Oh God, It Gets Worse. They Have Lame Helmets Too

 

As if things in the live-action GI Joe movie weren't bad enough already, now I'm finding out that the absoultely retarded accelerator suits that the Joes wear in the film come complete with even more retarded helmets.

 

Don't believe me, take a look for yourself.

 



 

Oh god, I wish I was making this up.  I really wish that this was April Fool's Day or something and that I was just pulling your leg, but that's what the GI Joe team will look like in their new movie.  To see what may very well be the worst suit designs in the history of movie making in action, check out the embedded video above.  Be warned though, complete and total lameness abounds through every second of the clip.  You have been warned.

 

That sound you're hearing right now?  That's the sound of my heart shattering into a million tiny pieces.  If you need me, I'm going to be curled up in the fetal position on the floor clutching a bottle of whiskey to help dull the pain.

Friday Happy Hour

 

Captain Kirk's Alien Sex On A Beach

 

Recipe:

 

• 1 oz Grant's Whiskey


• 2 1/2 oz Pink Champagne

 

• Pour into a Champagne flute and garnish with a Strawberry.

 

The new Star Trek film currently stands at a domestic box office gross of $196.7 million.  Chances are pretty damn good that it's going to break the $200 million mark this weekend, thus making this not only the highest grossing Star Trek film of all time but also effectively doubling the second highest grossing Trek film's earnings.  Star Trek IV: The Voyage Home is that film, and it had a domestic box office gross of $109 million.

 

To celebrate this grand occasion, we're celebrating in proper James T. Kirk fashion.  We're having alien sex.

 

Ok ok ok, yeah, I know that's not possible.  Well, until such time as we develop warp drive and manage to introduce ourselves to some Orion slave girls, we're going to have to settle for having this tasty concoction named after Jim Kirk's tendency to get horizontal with ladies of any species. 

 

Captain Kirk'sAlien Sex on a Beach is a tasty mix of whiskey and champagne that is both colorful and bubbly.  It may look a little girly, but then again, so do gold uniform shirts made out of Velour.  You've never seen that stop Kirk from proving his manhood, have you?  No, you havent.  So be like Kirk, and boldly go where no man has gone before.

The Teaser Trailer For Toy Story 3

 

Aw man, it's good to see Buzz Lightyear again.  This is the new teaser trailer for Toy Story 3, which unfortunately won't be coming out until next summer.  But hey, at least they're making another one.  I'm happy.

 

This just came out today and will undoubtedly be playing before Pixar's new film Up which just came out today too, but I still wanted to share this because it made me super happy.

Zombie Walk! This Saturday Night In Long Beach, California!

 

Do you love zombies?  Do you love pretending to be a zombie?  Do you love love Simon Pegg? Do you love the movie Shaun of the Dead?  If you answered yes to any of these questions, and you live in Southern California, then have I got just the thing for you. 

 

This Saturday night, in Long Beach, California there is going to be a zombie walk down 4th street.  The meet up starts at 10pm at a coffee house where the undead horde will gather.  Then as a group they will shuffle down 4th street (moaning all the way) until they reach the Art Theatre where a screening of Edgar Wright's and Simon Pegg's film Shaun of the Dead will begin at 11pm.

 

You can find all the details, including directions to the theater, here.

 

People who come dressed up as zombies will get $2 off admission to see the film (which is $10 for the living).  I'll definitely be there, and will be dressed up as one of the living dead.  I'll be sure to bring a camera too and will get a bunch of pictures of the event to post here at Geek-tastic on Monday.

 

I hope to see you there. 

 

(Thanks go to my good friend Matt for pointing this out to me)

The New Doctor Gets His New Companion

When actor Matt Smith takes over the iconic role of Doctor Who next year from David Tennant, he'll be bringing all sorts of other changes to the show with him.  There's been talk of a new Tardis interior, new villains and of course . . . a brand new companion.

 

After all, what would the Doctor be without some beautiful young companion on his arm that he has to rescue from certain death every five minutes or so?  This new Doctor is no different.  Travelling with him will be 21 year old actress Karen Gillian, who has officially been announced by the BBC as the 11th Doctor's new travelling partner.

 

When asked about her, the show's Executive Producer and head writer Stephen Moffat had the following to say:

 

He described her as "funny, and clever, and gorgeous, and sexy. Or Scottish, which is the quick way of saying it".

 

"A generation of little girls will want to be her. And a generation of little boys will want them to be her too," he added.

 

She certainly is beautiful, but will she be smart and feisty and adventurous as all of the good companions of the Doctor's have been?  Only time will tell, but now that the Doctor finally has his new companion, we can finally get this show on the road.  Let's get to filming new episodes folks.  I can't wait to see new Doctor Who.

Guess Who's Coming To The Dollhouse

 

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Joss Whedon mentioned that he's currently trying to find a way to get actress Summer Glau into his TV show Dollhouse.  But she wouldn't be just another mind wiped agent on the show.

"Summer would be perfect to play an active, but she's done that [type of role] a lot," Whedon told Entertainment Weekly. "I'd rather see her play someone who talks too much. The most fun I have is when I get somebody who's good and comfortable at doing something, and then I make them do something else. Summer said to me, 'I would like to play a normal girl before I die of extreme old age.'"

 

Whedon has wanted to bring Glau into the fold since before her last series, Fox's Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles, was canceled. "If anybody thinks [bringing Summer onto Dollhouse] hasn't occurred to me already, then they have not met me," he says. "I mentioned it to her before [SCC] was canceled. I was like, 'You know, we should get you in the 'house.' But first we have to come up with something that works." Dollhouse returns in the fall.

 

Personally, I'm still really upset that the Sarah Connor Chronicles were cancelled. As cool as it may be to have Summer Glau show up on Dollhouse, I would have far more preferred to have her get a third season as the female Terminator badass that was her role as Cameron. Oh well, I just that's just my fate though, to always want what I can't have.

 

It would be interesting though to see her play a normal character for once.  As an actress, she has definitely been type-casted as the quirky oddball character.  Seeing her play normal for once would be a good change for once.

Oh That Poor Donatello

 

This is an older comic from the amazing web-comic series XKCD, but I loved it so much I just had to share it.  And it's so true, isn't it?  Sure, serious art lovers probably recognize Donatello for his artistic works, but does the average person?  Probably not.

 

We all know that Leonardo painted The Last Supper, and that Michelangelo painted the roof of the Sistine Chapel, but what did Donatello do again?  Oh that's right . . . he was the Ninja Turtle who wore a purple mask and used a bo staff. 

 

On a related XKCD note, a little while back the comic featured a five part story called The Race, in which a giant fan of the TV show Firefly challenges actor Nathan Fillion (aka Captain Malcolm Reynolds) to an electric skateboard race.  It's one of the funniest webcomics I've read in a long time, and is an absolute must read for Firefly fans.  His depiction of Summer Glau is absolutely hilarious.  You can check out the first part of that story here.

Archie's Getting Married. Does Anyone Really Care?

 

Does anyone actually still read Archie comics anymore?  My guess would have been no, but apparently I'm wrong because I'm seeing this reported everywhere online this morning.

 

After decades of debate over who he would finally choose, Betty or Veronica, it appears that Archie Andrews has finally made his choice.  He's going with the dark haired, bitchy rich girl over the stereotypical blonde haired all American girl.  I can't say that I blame him.  You just know that marrying Betty is a totally whiny and co-dependent girl who would never give Archie even five minutes to himself.  Veronica, on the other hand, will simply use him as arm candy to parade about.  Meanwhile, Archie will be able to live a life of luxury with her wealth.  I'm sure he'll be hitting up those Asian massage parlors in Riverdale rather regularly.  Or maybe he'll still be sneaking around with Betty on the side.  Who knows.

 

Not that any of this really matters anyways.  Note that this is issue #600 of the Archie comics.  I'm sure when issue #666 comes around, much like Peter Parker before him, Archie will have to make some sort of deal with Mephisto and the world's memory of his marriage to Veronica will be totally wiped clean in the "Archie: One More Day" storyline.

 

If things even get that far, which I doubt. I bet you five dollars that Veronica leaves Archie at the Altar for some handsome poolboy named Bruno or something like that.

Batman Vs. Pokemon

 

Yeah, that's pretty much how it would happen every time.

 

Back in the mid to late 90's, the WB had a really awesome weekday afternoon lineup that included shows like Batman, Superman, Pokemon, Justice League and others.  For a short while, they even did these really awesome little promo bits during the credits of shows in which characters from different shows would interact in different ways.  Sometimes these were funny, sometimes they were sort of boring, but whenever Batman was involved, they were always downright hilarious.

 

While I do love the above video a lot, it is by no means my favorite one of these old animated shorts.  No, that honor goes to this one right here.

 



 

There's just something about Batman singing the Jigglypuff theme song that makes me smile every time I hear it.  It's been a decade since it first came out, and it still makes me happy.

Want To Learn Klingon?

 

The excellent Public Radio show Studio 360 recently devoted a part of one episode of their show to discussing the fictional language of Klingon and why it was made in the first place.

 

You can find the episode in question here.

 

Why Yes, I Do Speak Klingon

 

Somehow the new Star Trek movie is managing to burn up the box office without a peep of Klingon — the made-up language of villainous space warriors. The linguist Arika Okrent is a certified Klingon speaker. In her new book In the Land of Invented Languages, she describes the lure of Klingon and why Earthlings have picked it up.

 

I've posted before about the fascinating lesson in linguistics that is the creation of the Klingon language, and I'm glad to be seeing something so unique getting coverage on Public Radio.  If you're at all interested in learning Klingon yourself (which is apparently very hard to do), then I highly suggest checking out the Klingon Language Institute.

 

Personally, I'm still waiting for someone to develop the Romulan language.  I've always thought they were more interesting than Klingons were.  I'll take a sophisticated race based on the Roman Empire over a bunch of Warrior thugs anytime.

 

(Via GeekDad)

So Painful.....Please Make It Stop

 

Feast your eyes folks on this travesty against nature.  This here is the international poster for the GI Joe: Rise of Cobra movie which will be coming out later this summer and will make me cry myself to sleep for at least a week afterwards.

 

Good lord, how many bad things can one movie poster have?  I think the designers of this must have been going for the grand prize in the crappiest poster ever contest.  Seriously, it looks like it was put together by someone with the photoshopping skills of a drunken five year old.  What the hell is going on with Baroness' face?  Is that even Sienna Miller?  It sure as hell doesn't look like her.  And what's with the really crappy sunglasses they copied and pasted onto her?  They're about twice as big as they should be.

 

And of course, let's not forget Cobra Commander on the top right.  Or as he's known at that point in the film (before he gets his full scuba mask) . . . the doctor.  What?  Could the prop department not afford a full Darth Vader mask replica, so they only got him the bottom half? 

 

As for the Joes, just who exactly is playing Snake Eyes in this film again?  Per the poster it looks like he's about the size of Sloth from the Goonies, with the exact same misshapen and oversized head.  Really, is he going to be about 8 feet tall in the film?  That's how he looks in the poster.  And I don't know about you, but if I was Scarlett I'd slap duke for staring at my tits so blatantly.

 

I could go on and on with the things in this poster that make me want to cry, but what's the point?  Nothing I say is going to change anything.  The film has been made, it's going to suck mad donkey balls.  The only left to do really is to grab myself a bottle of whiskey and start chugging.  It's the only thing that helps with dulling the pain.

Ahh....the things you can do on YouTube!

 

For some time now rumors have been bandied around about a potential Hal Jordan based Green Lantern movie in the works.  TV writer and producer Greg Berlanti has signed on to direct and co-write the script.  In fact, the projected date of release according to Wikipedia is 2011. Well, a man named Jarron Pitts believes he has just the man to star as Hal Jordan, so much so, that he created his own fantastic Fan-Made Trailer for the movie. 

 

Who did he pick?

 

None other than Sci-Fi/Fantasy darling Nathan Fillion. Check it out!  Green Lantern Fan-Made Trailer

 

(via Pop Candy & Slashfilm.com)

Buffy - Whedon = Incredibly Stupid

 

Some days, as I wander the vast and glorious interwebs looking for cool things to post here at Geek-tastic I am lucky to come across news so amazingly awesome it leaves me flabbergasted.  Other days, I find news so horribly god awful that it wrenches my heart out from my chest, beats it with a 2x4 filled with poison tipped rusty nails and then steps on it with soccer cleated shoes. 

 

Today, unfortunately, is one of those latter days.

 

It appears that a new Buffy The Vampire Slayer movie is being made.  But don't go getting all excited on me.  I know that on the surface that news sounds great, but it's all a lie.  The truth will make you wonder how the world can be such an unjust place.  It turns out that this new Buffy film will be made WITHOUT any input whatsoever from Buffy creator (and nerd icon) Joss Whedon.

 

Pardon me here . . . . but What The Flaming Fuck!?!?!?!?!?!?!

 

No Whedon?  How in god's name do you make a Buffy film without Joss Whedon?  They did that once, back in 1992, remember?  It was that cheesy film that starred Kristy Swanson and Luke Perry that was a major bomb at the box office and which most people hate.  Ok, admittedly I have a soft spot in my heart for that film because it's fun and hey, it has Paul Reubens too.  But even I can tell you that to remake Buffy now, without Whedon and without any connection to the massively successful Buffy TV show is the stupidest idea I've heard in a long time.

 

Let's do the math here:

 

Buffy without Joss Whedon = 1 failed movie that was panned by critics and audiences.

 

Buffy with Joss Whedon = 7 seasons of critically and fan acclaimed TV plus a spinoff show and successful comic book and novel lines and a ton of merchandising such as posters and toys and god knows what else.

 

Just think about this folks.  With no connection whatsoever to the incredibly beloved TV show, this new film will have no Xander or Willow, no Angel, no Spike, no Giles, no Faith, no Tara, no Cordelia, no Wesley Windham Price and most importantly of all . . . . . NO ANYA!!!

 

On the plus side though, it won't have any Dawn or Riley.  I guess it's not all bad, right?

 

Wait, no.  Never mind that.  The missing good outweighs the missing bad here by about a light year.  Seriously, who in their right minds could possiblt think that this could be a successful idea?  Sarah Michelle Gellar and crew aren't too old to resume their respective roles yet.  An amazing film could be made here that would be a continuation of the show, much like the film Serenity was to Firefly.  You could have a story about Buffy in her 30's, dealing with getting older and being the mother to an entire generation of young slayers.  You could adapt the very successful comic book line that takes place after the show ended if you wanted to.  Those were even written by Joss Whedon.  This could be done so much better in so many ways. 

 

Please, to those developing this . . . listen to the fans.  Stop what you're doing.  Make a proper Buffy film, otherwise you're just destined to failure.

New Geek DVD Day - 05/26/09

I'm really sorry for the lack of posts today.  Things at my normal day job (working as a freelance photographer for the Daily Bugle) have gotten really busy and chances are we'll be a little light on posts here for the next week or two.  I'll do what I can to still post at least one or two things a day, but I make no guarantees.

 

If you'd like more regular articles here, then I'm gladly accepting work as a full time blogger.  You'll have to hire me though and pay me enough to cover my bills and my cost of living.  My starting salary would be no less than $50,000 a year plus benefits and two weeks paid vacation.  Any takers?

 

Yeah, I thought not.  Oh well.  Anyways, let's get on to this week's DVD releases while I dream about one day actually getting paid to do this.

 



 

The Good:  Saturday Morning Cartoons - 1970's - Volume 1

 

Why It's Good:  It's a two disc set featuring a bunch of episodes from popular 70's Saturday morning cartoon shows.  Included in the set are episodes from The Jetsons, The Batman & Tarzan Adventure Hour, Hong Kong Phooey, Goober and the Ghost Chasers, Yogi's Gang, Josie and the Pussycats, Scooby Doo and more.

 

There's also a set out featuring episodes from 1960's cartoon shows, but I was mainly raised on shows from the 70's, so that's what's getting listed here.  I'm sure the 60's shows are cool too, but I haven't seen most of them and thus cannot guarantee their coolness.

 



 

The Badass:  Land of the Lost - The Complete Series

 

Why It's Badass:  Continuing on with the 1970's TV theme we apparently have going on today, we've got this set which features every episode from the original Land of the Lost series (and thankfully none of the crappy 90's remake series).

 

Once upon a time, some people were river rafting when they suddenly went over a waterfall and wound up in the Land of the Lost, where cheesy stop-motion Dinosaurs still roamed and evil lizard people called Sleestacks caused all sorts of problems.  For those who grew up on this series, it's a great bit of nostalgia.  And of course, this set has been released just in time to capitalize on the release of the brand new big budget movie remake of the show that hits theaters soon. 

 



 

The Awesome:  Mega Shark vs. Giant Octupus

 

Why It's Awesome:  Aside from having a movie title second only to "Snakes on a Plane" in regards to level of coolness , MS vs GO is one of those truly horrible yet amazingly hilarious giant monster movies that you usually only find on the Sci-fi channel around two in the afternoon on a Sunday.  The name really does say it all here, a mega massive sized shark takes on a giantic octopus in a battle to the death while a small group of puny humans run around all worried about the fate of the world.

 

If you doubt the incredibly high caliber of this film, just consider that it stars trule hollywood A-list talent like Lorenzo Lamas and 1980's teenage pop sensation Debbie Gibson (who apparently goes by Deborah now).  If that isn't a powerhouse combo of acting ability, I don't know what is. 

 

To truly understand the amazingness that is this film though, you have to check out this trailer.  Behold it and revel in its glory.

 

Pat's Movie Reviews - Terminator: Salvation

 

The original Terminator film starring Arnold Schwarzenegger came out in 1984 and it quickly became a massive hit.  It had everything a great action film should have.  Cool characters, a hot leading lady with a no nonsense attitude, an unstoppable and fearsome villain and above all amazing special effects.  The film helped make Arnold a star and it cemented the word Skynet and the phrase "I'll be back" into the public consciousness.

 

The film T2 is one of those truly rare moments in Hollywood where a sequel actually manages to be more amazing and awe inspiring than the original was.  Turing the villain from the first film into the hero this time around, and pitting him against a newer and even more deadly machine, T2 became an instant fan favorite and is regarded by many people as one of the greatest action movies of all time.

 

T3 . . . . . well . . . . . is it too late to pretend T3 just never existed at all?  There's good reason the TV show The Sarah Connor Chronicles jumped forward in time and completely negated the existence of the third film in the Terminator franchise.  Many of us fans wish we could do the same.

 

But here we are, many years later, and a new Terminator film has come out.  Terminator: Salvation.  I've said before here many times that when this project was first announced, I was highly skeptical of it.  It was being directed by a guy named McG, and it was going to be PG-13 instead of R.  It wasn't even going to have Arnold Schwarzenegger in it (which in all honesty made since due to the fact that he's getting pretty old).  As a fan of the Terminator franchise, I was fully expecting to hate the film.

 

Then I went to Wonder Con back in February and got my first good look at the film.  I attended the Terminator panel which was hosted by McG himself, and I will fully admit that the guy won me over.  He genuinely seemed excited that he was getting to add to the Terminator mythology that he so obviously loved himself.  He was fighting with the studio for an R rating.  He had struggled to get a great actor like Christian Bale to play John Connor.  The footage shown and the trailers looked amazing.  By the time I walked into the theater last Friday, I was pretty amped up and was really looking forward to seeing some Robot-on-human violence.

 

And the result?  Unfortunately, it's a bit more underwhelming than I would have hoped for.  Don't get me wrong, I did enjoy the movie quite a bit.  However, there was a lot wrong with it too.  I never expected this film to be as cool as T2 was.  To do that is pretty much to expect the impossible.  What I was hoping for was that the film would be at least better than T3 and hopefully as entertaining as the aforementioned Sarah Connor Chronicles.  I'm happy to say that it is indeed better than T3 was.  And yes, it's as entertaining as the Sarah Connor Chronicles were too.  But Terminator: Salvation most definitely has it's strong points and it's weak points.

 

Let's start with the positives.  The special effects in the film are amazing.  Going against what most other big budget action film directors are doing nowadays, McG went out of his way to use as little CG as possible and actually built tons of robot bodies and destroyed buildings and actual sets for his actors to work in.  This use of practical effects really pays off in my opinion as it added a whole feeling of realism to the film.  Things in Salvation are dirty, dust covered and appropriately post apocalyptic looking.  I had no problem whatsoever believing that the settings and the story's backdrop looked as real as they could get.

 

When there was CG used, it was flawless.  The computer animation in the film is top notch.  When John Connor goes toe to toe with a skeleton T-800, the fight scene is gloriously beautiful.  And as for Arnold Schwarzenegger's much talked about digital "cameo" . . . . . frakking amazing!!!  The effects of the digital Arnold were astounding in their awesomeness.  When a young and still muscular Arnold walked onto the screen, my jaw dropped and I got the giant geeky nerdgasm that I was hoping I'd get.  My only complaint was that digital arnold didn't get nearly enough screentime.  I could have watched John Connor fighting him for an hour and wouldn't have cared about the rest of the film.

 

Action and effects aside though, the film does have some serious problems, most of which revolve around the story and the film's editing.  You'd think a Terminator film taking place after judgement day wouldn't be that hard a story to create, right?  Just put John Connor in charge of a small band of human rebels, give them a cool target to blow up, and let the fireworks go off.  Simple, right?  Well, somehow this simple concept totally escaped the writers who gave us a convoluted story that didn't really go anywhere, accomplished nothing important, and really didn't get the audience to care at any point about what was going on.  A ton of new characters were introduced in the film, but none of them were really given much screentime and thus weren't able to develop or grow into anyone we cared about.

 

John Connor's wife, for example, was someone I would have liked to know better.  John Connor was raised by one of the most badass women to ever grace the silver screen.  Sarah Connor is a powerhouse of a character, and she's bound to have left her son John with some woman issues.  The man has been raised since birth to lead the human resistence against the machines.  He's been a soldier since before he was born.  He's not going to just pick some random girl to marry.  She's going to have to be as powerful an intellect as he is and she's going to have to be as hard as nails and as much a survivor as he is.  Do we ever really get to see her do anything cool though?  No. Do we see any reason why John Connor would pick this woman over any others?  No.  Would the audience really have cared then if she died in the fim?  No.

 

The same goes for Salvation's only other major female character too.  The pilot chick Williams.  Her introduction is pretty cool.  She's a pilot for the resistence, and she leads Marcus to the resistence.  But just like every other story aspect of this film, she's never really developed and doesn't really do a whole lot in the end.  The character of Marcus Wright is at least sort of interesting.  He's a new hybrid Terminator with human organs mixed with machine parts.  He's a cool concept and is an interesting move for Skynet to make, but he too never really does a lot and by the end of the film I don't really care about what happens to him either.

 

As for the editing, it was incredibly choppy in certain areas and I could fairly well tell when scenes were cut out to give the film its PG-13 rating.  The most glaring of these was the topless scene with Moon Bloodgood which was cut from the film.  The edit and the missing scene make for a very akward transisition from one scene to the next.  I can only hope that when the director's cut of the film comes out on DVD, it will have a better flow to the story.

 

On a totally random side note, it was really cool to see the actor Michael Ironside again.  That man was a staple of 80's sci-fi action films, and I hadn't seen him in a cool role in far too long.  Seeing him pop up as the leader of the resistence was really damned cool.

 

In the end, Terminator: Salvation is a decent and enjoyable action flick.  Don't expect a ton of amazing story and you won't be disappointed.  The effects are awesome and if you're a Terminator fan it's definitely worth seeing.  It was much better than T3 and I would actually look forward to McG directing another one or two of these.  As a summer film, it works well but don't expect any oscar winning performances to come from this.  On the whole, I'd say that this film was better than X-Men Origins: Wolverine but was nowhere near as good as Star Trek.

 

Final Grade:  B

Friday Happy Hour

 

Judgement Day

 

Recipe:

 

• 1 oz. Jagermeister


• 1 oz. Kahlua


• 1 oz. Rumple Minze


• 1/2 oz. Bacardi 151 Proof Rum


• 1/2 oz. Everclear

 

• Mix one after the other in a large shot glass. Proportions can be altered for taste. It should taste like a peppermint patty so you might want to err in favor of the Rumple Minze.

 

In honor of Terminator: Salvation being released in theaters this week, for today's Friday Happy Hour we bring you a shot so powerful it could end civilization as we know it.  Ok ok, so it's not that strong but it is powerful enough to make you feel like Judgement Day had indeed come when you wake up the next morning. 

 

Mixing Jager with anything is typically a bad idea.  Mixing it with Kahlua, Rum AND Everclear?  That's an idea so evil that it could have only been designed by heartless machines.  Drink at your own risk.

Cormac McCarthy's The Road Looks Apocalyptically Great

 

 

I loves me a good post apocalyptic film.  Hell I even liked I Am Legend despite the truly crappy CG vampire things.  I don't know what it is, but something about people trying to survive in a world that has been destroyed always entertains me.

 

This new trailer for The Road, based on the novel by Cormac McCarthy, looks like it will definitely have that perfect destroyed world feel that I love so much too.  It's about a father and his son who are trying to travel down the east cost of the US a few years after some major disaster has destroyed all of civilization.  Buildings are destroyed, no people are around, and everything generally looks pretty crappy.  But then the duo find some fellow survivors, and they don't look too nice at all.  In fact, I believe they intend to kill them. 

 

Plus, the film stars Viggo Mortensen who is pretty much always amazing.  This looks like it could be really good.

Half Life And Resident Evil As 8-Bit NES Games

 

Have you ever wondered what awesome games like Half Life or Resident Evil would look like as classic 8-Bit NES games?  Well, wonder no more.  Etsy artist ArcadeArt has created some amazing fridge magnet sets for these two games and more, and she's done them up in proper pixelated style.

 

The magnets are made using beads, and they're for sale.  The 3 piece sets each cost $20.  What really impresses me most though is that the artist even went and created classic Nintendo style box art for the two games.  I absolutely love them.

 

              

 

If Half Life Or Resident Evil aren't your kind of games, the artist has also made pixelated art for Pikman, Super Mario, Mario Kart and more.

 

(Via Joystiq)

Here's Your Incredibly White Last Airbender

 

This is the first released pic from M. Knight Shyamalan's live-action adaptation of the animated series Avatar: The Last Airbender.  Please note that the film's main character Aang, whom is depicted in the photo, is supposed to be Asian and that the Texas born actor Noah Ringer who is playing him is decidedly not.

 

God damn this saddens me.  Especially since the actor's race aside, I really do like everything else in the photo.  The set looks beautiful, his costume is decent and he even has his bo staff.  Sure, the Arrow on his head could be a little more blue, but overall this photo makes me believe that the film's production values will be pretty decent.  Now if only the choice of actor didn't totally distract me from believing he was Aang.  Seriously, other than the shaved head he looks nothing like Aang. 

 

At least Prince Zuko looks a little better.

 



 

That's actor Dev Patel from Slumdog Millionaire portraying the evil Prince Zuko, who will spend this entire film hunting Aang down.  While Patel isn't Asian either, at least he sort of looks like the character he's supposed to be.  Unfortunately, in this pic we can't see the massive scar on the left side of his face that Zuko is supposed to have.  I'm really curious as to just how scarred they're going to make the character for the film.  In the animated show, his scar covers a good portion of his face.  Somehow, I'm willing to bet for the film they're going to tone the scar down a lot.  I don't know why, it's just a feeling.

Another Day, Another Batman: Arkham Asylum Trailer

 

Yeah, so at this point I've posted about a dozen different trailers for the video game Batman: Arkham Asylum.  I know.  I can't help it though.  The game looks so damned cool.  It's not my fault, really. 

 

This time around, we get to see what Poison Ivy looks like in the game.  While she's not as badly tarted up as poor Harlequin was, she's still plenty slutty looking.  But I guess that's typically what video games do to popular female characters, isn't it.

 

Oh well.  Regardless, it still looks cool overall, and I can't wait to play it.

Will Ghostbusters 3 Star A Former Vampire Slayer?

 

Hero Complex has an interesting interview up with Dan Aykroyd regarding the third installment of the ghostbusters franchise.  In it he spills some details on the progress of the film, why Bill Murray didn't sign on sooner and what kind of film he'd like the third one to be.

 

In regards to the progress of the film, Aykroyd said that the film should be going into production soon and we could see filming taking place by as early as this winter.

 

The script is by Lee Eisenberg and Gene Stupnitsky, the writing team behind the upcoming Jack Black/Michael Cera movie "Year One" (directed by [fellow Ghostbuster Harlod] Ramis), and Aykroyd is enthused about its premise of a new generation of Ghostbusters taking over the duties of the aging team. Aykroyd said he wishes Ivan Reitman would return to direct the third film in the series but that he's "too busy as a mega-producer" to take it on; his second choice is Ramis, who, of course, co-wrote the first two "Ghostbusters" films with Aykroyd and has numerous directing credits, most notably "Groundhog Day" and "Analyze This." "He has a lot of things going on, but it would be wonderful to see him do it."

 

Regarding the story of the new film, Aykroyd said the following.

 

The details of story are still in play, but Aykroyd said he's hoping for a five-member "new generation" team with several female members. "I'd like it to be a passing-of-the-torch movie. Let's revisit the old characters briefly and happily and have them there as family but let's pass it on to a new generation."

 

When asked for which actresses he'd like to see don the tan jumpsuits, he mentioned Eliza Dushku and Alyssa Milano as two possible candidates. "I think they're amazing," he said.  Strangely enough, Alyssa Milano just completed doing some voicework for the new Ghostbusters videogame as well.  Whether or not she's play the same character in the film as she does in the game is unknown, but she's definitely already got one foot in the door in regards to becoming a full fledged Ghostbuster.  As for Dushku, well, she's been a slayer and a mind wiped Doll.  I'm sure busting ghosts would just be one new challenge for the ass kicking actress.

The Trailer For V

 

 

No sooner had I posted the earlier clips for the new V remake than I find this, the full trailer for the new series, on youtube.

 

And it looks pretty sure that the aliens are still lizard creatures in people suits.  Awesome!

Geek Item Of The Week - 05/20/09

 

Transformers USB Drive

 

USB drives have become pretty common these days.  With memory for computers becoming so compact and affordable, it's no wonder that you can find these small memory sticks in stores available in all sorts of different shapes and sizes.  And while I've seen some cool looking USB drives in my time, none of them compare to the awesomeness that is this Transformers USB drive that turns into the Decepticon Ravage. 

 

Unfortunately, the USB drive itself only holds 2GB of memory, and it costs $43 which is way more than it should for that memory capacity, but that's not really what you're paying for . . . right?  You're paying that much for the bragging rights of showing off to your friends that your USB drive transforms and is therefore infinitely cooler than their USB drives.  And that sort of bragging power really is priceless.

First Look At The Remake Of V

ABC has released two clips that give us a first look at their brand new remake of the 80's sci-fi TV classic V.  For those of you that don't remember the show, V was about a race of aliens that came to earth claiming to be peaceful and in need of assistance.  They made deals with our governments and basically sort of took over the planet peacefully.  However, their intentions weren't noble at all, and even though they looked human they were actually a race of lizards who wore human suits in order to get humanity to trust and follow them. 

 

Well, the new show seems to be following along the same lines story wise, as you'll see below in these clips.  The first clip is the blanket statement the aliens make to the people of earth.

 



 

This second clip is of the alien's PR representative sitting down to do an interview with a human TV reporter.  It's pretty obvious from this clip that the aliens are doing their best to still earn the trust of the human race.

 



 

In case you didn't recognize the actress playing the alien representative in both clips, let me point out to you that is Morena Baccarin whom most of you will remember as Inara from Joss Whedon's Firefly.  A quick check of the show's IMDB page also shows that another Firefly alumni, specifically Alan Tudyk (who played the pilot Wash), is also on the cast.  And that blonde woman looking up in the first clip?  That's Elizabeth Mitchell, who plays the character of Juliet on that other hit ABC series Lost.  Add to that the chick who plays Kara from Smallville and you've got the beginnings of a truly Geek-centric cast.

 

I loved V as it first aired when I was a kid.  I'm actually pretty excited that it's getting a remake.  Plus, Inara with short hair looks really hot.  She's got a very Audrey Hepburn thing going on.  I like it!

Can't Get Enough Trek?

 

Right now, Star Trek is on everyone's mind what with the success of the new Trek film by director JJ Abrams.  New fans are being won over to the long running Sci-fi franchise, and old fans are returning to the fold.  It's not too suprising then that Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry is choosing now to release a ton of never before seen archival footage from Star Trek's history.

 

Roddenberry Productions—the company run by Eugene "Rod" Roddenberry, son of Star Trek creator Gene Roddenberry—has signed a $2 million deal with Toolbox Productions to release more than 500 hours of previously unseen footage from Trek series, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

 

The Toolbox library consists of interviews with cast and crew, as well as behind-the-scenes material shot over the past 20 years, starting with Star Trek: The Next Generation and progressing through the three other spinoff series that followed.

 

The footage will be assembled for a video-based encyclopedia that covers Star Trek's mythology and characters, the trade paper reported.

 

Rod Roddenberry will appear as host of the DVD set, which will showcase the archived material in high definition. Talks with distributors are under way. No release date has yet been set.

 

For long time Trek fans, this material could be a stunning look behind the scenes at some of the greatest sci-fi TV shows ever produced.  If you're not too big into behind the scenes stuff though, then this probably won't interest you too much, but I had to share.  It's rare whenever anything "new" comes out for shows that have been off the air for so long.

New Geek DVD Day - 05/19/09

Holy Guacamole!  There's a ton of really great geek DVD's out this week.  Seriously, like a ton of stuff.  So much so that I can't fit it all in with just three entries.  Therefore, this week we're making up some new category ratings. 

 

Enjoy!

 

 

 

The Good:  My Bloody Valentine - In 3D

 

Why It's Good:  I'm a sucker for cheesy horror films.  Especially for ones that use classic gimmicks like 3D.  This film on a technical level isn't all that great (to be honest).  The story is cheesy, the acting is bad, and the characters aren't really anyone you'll ever care about.  But this is a horror film, you're not watching this for any of that stuff anyways.  You're here to see horny young people being killed in creatively gruesome ways, and this film has that sort of stuff in spades.

 

Making full use of the new 3D technology, My Bloody Valentine is very much like a throwback to classic slasher flicks with modern effects.  Buckets and buckets of blood are spilled during this film's runtime, and most of the main characters meet enjoyably unique and brutal deaths at the hands of a madman with a pick ax.  If you love horror films at all, you'll really dig this.

 

Sorry for the really bad "dig" joke there.  You see, the main villain was a miner.

 

 

 

The Badass:  True Blood - The Complete First Season

 

Why It's Badass:  When I initially watched the first two or three episodes of HBO's very adult vampire series, I thought that the show was trying too hard to be sexy and edgy and was bordering on skinemax style softcore porn, vampire style.  Not that that's a bad thing mind you, I was just expecting more from the series.  However, as the show went on it got a hell of a lot more depth to it.  By the 5th episode or so, I was hooked. 

 

Anna Paquin is absolutely perfect as Sookie Stackhouse, a young naive southern girl with the ability to read minds.  She falls in love with an almost 200 year old vampire, and all sorts of drama pops up.  Oh, and did I mention that in this world, Vampires have gone public with their existence and are treated much like a repressed minority in the show, complete with hate crimes against them and all.

 

The show is incredibly entertaining and features all sorts of the things you'd expect from a good vampire show.  There's blood, sex, violence, more sex, and even more blood.  It also has one of the best TV opening credits sequences that I've seen in a long, long time.  I can't wait for season two.

 



 

The Awesome:  The Guild - Season One and Season Two

 

Why It's Awesome:  What started off originally as a youtube series has become something of a cult phenomenon.  The Guild was created by and stars Felicia Day (whom you'll remember as Penny from Dr. Horrible's Sing-a-long Blog).  It's a series about a group of die hard World of Warcraft players who, through a series of events, are all forced to meet each other in the real world.  And as usually happens in these instances, hilarity ensues.

 

What makes this series great is its endearing sincerity.  This is a show about geeks, made by geeks, and starring geeks.  The care that they take with discussing topics they love like video games comes across without any hint of corporate meddling or trying to package a show towards a specific audience.  This was made by people who wanted to share something they enjoyed doing with others they thought might enjoy watching it.  This is the antitheses of giant corporate grabs at the geek audience like the TV show Heroes.  This is genuine geek, and it's awesome become of that.

 

Plus, Felicia Day.  Mmmmmmmmm.  Pardon me while I swoon.

 



 

The Even More Awesome:  Fanboys

 

Why It's Even More Awesome:  Fanboys is the greatest Star Wars film ever made that isn't directly a Star Wars film itself.  Think of it like the ultimate fan film, only good.  It's about a group of huge Star Wars fans back in the year 1998, right before Episode One comes out, who decide to travel across country so they can break into Lucasfilm and steal an early print of the film so their friend with cancer can see it before he dies.

 

Along the way, thet get caught up in car chases, fights with Trekkies, and even meet Carrie Fisher.  Much like The Guild, this is a film for geeks, made by geeks.  The love the filmmakers have for Star Wars is evident in every moment of this film, and for anyone who was a huge Star Wars fan growing up, you'll definitely see a lot of yourself and your friends in the characters in this movie.  I couldn't help but feel nostalgic as I watched it.

 



 

The Awesomest:  Limited Edition T2 Complete Collector's Set Endoskull

 

Why It's The Awesomest:  Dude, it's a metal skull from the T-800 Terminator.  What else do you need?  Seriously.  Ok, sure, it also comes with a Blu-ray copy of T2 (one of the best damned action films ever), and a bunch of bonus discs with special features which are not Blu-ray, by the way.  But really, why would anyone want to spend $120 on this set other than to get the really cook Terminator skull?

 

Admittedly, I am really never one of those guys who goes for collector's sets or fancy packaging with his DVD's.  I'm typically fine with the bare bones editions of DVD's that don't have any of the bells or whistles that cost me an extra $10 at the store, but for this set I'd totally make an exception.  Just look at how awesome that skull looks and tell me honestly that you wouldn't love to own that.  We all would, it's ok to admit it. 

 

Personally, I'd use the skull as the most badass paperweight ever.  Either that, or I'd throw it at Fox network executives who were responsible for cancelling the Sarah Connor Chronicles.  What would you use it for?

The New Batman/Superman Animated Movie Features Robot Awesomeness

 

Lately, DC Comics have been doing rather well with their straight-to-DVD animated movies.  With hits like Batman: Gotham Knight, Justice League: New Frontier, Wonder Woman and the upcoming Green Lantern animated film, it looks like  DC really has figured out what fans want to see . . . their favorite superheroes kicking ass in awesome stories.

 

Now if only their live-action movie making division could figure that out.

 

Anyways, this here is the new trailer for the straight-to-DVD animated film that will be coming out after Green Lantern.  It's a Batman & Superman team up movie, and it looks pretty damned cool.  Not only does the animation look decent, but the trailer features a gigantic half Batman/half Superman robot (which may just be the coolest thing I'll see all week). 

 

If the film is only half as good as this trailer makes it look, we could be in for a real treat.

Chuck and Echo Live, Sarah Connor Dies

 

Well, it's official folks.  Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles (SCC) are no more.  Fox TV officially announced it's fall lineup today, and the robot fighting sci-fi show is not included in it.

 

This news really saddens me after the SCC had such an amazing second season finale.  Now we'll never find out what happened to John Connor after he jumped forward in time to a point after Judgement Day, in a world that never had John Connor to lead humanity's resistence.

 

Damn you Fox!  Damn you to hell!!!

 

Suprisingly though, Joss Whedon's Dollhouse has been picked up for a second season.  I had figured the show for dead after having pulled in rather dismal ratings all season, but apparently the suits over at Fox didn't want another Firefly debacle on their hands afterall and have given Joss and his show about mind wiped pretty people (aka most of LA and Orange County, California) another chance.

 

While I'm happy to see Joss' show getting a second season, as it was getting more enjoyable near the end of the first one, I can't help but feel that the continuation of Dollhouse helped contribute to the cancellation of SCC.  It's more than likely that with a limited amount of budgeting dollars for big Sci-fi shows, SCC's potential support died with the decision to keep Dollhouse.  If I ever find out for sure if this is the case, I'll never be able to forgive Dollhouse for this horrible sin.

 

Two things to note of Dollhouse's new season though, the budget for the show is being cut by a whole hell of a lot, and each of the 13 new episodes will be 8 minutes shorter than the ones in the first season.  So expect faster paced episodes with a lot less pretty effects than previously were on the show.

 

In final news, fans of the NBC show Chuck can rejoice.  It's been picked up for one more season as well.  It looks like people buying all of those Subway sandwiches may have paid off afterall.

By The Hammer Of Thor (And By Thor I Mean This Guy)

 

After months of speculation and rumors flying everywhere, it looks like Marvel Comics and Kenneth Branagh have finally chosen the man who wield Mjölner in their upcoming film Thor.  And just who is this lucky man?  His name is Chris Hemsworth, and for anyone who saw the brand new Star Trek film recently, you'll recognize him as the guy who played George Kirk, James T. Kirk's ill fated father in the opening scene of that film.

 

Marvel has been on the hunt for a thesp with the athleticism and acting chops to pull off one of the more unusual superheroes in the company's pantheon. Final points of Hemsworth's deal were still being wrapped up over the weekend.

 

A Norse god, Thor develops a protective affinity for humans after his father Odin banishes him to Earth, in order to teach him a lesson in humility. From then on, he's often seen wielding his massive hammer and fighting alongside the Avengers (comprised of Iron Man, the Hulk and Captain America).

 

Hemsworth would also play the character in Marvel's planned Avengers team up pic in 2012.

 

I can't really say I have any complaints about this news right now.  I really liked Hemsworth as George Kirk in Star Trek.  He played the role well, and even though it was a small part, he definitely came off as the strong and heroic type.  Can he lead a major film as a starring character?  Only time will tell, but I think Marvel could have done a lot worse than this, so I'm going to keep an open mind and will see how the film looks when it comes out.

 

Also of note, Chris Hemsworth's next big film role will be in Joss Whedon's upcoming horror film Cabin In The Woods.  If both JJ Abrams and Joss Whedon have liked this guy enough to put him in their films, then just maybe he does have what it takes to be a Norse God of Thunder.

 

UPDATE

 

It also looks like we know who's going to be playing Thor's nemesis Loki as well.  According to reports, the meddling god will be played by British actor Tom Hiddleston.

 

Hiddleston, unknown to American audiences, is an award-winning Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts graduate and played Winston Churchill's son in HBO's The Gathering Storm. He also starred in Ivanov opposite Branagh on the London stage and in the BBC miniseries Wallander.

 

Marvel Studios won't confirm my news, but Hiddleston had been considered as a possible Thor. Thor is slated for release on May 20, 2011.

 

Since I've never heard of the guy before, I'm willing to bet you haven't either, so here's what he looks like.

 

 

Yeah, I could totally see that guy playing Loki.  He just has that total "mad god" look to him, doesn't he?  Just picture him making the face Loki's making below.  See it yet?

 

The GT Podcast: Episode 05 - The Beginning Of Summer Movie Madness

 



 

Well, it took a little longer to get recorded and edited than usual, but the brand new episode of the Geek-tastic Podcast is now online and is ready for you to listen to and to love.

 

 

You can stream the podcast by clicking HERE.

 

OR

 

You can download a copy of the podcast by right clicking HERE and selecting "Save Target As".

 

 

In this episode of the podcast.  Your host Patrick is joined by Robert Magness, Johann Joseph and Ned Cato Jr. from the GeekRoundTable as they review the first two big films of the summer blockbuster season, X-Men Orgins: Wolverine and Star Trek.

 

Be warned though, there are MAJOR SPOILERS given out during these two reviews, so if you haven't seen the films yet and don't want anything ruined, don't give the podcast a listen until after you've seen the movies.  If you have already seen them though, or if you don't care about having things spoiled . . . then by all means give the show a listen.  We hope you will enjoy it.

 

Also, if you want to listen to the Star Trek review, and don't care about Wolverine, skip to the 15 minute mark or so of the show.

 

And now, of course, for the obligatory show notes:

 

• During the show, Robert refers to an older film called Below.  Here's the trailer for it.


•  Here's a link to Geek-tastic's Beginner's Guide to Star Trek.


•  Episodes of the original Star Trek series can be found on both CBS' website and Hulu.


• If you've never heard of a McGuffin before, here's what it is.

Friday Happy Hour

 

The Incredible Hulk

Recipe:

 

• 1/2 oz Hennessy Cognac


• 1/2 oz Hypnotiq Liqueur


• Stir together the Hennessy cognac and the Hypnotic tropical-fruit liqueur to make a green incredible hulk color. Serve.

 

For this week's Friday Happy Hour, we bring you a pretty little green shot named after Marvel's angry Behemoth . . . The Incredible Hulk.  A mixture of Cognac and Hypnotic, the shot has both elements of fruity flavor mixed with a bit of a sharp bite.  Have enough of these and you may just start believing you're as strong as the big green lug yourself.

 

Enjoy, and have a great weekend.  Don't forget to go see Star Trek if you haven't already seen it.  And if you have seen it, go see it again.  That's what I plan on doing.  See you all on Monday.

Cars 2: Tokyo Drift

 

Pixar's film Cars was an incredibly large success financially, so it should come as no suprise to anyone then that a sequel is in the works and is set to come out in 2011.  However, to tide over all the Cars fans out there until then, Pixar has released this truly awesome Cars short film called Mater's Tall Tales: Tokyo Mater.

 

The film is 6 minutes and 35 seconds of pure awesome as Mater tells the story of how he once went to Tokyo and became involved in a high speed and dangerous drift race that even included ninja's.  Basically, the whole thing is a parody of that really crappy Fast And The Furious film Tokyo Drift.  Unlike that film though, this short is highly entertaining and is fun to watch. 

 

Just wait for the part when Lightning "Dragon" McQueen shows up and does his Spinning Dragon Attack.  I seriously laughed out loud when that happened. 

 

Once again, Pixar has proven that everything they make, and I mean everything, is made of win.

 

(Via Top Gear and my friend Adam)

100% Confirmation On Arnold's "Cameo" In Terminator: Salvation

 



 

I reported earlier that it was more than likely that Arnold Schwarzenegger would be having some sort of cameo in the new film Terminator: Salvation.  Now comes a full confirmation of that rumor, from none other than the film's directer McG.  Speaking with the SciFi Wire, McG explained just how they managed to get a young and powerful looking Arnold Schwarzenegger into the film.

 

At the end of the upcoming prequel/sequel film, a T-800 model Terminator appears, looking just like Arnold Schwarzenegger from James Cameron's original 1984 The Terminator, as naked as the first time we see him.

 

McG told reporters that he used computer graphics to make the T-800 look just like Schwarzenegger from the first movie. But wherever else he could, McG wanted to use practical effects.

 

For the T-800 scene, in which John Connor (Christian Bale) confronts the old nemesis, Austrian bodybuilder Roland Kickinger played the Terminator so that Bale would have someone to act opposite. Schwarzenegger's face was superimposed on Kickinger's head in post-production.

 

"Most particularly, you really get the performance you're looking for when you're not stuck telling an actor, 'Oh, the tennis ball is the robot. Be afraid,'" McG said. "That's terrible. I want a 7-foot piece of Soviet tank machinery where if you punch up against that thing, it's going to hurt your hand. And when the red eyes glow, and the puppeteers from Winston Studios do this and smack you, it brings a better performance out of Sam Worthington and out of Christian Bale and everybody else who's interacting in the film. So it was absolutely critical to build as much as was humanly possible, and then when you have to extend in a CG capacity, sure, go for it. But films that take place purely in a CG environment, I find they just feel animated and I detach as a viewer, so I'm less interested in that respect."

 

I couldn't agree with that last statement more.  I feel the same way about films that are overly CG'd.  This is why I was so annoyed at the Star Wars prequels.  Everything in those films was CG.  It felt like George Lucas had forgotten how to build a set.  It makes me happy then to hear McG say that he went out of his way to try to build as many things as possible without relying too much on CG.  I think it will absolutely add to the realism of the film and will make it cooler to watch.

 

As for a digital Arnold head appearing on a bodybuilder's body, I'm ok with that too, so long as the CG doesn't look horrible.  If the effects are decent and it really looks like Christian Bale is standing next to a young Arnold, that that'll be a really great moment to geek out over.  However, if the effects are crap it could turn into one of those moments that just ruins a film. 

 

Let's just hope the former is true there.

I Totally Called It. The New Star Trek Is Totally Star Wars

 

I really enjoyed the new Star Trek film.  Really, I did.  But whenever anyone has asked me what I thought of the film since I saw it last Friday, I've told them, "It's the Star Wars version of Star Trek".  I've meant that in a good way, as if to say it's as action-packed and adventure-filled as the original Star Wars, but I hadn't really thought about just how accurate my analogy was.

 

Until now, that is.

 

After seeing the above video, I can't believe how similar the story of the new Star Trek film is to Star Wars.  In general terms, it's pretty damned similar.  Don't believe me?  Just watch the video.

Where Was The Two Fisted Hammer Punch?

I loved the new Star Trek.  LOVED it.  When Chekov got his V's and W's mixed up, I literally giggled like Homer Simpson.  That being said, there was one giant flaw. I was convinced that at least once, ONCE, in the miriad of other Star Trek: TOS homages thrown into the new film, that Jim Kirk would at least once, two fisted hammer punch someone.

 

Kirk had about a million opportunities.  I know, I saw the film at a Drive-In so I was yelling "TWO FISTED HAMMER PUNCH" every time I saw one.  So think of this post as an accompanyment to the film.  If I new how to edit movies at all, I would have made a montage, you will have to settle for these videos.

 

 

 



 

George Lucas - Officially A Senior Citizen

 

Today is George Lucas' birthday.  Happy birthday George!

 

The man who created the greatest film franchise of all time was born on May 14th, 1944 in Modesto, California.  That means that he is turning 65 years old today, which technically means he's just become a senior citizen.  Do you think he'll start asking for the senior discount now when he goes out to eat?  Or maybe now that he's reached the average age of retirement, maybe he'll retire and hand over the reigns of the Star Wars franchise to new people.

 

Somehow I doubt that.

 

In all seriousness though, we here at Geek-tastic wish Mr. Lucas a very happy birthday and we hope he'll be around for many more birthdays to come.

 

(Via Wired)

Geek Item Of The Week - 05/13/09

 

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock t-shirt

 

For those of you who don't watch the awesome geek sitcom The Big Bang Theory, you may be confused by this t-shirt.  Let me explain.  Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock is a variation of the classic Rock Paper Scissors game that we all know and love.  The additions to the game are obvious.  Instead of just the classic three choices in the game, two new options have been added . . . Lizard and Spock.

 

The t-shirt's design is a handy guide that illustrates how the new game's rules work, thus making it easy to teach new people the vastly improved version of the game.  Here's the way the new game rules break down:

 

• Scissors cuts Paper


• Paper covers Rock


• Rock crushes Lizard


• Lizard poisons Spock


• Spock smashes Scissors


• Scissors decapitates Lizard


• Lizard eats Paper


• Paper disproves Spock


• Spock Vaporizes Rock


• Rock crushes Scissors

 

Got it?  Ok then.  Let's play. 

 

Rock Paper Scissors Lizard Spock!!!

 

100 Geeks You Should Be Following On Twitter

 

Anyone who knows me knows just how much I loves me my Twitter.  My username on the site is Twilightjumper.  The massively popular micro-blogging/social communication site can be used for many different things.  I'm personally fond of sending out tweets in the form of Haikus, but different people use the site and its tools for different things.  One really cool feature though is that you can sign up to follow some truly awesome members of the geek community and get regular status updates or words of geeky wisdom from them. 

 

The folks over at GeekDad have done us all a tremendous service recently and have compiled their list of 100 Geeks You Should Be Following On Twitter.  The list is fairly comprehensive and includes a number of amazing geeks we can all benefit from keeping up to date with.  Here's a list of some of my personal favorites on the list.

 

• Wil Wheaton.  wilw   Blogger, writer, actor, and honorary GeekDad.


• LeVar Burton.  levarburton  You know, from Star Trek. Plus loves books, kids, etc.


• Al Yankovic.  alyankovic  Geek music icon.


• John Hodgman.  hodgman  Writer, performer, geek humorist.


• Neil Gaiman.  neilhimself  “Sandman”, “American Gods”, “Coraline” etc.


• Jonathan Coulton.  jonathancoulton  Musician, Writer and Singer of songs with geek themes (ie. Still Alive, the Portal song).


• Steve Wozniak.  stevewoz  Inventor of the Apple Computer … nuff said.


• Warren Ellis.  warrenellis  Comic book author and curator of the weird.


• Felicia Day.  feliciaday  Star of “The Guild” and “Dr. Horrible”; she played geeks but she totally is a geek.


• John Kovalic.  muskrat_john  Awesome cartoonist and writer of Dork Tower.


• Bonnie Burton.  bonniegrrl  Editor/writer at Lucasfilm, cutting edge geek.


• Favreau.   jon_favreau  Director of Iron Man (& forthcoming sequel)

 

There's a ton of other great people on the list as well, this is only a small number of geeks who are using twitter.  Be sure to check out the rest of the list and see if there's anyone else you'd like to be following.

A Plethora Of Pryde (Kitty Pryde That Is)

 

Floating World Comics is an amazing comic book store/art gallery located in Portland, Oregon.  For the month of May the store is hosting a gallery exhibit called Full of Pryde, a tribute to the X-Men character Kitty Pryde (aka Shadowcat).  The show features original art pieces from a wide variety of different artists each showing their unique perspective on the X-Men team member.  The original art being shown at the gallery is all for sale, and 100% of the proceeds from the sales will be going to a good cause.

 

The following is a statement regarding the show from the store's owner:

 

My good friend Douglas E. Sherwood (Oni Press) proposed a tribute show based around his favorite X-Men character, Kitty Pryde. His own personal experiences with having hemophilia his entire life also inspired him to make the show a fundraiser for the Hemophilia Treatment Center at OHSU. So we’ve asked dozens of comic artists, graphic designers, and illustrators to do their rendition of Kitty Pryde for our May Art Exhibit at Floating World Comics. The opening was a huge success and now we're making the original art from the show available through ebay auctions. 100% of the proceeds from these sales goes to the HTC department at OHSU.

 

Take a look at our other auctions, there's a great variety of artwork and it's all for a good cause!

 

(Auctions end in about 1 week, artwork will be shipped near the end of the month when the art exhibit has ended. Artwork will be shipped safely and securely.)

 

I've picked out some of my favorite pieces from the show and have shown them above, but if you go here you can see a ton of other images from the exhibit.  There's a great number of pieces in the show, and there are so many different styles represented that no two depictions of the character are the same.  There's also this flickr set which features more pictures from the show as well as the exhibit's opening night party.  The pics there suddenly make me sad I live so far away from such a cool looking comic shop.

 

If you wish to purchase any of the pieces, you can bid on them here.  Prices for the art ranges from $20 to $150 depending on the piece, and remember all of the proceeds from the show are going to help people in need.  So not only will you get a cool piece of comic art, but you'll also be doing a good deed.