, they’re also saying that it may be impossible to hire a famous name anyway due to budget constraints. If you think they’re trying to get this film out the door quickly and cheaply, you’re probably right — if the Warners don’t start production by the middle of 2011, they risk losing the Superman license. But hey, whoever ends up being the new Supes will either deal with being Superman forever (Christopher Reeve), remaining in relative obscurity (Brandon Routh), or dating a Playmate (Dean Cain). I guess some of those aren’t too bad. Read more…
Reportedly, the script for Christopher Nolan’s next (and likely final) Batman movie is almost complete, and rumors are pouring in as to its contents. The latest rumblings indicate that, contrary to previous speculation, there’s not a more supernatural villain like Killer Croc or Clayface — instead, so they say, the story arc is based on Doug Moench’s Prey storyline. For those who haven’t read it, it involves Hugo Strange hypnotizing a man into becoming a vigilante and pursuing Batman. Catwoman even makes an appearance, which would make sense given other casting rumors. Of course, we won’t know anything for certain until we get some details from Nolan himself, and that might be a while. The film doesn’t start shooting until next year. Read more…
Posted by Michael Sacco on Nov 19, 2010 in Cinema, Star Wars
Helvetica: it’s a font, not an alien planet, though apparently it’s right at home in the Star Wars universe. Ad firm H-57 created these great Star Wars images composed entirely of typography elements, and they’re pretty elegant in their simplicity. Makes you wonder who did the Empire’s design work. Imagine the repercussions if the kerning wasn’t right on Vader’s business cards. Read more…
I don’t have very fond memories of the Men in Black films. I’m not sure if it was the campy PG humor, saturation or excessive use of CG, but something about the films always left me wanting less. The first time around, it wasn’t because it was a terrible movie. In fact, I actually liked it until I had to watch it more than once. The sequel, on the other hand, was pretty terrible. Everything about it, save for the excessive CG, felt rushed — as if the producers couldn’t wait to capitalize on the oil they thought they struck. It would also seem that I’m not alone in my opinion. But why, then, would we need another sequel? Read more…
The Dune remake that was supposed to be headed to theaters may be so much sand in the wind after all. Deadline reports that Frank Herbert’s estate has issued an ultimatum for Paramount to announce production dates for the film by spring 2011 or they’ll lose the Dune license. This is hardly the first trouble the remake has seen — it’s been through two or more directors already, and one iteration was already completely scrapped, as seen in old concept art. If Paramount does end up losing the license, with hundreds of thousands of dollars already paid in optioning and pre-production funds, that money is basically sandworm food. Read more…
