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Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 2, 2015 in Television 
That X-Files continuation was already off to a good start, by securing the creator and two main actors. Of course, there was a lot more to the original series than just them. David Duchovny confirmed on The Late Show with David Letterman that two more actors are confirmed to return. Mitch Pileggi will return as as FBI Assistant Director Walter Skinner, while William B. Davis will return as The Smoking Man. Cool! Annabeth Gish (Monica Reyes) and Robert Patrick (John Doggett) are also rumored to be involved, but no deals are currently in place. Maybe Fox knows what they’re doing with this? Read more…
Tags: The X-Files
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 2, 2015 in Videogames 
It seems that 2015 is truly the Year of the Amiibo for Nintendo. While many games were shown off on their latest Nintendo direct, many of the major ones had corresponding amiibo announcements. Let’s start with Super Smash Bros. news first though. The Mewtwo DLC is pretty much ready and will be released on April 23 for $3.99, or $5.99 for both systems. Those who earned the character for free via the Club Nintendo promotion will get him on April 15. Lucas (from Mother 3 and Brawl) was announced as the second DLC character, due sometime in June. Future characters may be influenced by your votes on the Smash Bros. Fighter Ballot that just launched on smashbros.com. And if you want to spend more of your money, there will be new Mii costumes available. The cost of the costumes seems reasonable at $0.75 each, or $1.15 each for both systems. Read more…
Tags: 3DS, Amiibo, fire emblem, Nintendo, Nintendo Direct, Wii U
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 1, 2015 in Videogames 
If you haven’t purchased a PS4 yet for Bloodborne, here’s something that may entice you. When Batman: Arkham Knight comes out on June 23, you’ll have the option of getting a jet black PS4 bundle with the game for $400. But if you toss in a bit extra, you can have this cool steel grey limited edition bundle for $450. I already own a system, so I’m not biting, but otherwise, I’d be very tempted. I guess I’ll just stick with the somewhat less expensive limited edition. Read more…
Tags: Batman: Arkham Knight, PS4
Posted by Bob Muir on Apr 1, 2015 in Comic Books, Television 
Hey CW, I get the impression that you’re still feeling out where your Arrow/Flash spin-off is going to go, since it will have a bunch of superheroes in it. But can you give us a name to use other than “that Arrow/Flash spin-off with all the other superheroes”? Ah well, let’s talk about the new heroes added to the show. Ciara Renée has been cast as Hawkgirl, who learns that she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior who grows wings when she manifests her powers. In addition, Arthur Darvill (Rory on Doctor Who) has been cast as another time-traveller, Rip Hunter, who’s a bit more obscure. This all sounds good, but as I said before, we just need to know what this spin-off actually is! Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Flash, Green Arrow
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 31, 2015 in Animation, Cinema, Comic Books 
While Batman is much more popular these days as a dark, gritty superhero, fans have slowly become more accepting of the classic 60s TV series. The recent resurgence last year — including a DVD/Blu-ray release — has raised interest, and in addition to comics, there will be a movie based on the campy universe. Adam West (Batman) made the announcement at Mad Monster Party, revealing that he and Burt Ward (Robin) would be voicing their characters in a feature-length animated movie. It’s due out for the TV series’s 50th anniversary in 2016, likely direct-to-video, making this the much more interesting of two Batman movies that year. Sorry, Batman v. Superman, but after Man of Steel, I’d rather concentrate my excitement on this strong counterpoint to the Batman mythos. Read more…
Tags: Adam West, Batman, DC Comics, Warner Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 31, 2015 in Videogames 
Microsoft and 343 Industries are starting their marketing push for this fall’s Halo 5: Guardians. It’s due out on October 27, 2015, which means we’ll probably be seeing a lot more at this year’s E3. But for now, we’ve got what is frankly a really cool ad, with new character Spartan Locke hunting down Master Chief and confronting him about consequences. But then, there’s a second ad where Master Chief confronts Locke! I’d assume we’ll get to play as both characters a la Halo 2 (my personal favorite in the series). I wonder what twists we’ll see? Read more…
Tags: Halo, Microsoft, Xbox One
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 26, 2015 in Anime, Cinema 
Ever since the first Studio Ghibli movie came out on Blu-ray, I’ve been waiting for Spirited Away to come out. It’s only been available on DVD since its US release in 2003, while it’s been available on Blu-ray in Japan since last year. That’s set to change, according to this new listing on Amazon, which official-looking box art. The Cat Returns also has a listing, helping to fill out the Blu-ray releases for their entire catalog. There are no release dates listed yet, but it’s just good to know that Disney, the official US distributor, hasn’t forgotten the second film to win Best Animated Feature. Hopefully it’s out by this summer! Read more…
Tags: Disney, Hayao Miyazaki, Studio Ghibli
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 26, 2015 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Jesse Eisenberg seems like a strange choice to play Lex Luthor in Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice, but I could see it working. I can see it even more after Entertainment Weekly released this image showing how he’ll look in the movie. Yep, he’s bald, but it’s his eyes that grab my attention the most. It’s very intense, and I could see that working in the movie, provided he puts on some muscle. He doesn’t need to be a muscleman, but he could stand to bulk-up a bit. Read more…
Tags: Batman v. Superman
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 25, 2015 in Animation, Fandom, Star Wars 
Look, Star Wars: Rebels is alright, but they could be doing something so much more stylized and interesting with the franchise, like Genndy Tartakovsky’s Star Wars: Clone Wars. They should be doing, say, a Star Wars cartoon that looks like a late-80s sci-fi anime, with detailed ships and dramatic shading. That’s what animator Paul Johnson has been working on for the last four years of weekends, and now he has finished his seven-minute short. Star Wars: Tie Fighter takes inspiration from the 1994 PC game of the same name and captures that dark, cool look of some classic anime like Gunbuster. Watch it and be amazed! Read more…
Tags: Star Wars, TIE Fighter
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 25, 2015 in Television 
It’s been a long time coming, but The X-Files is coming back to TV. Fox has ordered a new six-episode event series, though we don’t have any details on what it’s about. It doesn’t seem to be a reboot though, as David Duchovny and Gillian Anderson are confirmed to return. Creator and executive producer Chris Carter is also returning, so this is as official as it gets. The X-Files will resume production in summer 2015, so I’d expect it to air sometime in 2016.
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Tags: Fox, The X-Files
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 24, 2015 in Cinema, Comic Books 
Here’s a cool video by Jacob Swinney that depicts the evolution of Batman through his movies. It journeys from its humble beginnings in serials in the ’40s, through Adam West, Michael Keaton, George Clooney, Christian Bale, and more, all the way to his latest film. (By the way, that’s The Lego Move, if you forgot that Batman was in it.) Check out the video and the list of movies below.
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Tags: Batman
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 24, 2015 in Cinema, Comic Books 
In what was one of Hollywood’s worst-kept secrets, the Russo brothers have been confirmed as the directors of Avengers: Infinity War, the two-part epic that all of Marvel’s previous films have been leading to. The first two Avengers films were directed by Joss Whedon, who is stepping down to work on his own projects. Joe and Anthony Russo first directed Captain America: The Winter Soldier for Marvel, and they will begin shooting Captain America: Civil War next month. Seeing as The Winter Soldier is arguably the best Marvel film so far, I’d say the movies are in good hands. The Russo brothers will shooting both parts in one long shoot in 2016. Read more…
Tags: Avengers: Infinity War, Joss Whedon, Marvel, the Russo Brothers
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 19, 2015 in Videogames 
If you purchased a first-run copy of the just-released Final Fantasy Type-0 HD, you received a code for Final Fantasy XV: Episode Duscae, a demo for one of the longest in-development games ever. If you don’t have access to this demo, well, sucks to be you, because look at this video. Like past games, summons return; but what was almost a vestigial feature in most recent games looks to be a lot more impressive with this game. It’s very cool the way that Ramuh is foreshadowed by a darkening sky and lightning before finally showing up to pluck main character Noctis out of danger. The rest of the party is not so lucky, but somehow they survive, so whatever. Read more…
Tags: Final Fantasy, square enix
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 19, 2015 in Anime, Cinema 
I’m sure most fans of Attack on Titan would rather have a second season of the popular anime. But until that happens, this live-action movie is looking pretty good! The first footage showed up on a Japanese show, and if you look under all the visual clutter that makes up many Japanese shows, you can get a glimpse of what the movie will look like. And it looks pretty great! It won’t make the wait for the second season any easier, but at least this movie seems like a faithful adaptation. Read more…
Tags: Attack on Titan
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 18, 2015 in Cinema, Videogames 
It’s not like expectations were high for Pixels, a feature-length adaptation of a neat short. What sounded like a shaky concept for a film was soon torpedoed when it was announced to be an Adam Sandler vehicle. Even the presence of Peter Dinklage couldn’t boost interest that much. And so this trailer is pretty much a confirmation of that line of thinking. It gives you the plot justification you’re curious about and shows a bunch of gags, some of which are admittedly amusing, but which you could imagine would get very tiresome when stretched out over 90 minutes. Basically, the whole joke of this trailer boils down to “Man, isn’t it crazy that videogames, of all things, are killing us?” There, let’s all move on. Read more…
Tags: Donkey Kong, Pac-Man, Pixel Art, Space Invaders
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 18, 2015 in Videogames 
I have never understood the people who think Nintendo, a company that has only ever made games for its own systems, should put their games out on phones. Never mind the fact that their development style doesn’t fit the mobile market at all, or the fact that they’d be competing against themselves: how are you supposed to play games like Mario, designed for precise buttons, with an inherently imprecise touchscreen? Some people don’t care, but it’s the kind of design mismatch that I’d imagine even Steve Jobs would have disapproved of. Nintendo still refuses to put their existing games on phones, but they have just announced a partnership with DeNA, a Japanese online company responsible for the Mobage mobile game platform. That’s right: Nintendo is finally making games for phones. Read more…
Tags: Nintendo
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 17, 2015 in Videogames 
Real talk: even though it’s a collectathon, Rare’s Banjo-Kazooie is easily one of my favorite N64 games. The expansive worlds (for the time), the humorous characters, the amazing music, it all made a game I got lost in for days. After Microsoft purchased Rare, they became a shell of their former selves, so any hope for a true sequel from the original developers is gone. But a bunch of former Rare developers are now at Playtonic, and they’ve announced Project Ukulele, a spiritual successor to Banjo-Kazooie. Playtonic says the game is going to be released regardless, but crowd-funding would allow it to be even bigger. The Kickstarter will go up in May, but I’m already dreaming about what a current-gen Banjo-Kazooie-like game could look like. Read more…
Tags: Banjo-Kazooie, Kickstarter
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 17, 2015 in Cinema, Star Wars 
In what may sound like sacrilege, one of the upcoming Star Wars movies will be the first Star Wars movie to not be scored by John Williams. Gareth Edwards’s Rogue One will instead be scored by Alexandre Desplat, which may not be as familiar a name to some of you. But the score is left in capable hands, as Desplat is fresh off winning an Oscar for The Grand Budapest Hotel‘s soundtrack. Desplat recently worked with Edwards on Godzilla, and his past work is impressive: The Imitation Game, Moonrise Kingdom, Argo, The King’s Speech, The Curious Case of Benjamin Button, and Zero Dark Thirty, to name just a few. Since Rogue One is a spin-off and not part of the new trilogy, maybe this will help the movie stand out even further. Read more…
Tags: Gareth Edwards, Rogue One, Star Wars
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 12, 2015 in Videogames 
I like my PS4, but in terms of exclusives, it’s been fairly weak. Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End was an anticipated game this fall, but it seems that won’t be helping the PS4’s holiday sales anymore. Developer Naughty Dog has shared their decision to delay the game to spring 2016, based on their need to give the game some extra time to make sure it’s as good as it can be. While many modern games come out buggy and need patches, Naughty Dog’s games have all run smooth enough at launch. If this is what it takes to keep that standard, I reckon I can wait a few more months. I’d rather have a quality game later than a troubled game sooner. Read more…
Tags: PS4, Sony, Uncharted
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 12, 2015 in Cinema 
Tron and I have a complicated relationship. The first film is rather dull, but I still love the visual style and creativity. Tron: Legacy is everything you could want in a Tron sequel, but still doesn’t really connect, despite my appreciation for it. But I’m okay with that, and I’m enough of a nerd that I’ve been waiting for Tron 3 since 2011. Disney has finally given the green light to Tron 3, which begins filming in Vancouver on October 5, 2015. So far, only Garrett Hedlund (Sam Flynn) has been confirmed to return, but as long as Daft Punk comes back for another soundtrack, I think I’d be able to roll with anything. Read more…
Tags: Disney, Tron
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 11, 2015 in Comic Books, Television 
It seems a bit spoilery to me, but the CW put out a promo for upcoming villains on The Flash. You’ve got your Weather Wizard, your Golden Glider, your time travel, all good stuff — but forget those guys. As mentioned a few months ago, Mark Hamill is returning to play an older version of the Trickster in an episode featuring a new copycat Trickster. Hamill previously played the role in the 1990 TV show The Flash, and while that show isn’t canon to 2014 The Flash series, get this: they’re using pictures of Hamill in that crazy outfit to reference this older Trickster’s criminal past. I love meta references like that! I wonder if he’ll have any scenes with John Wesley Shipp or Amanda Pays, who were on both TV series as well? Read more…
Tags: DC Comics, Flash
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 11, 2015 in Comic Books, Television 
As much as I love the Marvel Cinematic Universe, I have to admit that they have a villain problem. Other than a few notable exceptions (like Loki), the film version of these villains lack depth, whether it’s the fault of the script, the editing, or something else. It’s encouraging to see the first full trailer for Daredevil focus a good portion of the trailer on Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin. Maybe having 13 episodes to play with will give Marvel the time it needs to fully develop the character, who seems to be trying his best to do good things for his neighborhood, albeit using questionable methods. It’s going to be hard to wait a whole month for this. Read more…
Tags: Daredevil, Marvel, Netflix
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 10, 2015 in Cinema 
I think I’ve said it before, but I’m burned out by dystopian, real, or gritty sci-fi. There’s nothing wrong with it, but if I can accept a fantasy based on magic, I don’t see why I can’t accept a fantasy based on fake or alternate science; I don’t necessarily need to understand how it works, just what it means for the characters and plot. Disney’s Tomorrowland, inspired by the theme of the Disneyland area, looks like the kind of lighter, more optimistic sci-fi I’ve been craving. And while there’s obviously something wrong that will need to be resolved, Tomorrowland looks like the kind of place I’d love to see, a sort of “city upon a hill” that gives us an ideal to strive toward. Plus, The Incredibles‘ Brad Bird is directing it, so it seems likely the film will be a good watch. Read more…
Tags: Disney, Tomorrowland
Posted by Bob Muir on Mar 10, 2015 in Star Wars 
Weird Al sang a special duet at Comedy Central’s Night of Too Many Stars, held for New York Collaborates for Autism. 13-year-old Jodi DiPiazza, who has autism herself, began singing ‘Yoda,’ the 1985 parody of The Kinks’ ‘Lola.’ Soon, Weird Al came out in Jedi robes to harmonize with Jodi, and before long, a whole chorus was singing along with them. It was a great moment from a show with a great cause.
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Tags: Yoda
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