F**k You George Lucas!!!

There have been rumors floating around for a while now that George Lucas would once again be making tweaks and changes to the Star Wars films as part of their upcoming release on Blu-ray. While this news certainly didn't surprise me, or anyone else for that matter, it did certainly fill me with dread. Just exactly what would Lucas be changing this time? Would these be small, positive changes like what he did with adding background details like windows on Cloud City that made it look bigger and cooler, or would we have yet another debacle of "Han shot first" proportions?

The initial details that came down were actually pretty positive. It was revealed that Lucas would be replacing the god awful muppet version of Yoda from Episode One with an all CG version that would match how he looks in episodes 2 and 3. Now, I'm not a fan of CG characters at all, but I was ok with this because it made sense to me from a cinematic standpoint to have a character keep a consistent appearance throughout all three films. And let's be honest here, that version of Yoda in Episode One looks really horrible. Good riddance to it.

Today though, more details have emerged and they aren't pretty. It looks like Lucas has once again decided to run hog wild with his changes and has gone in and played with things that didn't need to be changed. The biggest, most egregious mistake in my personal opinion is the video above of Darth Vader first quietly saying "No" as he watches the Emperor attack Luke with force lightning and then yelling "NOOOOOOOOOOOO" as he throws the Emperor down into the heart of the Death Star.

I apologize in advance here, but I'm about to lose my mind. Please discontinue reading if you have problems with foul language, cursing, or colorful expletives.

I'm serious here.

Ok, here we go...

FUCK YOU GEORGE LUCAS!!!!! Why in god's name would you mar one of the most pivotal moments in the entire Star Wars saga?!?!?! This addition adds absolutely nothing to the film. In fact, it greatly weakens the scene altogether. The fact that Vader didn't speak in this scene is exactly what made it so incredibly powerful in the first place. By his not speaking, the viewer is forced to watch his expressionless mask and wonder what is going through his mind as he is watching his own son being tortured to death before him. When he comes to his decision, his body language and the way he holds himself changes. Even with the mask on, you can clearly see the emotions that are running through Vader as he is forced to make a decision. That expressionless mask actually expresses the turmoil the character is going through. It's an incredibly poignant piece of Cinema. Having him now yell "NOOOOOOOO" as he picks up Emperor Palpatine just cheapens the whole thing. It takes away from the powerful imagery and makes the whole scene goofy.

This is Darth Vader's big moment. It's his turning point from main villain and scourge of the galaxy to a redeemed hero. This is what 6 fucking films have been building up to. This is the moment that Anakin Skywalker lives up to the prophecies and brings balance to the force by destroying the Dark Side . . . and you've totally fucking ruined it George Lucas. I say it again, Fuck You sir! You have completely lost what little remaining respect I had for you as a filmmaker. Yes, when you were younger you were great. You had a talent for storytelling and myth building. Now though, you're a hack who doesn't understand the importance of story structure and when to let the audience decide things for themselves.

Dear god, this makes Greedo shooting first look like a scene from Citizen Kane.

Even if that was the only pointless, stupid change Lucas had made, I would already be angry enough, but no, there's more. Much more. How about that scene in Episode IV where Obi-Wan scares off the sand people by yelling like a Krayt Dragon. Yep, that's been changed too.

What the fuck is that? That sounds so stupid! What was wrong with the original noise he made? Why did this have to be changed? WHY, I fucking ask you! WHY!?!?!?!

Oh, and remember when R2-D2 hides from the Jawas in that rocky canyon? Yep, that's been changed too.

Lucas took the time to have some poor ILM staff digitally insert rocks into this scene? Really? Why? His little hiding place was fine before! And just how the fuck did R2-D2 get into that tiny cave in the first place? Obviously, he's too big to have gotten in there on his own. So, tell me George, how did he get in there? HOW!?!?!?!

Ok, here's one more. This one is a bit more subtle, but is still fucking pointless. I'll let you see if you can figure out what it is.

Did you catch it? Wicket has eyelids now! That's right, Ewoks now blink. Oh god that's sort of creepy. Again, why was this necessary? Has George Lucas secretly been bothered for almost 3o years now that Ewoks didn't blink? Was he so bothered by it that he again ordered some poor ILM staffers to go in and digitally insert blinking eyelids onto every single Ewok in the film? Was there some public unrest for the last three decades that these lovable little fuzz balls couldn't close their eyes? WHY THE FUCK DID YOU DO THIS? It's so completely unnecessary.

I am SOOOOOOOOOOOO glad that I wasn't already planning on buying the Blu-Ray releases of these films. I feel bad for any other Star Wars fan who shells out the $90 these things are going to cost too.

Be warned fellow fans, these are not the films you're looking for!

Until the day that Lucas decides to release the original, untouched films on Blu-Ray, I will not even be considering these versions to exist. I'm sure there will be more changes too, but at this point I've lost all desire to talk about this anymore. I'm too depressed. Is it really that hard to give the fans what they want? Why can't George get it through his thick fucking skull that we don't want any of this? We don't want fancy little CG add ons. All we want are the films we grew up watching, untouched from any of this modern revisionist crap.

You'll have to excuse me. I'm going to go cry myself to sleep now.

Female Fighters In Sensible Armor

In the world of fantasy art, there is a long running joke about female warriors and chainmail bikinis. Most likely due to the fact that the vast majority of older fantasy art was drawn by men, it is entirely common (even to this day) to see epic fantasy art featuring an adventuring party all decked out in their gear where the male heroes are covered in plate mail, scale mail or leather armor and their female companion is decked out in a thong bikini made of either cloth (if she's a druid or mage) or chain mail (if she's a fighter class).

Is this sad and horribly sexist? Absolutely. That's why I am so glad to see a brand new Tumblr site called Women Fighters In Reasonable Armor. It's sole purpose is to highlight amazing fantasy art centered around female characters who are actually fitted out as a proper warrior should be. Page after page of the site shows off just how awesome these women fighters can be without having to dress them up in garments more befitting of belly dancers.

Will this make the stereotype jokes about the chainmail bikini go away? Probably not, but it's a great step in the right direction in my opinion of showcasing gender equality in fantasy art and literature.

How The Harry Potter Series Should Have Ended

I must say that I'm a fan of the folks over at HowItShouldHaveEnded.com. Nine times out of ten, their videos are spot on in pointing out obvious plot holes in films in fairly humorous ways. Whenever a new video of theirs comes out, I'm always down to check it out because they are pretty much guaranteed to make me chuckle at least a little. In fact, if they were to make a regular series of their reoccurring joke where Batman and Superman are sitting in a diner and talking about superhero stuff, I'd watch the hell out of that thing.

This month, they bring us a great video about how the Harry Potter book and film series should have ended. Once again, I can't help but agree with them. Professor Snape being totally bad ass and saving everyone? I'm totally down with that!

Friday Happy Hour

Another week has come and gone. It's Friday once again. It's time to get dressed up and go into the city to celebrate. Friday and Saturday nights are all about dinner, dancing and drinking (or as I like to call them, the 3D's). This week's Friday Happy Hour pays homage to that great fictional city where every weekend seems to bring new supervillain attacks or bank robberies. The city where only one man stands against the forces of darkness night after night. The Batman!

Ok, so he has sidekicks and other heroes to help him too on occasion. Robin, Nightwing, Batgirl, Batwoman, Oracle, Huntress, Spoiler, etc. Still though, deep down it's his city and he only lets them operate there.

Anyways, back to the drink. In true metropolitan style, I bring you a martini that is as black as the city after which it is named. I bring you . . .

The Gotham City Martini

Ingredients:

• 3 ounces Smirnoff Vodka
• 1/2 ounce Blackberry Brandy
• 1/2 ounce Black Sambuca
• 3 Blackberries for Garnish

Instructions:

Combine ingredients in a cocktail shaker filled one-third full of ice. Shake ten to fifteen seconds. Strain into a well chilled martini glass. Add blackberries on a skewer for garnish.

(Via Intoxicologist)

The Greatest Sci-Fi Action Hero Of All Time

What happens when you cross two of the greatest sci-fi action heroes to ever grace the silver screen? Simple. You get the single greatest sci-fi action star this world has ever known. Han Sulu, smuggler and master swordsman! In my wildest dreams, somehow a movie about Han Sulu would be made, and it would become my favorite film of all time.

I only have two words for this . . . . Oh My!!!

(via SciFAnime)

Escape From City 17: Part 2 Is Finally Here!

Way back in 2009 I posted about an amazing Half Life fan film called Escape From City 17. It was a 4 minute or so short film which featured high production values, cool effects and was said to have been made for only $500. On top of that, the video ended with a preview of more to come.

Well, it's been two years, but it's finally here. Escape From City 17: Part 2 has been released, and it certainly does not disappoint. It's 14 minutes long, and it's glorious! This time the budget is said to be only $250.

I swear, between this and yesterday's Portal fan film, there is no reason for poor quality fan made films anymore. The bar has been set very high here folks! Personally, I'm just waiting for the day when some fan releases a full length live-action Legend of Zelda movie with Lord of the Rings quality special effects. It's bound to happen sooner or later, you know it is. I'm just hoping it's sooner.

Computer Geeks In Movies

As part of the promotional material for this year's New York International Latino Film Festival (NYILFF), ad agency Wing New York created a series of rather musing charts and graphs which highlight a number of well known movie cliches such as six round revolvers never needing reloading and the inability of the villain to ever actually hit the hero when they are shooting at them.

You can see the whole series here, but the graph you see above was easily my favorite of the set (for what should be obvious reasons). Oh those crazy movie computer geeks. They can topple invading alien armadas with nothing more than a macbook, but they can never manage to see to get those darned office printers to work correctly.

Super Awesome Portal Fan Film

The above short film is called Portal: No Escape, and it's by far the best piece of Portal related fan-made material I think I've ever seen. The production quality of this short is phenomenal. I would love to see a longer film made if it looked like this.

Even if you've never played Portal and don't know anything about the game or its universe, you should still watch this short film. It's an excellent piece of work and absolutely no knowledge about the game is required to enjoy it.

The bit at the end is perfect!

Which Option Will You Choose?

You are walking through the streets of Los Angeles when you come to a road crossing. On that road crossing you see the above sign. Which option will you choose. Make sure to take your time, weigh your options and choose carefully. One false move could result in a very unpleasant death.

Knowing the streets of LA like I do, I would go with option #4 personally.

(Via Dorkly)

Suicidal Astronauts

I, like many other science geeks I'm sure, was very saddened when the Space Shuttle program recently ended. As sad as I was though, it looks like I wasn't as hard hit by the loss of the program as these poor astronauts were.

The above photo is but one of many in a series called Suicidal Astronauts in which our hapless, faceless space exploring hero has decided to end his or her life after the recent ending of the shuttle program.

To see the whole series of pictures, go HERE.

Poor little astronauts. Cheer up! We'll be going back to space soon on gigantic rockets. President Barack Obama even recently pushed for manned missions to mars by the mid 2030's. The future of space exploration isn't done yet.

(Via Geekologie)

Doctor Who's Let's Go Kill Hitler Prequel

In the now immortal words of Doctor Who's River Song, "Spoilers"! So if you are a Doctor Who fan and are not caught up with what is going on and don't want to know DO NOT WATCH THIS VIDEO!

But if you are caught up and have not seen this video you should watch. It is a little over a minute and it is both funny and tragic all at the same time, as all us fans know Doctor Who can be.  And with a little under a week to go before the second half of Season 6 begins it is just what the Doctor ordered.

Nerds Doing Good! Zachary Levi vs. The SDCC 2011 Panels

Each year SDCC has grown by leaps and bounds. There are longer lines for everything, the floor is consistently packed and the ticket prices keep going up and up, not to mention it is getting harder to get a ticket. Having attended the con for the last18 years and seeing it grow, not always for the better, I become increasingly disheartened with the whole process. But, the one thing that has been nice to see over the last few years is how much the Gaslamp District has gotten into basically becoming an extension of SDCC. And it is nice to be able to find new, undiscovered gems. Happily, I found one of these gems this year.

About a year ago, Zachary Levi of NBC's Chuck fame started a website, TheNerdMachine.com, in order to bring nerds together to share news, talk about cool events, gadgets, etc., and provide a comfortable online forum for nerds to meet and converse. This year Levi, in conjunction with the website Break.com, decided to turn Jolt N' Joe's, a billiards bar located in Downtown San Diego, into NerdHQ.

They moved out all the pool tables to set up gaming consoles, a cool little schwag booth and a stage (that may have already been there, but it had been years since I had been actually in that bar so I couldn't say). But, the coolest thing that came out of NerdHQ was the series of panels held upstairs from the bar everyday during Comic Con. For $20 per ticket, you could attend a panel featuring the likes of people such as Felicia Day, Seth Green, Nathan Fillion, the rest of the cast of Firefly, Jared Padelecki and more. 

I know what you might be thinking. Why would I want to attend a paid panel when there are so many great free panels at SDCC? Well, for one, no lines and no having to get in line at 5am just to ensure you got a seat. You bought your ticket online and it was based on the order you bought your ticket in that you were assigned a seat. Second, the room only had room for around 200 seats, which means there really were no bad seats. And perhaps the best thing, that $20 you spent to be 10 feet or less away from the nerd of your choice without having to sit thorough countless other panels you didn't care about to ensure that you saw them, all went to benefit the charity, Operation Smile.

Unfortunately, I did not find out about this cool little venture until a good portion of the panels I would have like to have attended sold out. And a great many of them were during panels at the convention center that I had already planned to go see. I did get to see the panel of "The Geek Girl I would most like to be stranded on a desert island with", Felicia Day. That was one of the main highlights of my SDCC 2011 experience. I was less than 5 feet from her in an extremely intimate setting. And while I also saw Ms. Day on the Eureka panel the next day, it just didn't have the same magic the Nerd HQ panel held for me.

I am really hoping they make this a yearly thing. In addition to the panels, I heard they had some killer parties in the downstairs bar at night where you could hang out with Alan Tudyk and play video games with him or where you could schmooze with the likes of Wil Wheaton, Felicia Day, Zach Levi, Seth Green and many many more. At SDCC 2012, NerdHQ is probably going to be the place to be and I expect that this might be exactly where you will find me.

Friday Happy Hour

Tonight I'm finally getting around to seeing Cowboys & Aliens (a review will be up next week sometime). In honor of this, today's edition of Friday Happy Hour is dedicated to Daniel Craig. I looked around online and couldn't really find any Cowboy or Alien related shots that I thought were nerdy enough, so I decided to go with Daniel Craig's other famous nerd-loved character . . . James Bond!

So, without further ado, I present to you the James Bond Martini.

James Bond Martini

Ingredients

• 3 oz gin
• 1 oz vodka
• 1/2 oz Lillet Blanc wine

Instructions

Pour the gin, vodka and Lillet blanc into a cocktail shaker half-filled with cracked ice. Shake well, and strain into a chilled cocktail glass. Garnish with a twist of lemon, and serve.

(Via Drinksmixer)

Random Awesomeness

Wow, even Admiral Ackbar is getting into this whole Steampunk thing. It really has become mainstream, hasn't it?

My thanks go to Geek-tastic contributor Johann Joseph for sending this one my way.

It's Time To Play Where's Wall-E?

Finding Wall-E in the above tiny picture will be just about impossible. To see the embiggened (yes, embiggened is totally a word) version, click HERE.

The above image was created by artist Richard Sargent, and I think it has just about every major pop culture robot all the way from the silent film Metropolis to Atlus and P-Body from Portal 2. Seriously, they're all in there. I challenge someone to point out a famous robot who isn't included in this image.

Aside from Wall-E, here are some other great robots to look out for:

• Tom Servo
• Evil Bill & Ted
• Both classic and modern Cylons
• K-9
• Gir
• Conky
• Bender "Bending" Rodriguez
• Nomad (from classic Star Trek)
• Plex (from Yo Gabba Gabba)

Wanna Watch Ghost Rider Pee Fire?

Yeah, me neither? But you totally can if you watch this trailer for the upcoming sequel to the first Ghost Rider film (that I'm still trying to drive the memories of from my brain) and see it for yourself. There he is, Ghost Rider . . . peeing fire.

And this will make people want to go see this film why exactly?

How a sequel to the giant crapfest that was the first Ghost Rider film got greenlit is beyond me. It's not like the first film was a boon at the box office. It had a budget of $110 Million, and only raked in $115 Million in the US (according to BoxOfficeMojo.com). Yeah, it made $228 Million total worldwide so I guess that qualifies as enough money to warrant a sequel, but has anyone thought of the emotional cost of making another Ghost Rider film starring Nic Cage? Those have to be high enough to stop another film from being made, right?

The first film was so, so bad. It was painful to watch. While I will admit that some of the stuff in this trailer does look pretty cool, I don't think it's enough to make me remember the 2 hours of mental anguish I went through sitting through the first one. Maybe one night when I'm drunk and really bored I'll put this on if Netflix has it available on it's instant play feature. That'll be about it though.

Indiana Jones And The Map Of Sweet Loot

In more kickass art news today, artist Matt Busch has created what may be the coolest world map I've ever seen. It's a map detailing the locations of every artifact and piece of treasure that was ever uncovered by Dr. Henry Jones Jr. You can see a slightly bigger picture of the map by going here.

The map doesn't just include the stuff Indy found in the movies though, Matt Busch spent 3 years researching every officially licensed Indiana Jones book, comic book, computer game and video game and included artifacts found in them as well. Unfortunately, that does mean that the stuff from Kingdom of the Crystal Skull is on there too, but I think the fact that it also includes everything from the Young Indiana Jones Adventures TV series more than makes up for it. You can watch a fun video of what went into the making of the map here.

There are 36 different archeological artifacts displayed, each illustrated where Indy discovered it, and numbered chronologically. 3 Legend sections list info on the artifacts, including name, city and country, year, title of the story the artifact was discovered in, followed by symbols. The Key chart lets you decipher those symbols for each artifact to see how the story was presented, be it film, novel, TV Episode, etc.

My personal favorite bit? The inclusion of the statue from the Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis video game (aka, the best point & click computer game ever created). It's the funky looking little statue that is seen on the map in the middle of the Atlantic ocean

You can buy a 24" x 36" print of the map from Matt's website for $44.95. When it comes to purchasing maps of the world to hang on your walls, I certainly can't think of any better way to spend your money.

In A Dapper Galaxy Far, Far Away

Artist Greg Peltz has released a gorgeous series of prints recently in which he depicts Star Wars characters in Victorian/Steampunk attire. I must say, seeing Boba Fett all done up in a suit and top hat adds an element of pure class to him he was missing before. Personally, I wouldn't mind being chased around the galaxy by such a sharp dressed fellow.

Click on the links below to see Greg's version of the following characters:

• C-3P0
• Chewbacca
• Luke & Leia
• Darth Vader
• And my personal favorite . . . Jabba The Hutt

I can't help but notice one glaring omission so far in this set though. No Han Solo? What? That's just so, so wrong. I want to see Han looking pimp as hell in a pinstrip suit and bowler cap, and I want to see it now!

Thanks go to the ever awesome Geek-tastic contributor Mike Noyes for the tip about these.

Aw Crap! Ridley Scott Is Making Another Blade Runner Film

Can't Hollywood leave well enough alone? Why is it that aging directors keep returning to their former glories just to mess them up and make us hate them. Ridley Scott is already filming a new Alien film, and now word has come down that he's signed on to make a new Blade Runner film.

Scott has signed on to direct and produce the film for Alcon Entertainment, though it's unclear at this point if the movie will be a prequel or a sequel, or if Harrison Ford will be dragged out of his carpentry workshop to star in it. There's also no script yet in place, and given how Damon Lindelof managed to alter the direction of Prometheus when he signed on to it, there's probably room for change here.

Now, I love Blade Runner as much as the next guy. That doesn't mean I want to see a new one though. Not every classic, beloved film needs a sequel you know. Sometimes, things should just be left alone. Blade Runner is one of those films. It's perfect. Any sequel or prequel you make to it will just pale in comparison to the awesomeness that is the original.

Did George Lucas teach us nothing when he went back and made new Star Wars Films?

That's it, I'm calling it. Ridley Scott's career - Time of Death: August 18th, 2011 at 10:48am.

Thanks go to my friend Melanie for tipping me off on this one.

(Quote via Cinema Blend)

Friday Happy Hour

It's Friday. You know what that means. It's time for the return of Geek-tastic's incredibly irregular week-ending post, Friday Happy Hour! So, let's grab some booze and mixers and make ourselves a tasty drink to start the weekend off with.

Today's drink recipe came to me thanks to a tip from my friend and regular Geek-tastic reader Mr. Jeff Magness, who recently informed me that it is because of this site that he has become a fan of Doctor Who. Well, I'm only too happy to spread the word of the good Doctor. And now with Jeff's help I'm able to share with you all a killer concoction named after the Doctor's favorite tool.

The Sonic Screwdriver

Ingredients:

• 1 1/2 oz Vanilla Vodka
• 1 1/2 oz Blue Curacao Liqueur
• 6 oz Clear Lemon-Lime Soda

Instructions:

Half-fill a clear 12 oz. glass with ice. Pour 1.5 oz Vanilla Vodka, 1.5 oz Blue Curacao, and 6 oz. CLEAR lemon/lime soda over the ice. Stir lightly, and Enjoy!.

Why Can't All Movie Trailers Be This Awesome?

Making movie trailers is a very fine art, I understand this. The editor who is tasked with making a movie trailer has to play a very fine balancing act. Their job is to make the viewer want to drop $10+ see a film by only showing them a minute or so of clips from it. How does one go about doing that? You can't show the best scenes in the film. That would give away too much and would make the viewer annoyed after the film. You can't show too much of the plot, or the viewer will have no reason to see the film if they feel that they've seen the whole thing already.

So then, the editor's job is to make someone want to see a film while at the same time not over explaining the plot, and not showing off the best parts of the film. It's a tough task, to be certain. When it is done well, it's brilliant. When it's done badly, it can ruin a film's financial chances.

After seeing this fan made trailer though for the new Conan reboot movie, I have only one thing to say. Someone hire the guy who made this to make every other movie trailer from here on out!!!

I'm not joking, this is the best damn movie trailer I've seen in a long time. Whoever made this is a genius. I didn't really want to go see the new Conan movie before this, but now I'm dying to see it. The person who made this trailer fully knows how to push the selling points of this film.

• Big muscley guys with swords? Check!
• Blood and gore beyond belief? Check!
• Hot, scantily clad women everywhere? Check!
• Cheesy yet awesome rock guitar solos? Check!
• Gratuitous sex? Check!
• Conan decapitating dudes and otherwise maiming them in horrible ways? Check!

The first 30 seconds of the trailer is a nice build up too. Just hold onto your hats though folks. After that 30 seconds, it's nothing but 100% pure bonafide bad ass for the next minute straight!

P.S. I may even break my personal boycott of 3D to go see this movie in that format simply because this trailer advertises it as, "IN 3 . . . FUCKIN . . . D!"

This Is Why Jason Vorhees Is The Best In The Business

I've mentioned here before how Jason Vorhees is the greatest killer the silver screen has ever seen. His total body count (158 victims, not counting the recent remake) dwarfs those of any other movie serial killers. He really is the best at what he does (yes, even better than Wolverine).

What you see above is a rather lovely infographic that someone made detailing exactly how Mr. Vorhees dispatched each and every one of his victims. It really is rather beautiful, even though it's a chart about brutal homicides.

To see a large, hi-res version of the image, click HERE.

Yes, There Will Be A Fifth Resident Evil Movie

It's official, somehow the Resident Evil film franchise will have a fifth installment, regardless of the fact that the films haven't shared anything in common with the games they are based upon since the second film in the series and the fact that the last two films have been fairly crappy.

So far, it's been confirmed that Milla Jovovich will be returning as Alice and Sienna Guillory will be reprising her role as Jill Valentine. Milla's husband Paul. W.S. Anderson will also be writing and directing the film.

I have mixed feelings about this news. On the one hand, the last two R.E. films have been rather bad. The stories haven't made much sense, the acting has been pretty horrible and there's barely been any sign of a cohesive plot or character arc involved for anyone. So, will this new film be any better? Probably not. Will it make no sense and kind of suck? Probably. Will it feature Milla Jovovich in some sort of skimpy outfit killing lots and lots of undead? Most definitely.

Because of that last question, will I go see the film in theaters? You bet your sweet ass I will.

Sci-Fi Women Rule (In Case You Didn't Already Know)

I admit to being already biased towards sci-fi shows over pretty much all prime time shows to begin with, but this lovely little picture is definitely a nice reminder of one of the many reasons sci-fi as a genre is so awesome. If you want weak, needy, dependent female characters you can watch just about any prime time show. But if you want strong willed, powerful, amazing female characters you should turn to sci-fi.

The women of sci-fi are tough, smart and take a backseat to no man. It's a very forward thinking genre by definition, and that goes for more than just its views of technology and gadgets. Sci-fi is about the betterment of humanity as a race, which includes equality of genders, race, sexual orientation, etc.

I do have one big problem with the above picture though. Where the hell is Dana Scully?

(Via Reddit)

Cosmos 2: Electric Boogaloo

Yesterday, Fox TV made an announcement that I would never have guessed was coming. They are making a follow up series to what is in my mind the greatest science series of all time, Carl Sagan's Cosmos.

For those of you who have never seen Cosmos, go watch it right now. You have no excuse. The entire series is available on Netflix's instant play feature. Cosmos was a groundbreaking achievement of television. It's the most watched science series ever and has been seen in multiple countries around the world. I grew up watching Cosmos and I credit both it and Carl Sagan personally with introducing me to a number of scientific topics and concepts. It is Cosmos that inspired in me the love of science and exploration that I still have today. It is also due to Sagan's infectious childlike wonder for the universe and our place in it that I myself have kept that same sense of wonder since I was a little kid.

Initially, hearing the announcement that Fox of all channels is making a follow up to my most favorite of documentary series made me very skeptical, but then I read the following details and I was a bit reassured.

Fox has greenlighted Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey, a 13-part docu-series from Family Guy creator MacFarlane and late Sagan's original collaborators – his widow, writer/producer Ann Druyan and astrophysicist Steven Soter. Envisioned as a successor to the Emmy and Peabody Award-winning original 13-part program, which was hosted by Sagan, the new Cosmos series will be hosted by renowned astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson.

Neil deGrasse Tyson? Are you serious? Holy crap! He's one of the smartest guys alive today, and aside from that he is totally awesome and funny and cool. Don't believe me? Just watch this. If you were going to get anyone to try to step into Carl Sagan's legendary shoes, I would be perfectly happy with it being Tyson. And the fact that Sagan's original collaborators are also working on it lends the new series a huge amount of cred.

I know what you're thinking though. Produced by Set MacFarlane? The Family Guy dude? How could that possibly be good? I'm personally not too worried about that one, and here's why. Seth MacFarlane was born in 1973. That means he was seven years old when the original Cosmos started airing on PBS, which in turn means he was most likely raised on the original series, much like all of us kids of the 70's and 80's were. This must be a passion project for him, for something he loves from his childhood. If I'm right about that, then he'll want to do right by the original series and will go out of his way to make a quality follow-up program.

Personally, I can't wait for this one. Sadly, it won't be out until 2013 though. I'll be counting down the days though, I promise you that.

(Via Deadline Hollywood)

Another Day, Another Disappointing New Superhero Movie Costume

Sigh. This has not been a good week for DC movie superhero costumes. First there was the Superman revelation, and now there is this.

Behold the boringness that is Anne Hathaway's Catwoman costume from The Dark Knight Rises, which as far as I can tell has absolutely nothing catlike about it whatsoever. Now I understand that Christopher Nolan is trying to go for ultra realism with his Bat-films, and he stated in interviews earlier that his Catwoman costume would be closer to what a real cat burglar would wear as opposed to something like Michelle Pfeiffer's costume from Batman Returns. I was fine with that, but come on. She doesn't even have little cat ears. Is that too much to ask for? Pretty much every Catwoman outfit ever, be it from comics, movies or television has had some form of cat ears on it. That's one of her defining costume traits.

Catwoman without cat ears on her suit is just another hot chick in a skintight black leather outfit. There's nothing special about her at all then. That'd be like seeing batman in a cowl that didn't have the little pointy bat ears on it. Without them, he's just a dude in a helmet.

I really hope that she's only missing the cat ears for some reason in this one scene, and that she'll be wearing them during the rest of the film. There is no reason not to include them. She can still look totally realistic with cat ears as a part of her suit. Just make her look like this, it isn't that hard.

The New Tron Cartoon Continues To Make Me Happy

Another sort of trailer has been released for the forthcoming Tron: Uprising cartoon series, and good lord it's even prettier than the one that came out earlier. Now, while most of the actual animation in this trailer is the same stuff we saw in that earlier trailer, this new one does show a ton of new concept art, landscapes, vehicles and other things we hadn't seen before.

If this show winds up only looking half as good as the art in this clip shows, it's still going to be one of the prettiest cartoon shows ever. If it actually looks this good when it comes out, and the story and characters are just as good, this could easily become my favorite cartoon show ever.

Also, the fact that it's all set to Daft Punk's Tron: Legacy soundtrack and has Bruce Boxleitner doing the voice over narration just amps up the awesomeness on display here well past eleven

Hey Everyone, Look! It's The New Superman!

Today, Warner Bros. released the first official picture of Henry Cavill as Superman in the upcoming new Supes film that is currently in production and which is being directed by Zack Snyder. If you'd like to see a bigger version of the pic, you can do so by going here.

I have mixed feelings about this pic. On the plus side, I really like how the cape looks. Obviously they didn't venture too far from the classic look of the costume, which is nice. Someone should tell the guys in charge of the DC Comics reboot that they need to be more like this and less like this.

On the downside though, what's up with that weird texture on the suit? Are Superman and Spider-man shopping from the same fabrics store now? Why is every superhero costume these days coming with a funky fabric texture? I don't get it. What's wrong with sleek, smooth material?

And finally, what's with the hair? I think my friend Wesley Strawther said it best this morning when I heard him say, "Nice Hair Ron Burgundy. You stay classy Metropolis!"

Now, mind you. My cynicism here is no indication on whether I will like the final film or not. I clearly remember being all pissed off when the first promo pics for the new Star Trek movie came out because they were super shiny and photoshopped to hell. In the end though, I loved that film a lot. The same could happen here, or maybe it won't. What I'm trying to say is, one heavily touched up promo pic does not necessarily a bad film make. I'll reserve my final judgement, as always, until I've seen the whole film.

Voltron: Defender Of The Kittyverse

If this were to be made into a TV show or web series, I would totally watch it.

(via Kube)

Pat's Movie Reviews: Captain America

Minor spoilers follow. You've been warned.

Marvel really has been on a tear lately when it comes to their movie franchises. Ever since they opened up their own studio, they've been pumping out one good Comic Book flick after another. Iron Man started it all off, but they've managed to stay consistently good through everything that has been released since then. The Incredible Hulk, Iron Man 2 and Thor have all been fun, entertaining films. As they are slowly but surely building their way towards next year's Avengers film, Marvel has been building a solid foundation for each and every member of that team with their own solo films.

I am happy to report that Captain America is no different.

Once again Marvel has pulled off turning one of its most iconic heroes into a silver screen success. Captain America is a fun action adventure film with a good blend of character and heart thrown in to make you actually care about what is going on onscreen. My worry going into this was that they would skip past the character building intro and jump ahead to Steve Rogers receiving the super soldier serum and running off to go beat up some Nazi's, but I was totally wrong. The film takes its time getting to that point and instead spends the first 20 to 30 minutes of the film focusing on the character of Steve Rogers, the skinny kid from Brooklyn who keeps getting beaten up and pushed around. We learn that both of his parents died in the war, serving their country. His best friend Bucky is heading off to join the war, and poor Steve is having every door shut in his face as he tries desperately to get accepted into the army.

He's a man with a deep sense of honor and a drive to succeed. He doesn't believe in giving up and continues to re-apply to the army over and over again, even going so far as to lie on his admission forms as he applies in different cities. It is incredibly important that the film builds the character of who Steve Rogers is before he becomes the hero we know he will be. The underlying point that makes Captain America such an enduring figure is that Steve Rogers would be a hero, regardless of whether he ever received the super soldier serum or not. He's a hero because no matter what anyone else says or how badly he is treated, Steve Rogers is a decent, compassionate man who will always do what he can to help those in need, especially those being picked on by bullies.

The special effects used in this first part of the film are seamless too. Seeing Chris Evans digitally shrunk down to a skinny 90 pound frame wasn't nearly as off-setting as I thought it might be. The special effects team really did a great job of making him look natural in his smaller form. They also need to be commended for recreating all of the amazing 1940's style sets we see throughout most of the film. I actually had a hard time focusing on what was actually going on during certain scenes because I was too busy marveling at the beauty of 1940's Manhattan as Steve was chasing down an evil Hydra Agent.

Even after Steve comes out of the Super Soldier process, people still don't believe in him and he is forced to help out in the only way he can, by participating in USO shows to generate interest in the selling of war bonds. These scenes are really fun, and showcase a number of nods to classic Captain America moments such as him punching out Hitler. In the end though, Captain America must make his own way and prove his worth to his country. Once his best friend Bucky is captured, he jumps into action. He disobeys orders, goes behind enemy lines and rescues 400 men on his very first solo mission. Finally, the US military sees him for what he is worth.

What follows is a great action montage as we see Captain America fighting his way through the war, determined to wipe Hydra (the Nazi deep science division, and the film's main villains) off of the map. In the end, he comes face to face with the Red Skull, who is played very well by Hugo Weaving. I do feel that this part of the story was a little rushed, and I would have liked to have seen some more time spent building Cap's ties with his unit, which included Dum Dum Dugan and Howard Stark (Tony Stark's dad), but I understand that the film was trying to avoid being three hours long. Thus is the price that must be paid when you take the time to build your hero's origin. The rest of the film had to move at a bit of a break-neck speed as a result.

My only other real complaint was that the origin and the history of the Cosmic Cube wasn't really explained in the film. Once again, I feel that this has more to do with trying to fit Captain America into the ongoing line of Marvel films as the build towards the Avengers movie, but it does kind of annoy me that it is sort of expected that you saw the Thor film, and therefore have seen the Cosmic Cube before, so it doesn't need to be explained here. What if someone hadn't seen Thor? They'd be pretty confused by something that is fairly important to this film's plot. I personally wouldn't mind a bit of duplicate storytelling across films if it meant that single films stood a little stronger on their own and weren't completely dependent on the other Marvel films to make total sense. Overall, it's a minor point though as I'm certainly in the target audience of people who have and who will see every Marvel movie, so it didn't annoy me too badly that the Cosmic Cube just sort of showed up and was never explained fully. It's just a minor gripe really.

Other than that, I was very happy with how this film turned out. I loved the cast, I loved the costumes and the set pieces (especially the background scenery). The film has a runtime of 2 hours and 12 minutes and it felt much shorter than that to me due to a really engaging story and characters.

If Marvel were to decide to make Captain America sequels that keep him in the midst of World War II, I would have no problem with that at all.

Final Grade: A

Oh Hai Batman and Bane

For a film that is being said to be super secretive, there certainly have been a ton of new set pics leaking from the in-production The Dark Knight Rises this week. While the leaked set pics aren't giving away any major plot spoilers, they are definitely revealing some big information and are giving us our first good glimpse at Batman squaring off with the film's main villain, the big bald druggie Bane.

Seen above is one of the pics from that fight scene. To see a ton more set pics, go HERE.

The other big reveal from this recent slew of pics is that we finally get to see what Bane's costume is going to be in the last of the Nolan led Bat films. Here's what the big bad's costume looks like:

Is it just me, or is that a bit underwhelming? I mean, I understand that there was no way that Christopher Nolan was going to make Bane look exactly like he does in the comic books, but couldn't we at least get something that looks even a little bit like this?

That's not such a bad outfit, is it? I'm sure there must have been a way to make that look decent on screen. I know I should have faith in Christopher Nolan. The last two Bat films have been nothing short of amazing and that does earn him a lot of credit as far as I'm concerned, but I can't help but feel that the outfit they've gone with has Bane looking like some sort of hobo with a major respiratory problem.

Maybe I'm just being too picky, but I prefer my comic book movie villains to not look like they have a giant asthma inhaler permanently attached to their face. Perhaps that's just me though.

Can Red Tails Renew My Faith In Lucasfilm?

A few days ago, a trailer was released for a film called Red Tails which is based on the real life story of the Tuskegee Airmen, the first African-American fighter pilot squadron back in WWII. Normally, such a film wouldn't really get covered by a geek blog such as this as WWII fighter films don't usually fall under the geek or nerd genres, but Red Tails is different. Why, you ask? It's quite simple. Red Tails is the first non Star Wars or Indiana Jones related film to be produced by George Lucas and Lucasfilm since the 1994 release of Radioland Murders.

In fact, George Lucas himself wrote the original story idea for this film, and he's been planning on making it since back in 1988. Now, I know that the words "written by George Lucas" are enough to leave most nerds cringing in disgust after the release of the Star Wars prequels, but I can't help but feel hopeful that this might be Lucasfilm's first good film since 1989's Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade.

Let's be honest here, Radioland Murders was pretty crappy.

Why do I think it might be good? Well, first of all, George Lucas didn't write the script. He only wrote the story idea. The screenplay itself was written by a man named John Ridley, whose screen credits include films I've actually enjoyed such as Undercover Brother and Three Kings. However, he also wrote the screenplay for the film U Turn, which is one of the worst things that I've ever had to sit through. So, admittedly, the script could go either way. The fact that Lucas himself did not write the screenplay though gives me some hope for a decent story with a plot that makes some sort of actual sense.

Second, George Lucas didn't direct this film. He's only the producer on it. Red Tails is actually being directed by Anthony Hemingway, whose credits mainly center around television shows such as BSG, True Blood, Heroes and Community. That's not too shabby. True, he doesn't have a feature film under his belt yet, but the projects he has worked on are all of decent quality, so he must have some ability, right? At the very least, he has to be better than Lucas' style of only doing over-the-shoulder shots or walking shots to convey all of his dialog scenes.

With Lucas only sitting on as the producer, there exists the possibility that this could finally mark the return of good filmmaking to Lucasfilm Limited. I remember back far enough to know that Lucasfilm used to be capable of churning out good films, so long as George himself was only peripherally involved. Let us not forget that Lucasfilm is the company responsible for giving us gems like Willow, the original Land Before Time, Howard The Duck (which I consider to be a misunderstood masterpiece) and a little film starring David Bowie and Jennifer Connelly called Labyrinth.

Remember that one? Yeah, that was produced by George Lucas and Lucasfilm. See? They used to make good movies, and I'm still hopeful that they can do so again. The trailer for Red Tails genuinely looks exciting to me. They have a great ensemble cast, the story has real promise and the special effects and fighter combat scenes look phenomenal.

I'm crossing my fingers here and am eagerly awaiting this one. Let's hope it breaks the 22 year old Lucasfilm curse and is actually a fun, enjoyable film.

(Thanks go to Virginia Schwarz for sending me the tip about the trailer's release.)