Monday, February 14, 2011

In case you didn't know...


Han Shot First.

Note: TeeFury's wonderful designs are only available for 24 hours, so grab it before 9 p.m. PST tomorrow (February 15) night if you want it!

Han Solo Pop Art Wallpaper


In honor of TeeFury's featured shirt posted just minutes ago (and viewable above this post), I thought I'd share a cool, little-seen Han Solo wallpaper with everybody. At some point during the last decade or so, StarWars.com featured a few pop art/Andy Warhol-inspired Star Wars wallpapers. I can't seem to find them now, but I do remember scouring the Web for the Han Solo wallpaper back in 2007. I was successful, and I found it in my wallpapers folder today. It's the one posted above; enjoy!

Full Spidey Suit and Official Title Revealed


It's official: Sony announced today that Marc Webb's new Spider-Man movie will be titled The Amazing Spider-Man. Though not all that unpredictable, I think the title is just about perfect, especially since Webb and company seem to be sticking to the comics a bit closer.

Additionally, we have the first official picture of Andrew Garfield in full costume, mask and all. I think it looks absolutely amazing. The Amazing Spider-Man hits theaters on July 3, 2010. Bring on the trailer.

"Community": The Best Show on Television


With "LOST" off the air for good and AMC's "Breaking Bad", "Mad Men" and "The Walking Dead" all between seasons, I found myself in the market for a new show to obsess over. I watched NBC's "Community" through its Christmas episode back in 2009, but I never picked it back up when it returned to the air after that. Watching the show now is a testament to how stupid a decision that was on my part. Much like "LOST", "Community" features a plethora of likable characters and perfect performances from the actors playing them. It's also wickedly hilarious.

For a taste of what "Community" has to offer, watch some of my personal favorite episodes like "Contemporary American Poultry" (a wonderful parody of Martin Scorsese's Goodfellas), "Cooperative Calligraphy" (poking fun at stereotypical and requisite "bottle episodes"), "Epidemiology" (the zombie episode) and my personal favorite, "Modern Warfare". And don't forget last year's claymation Christmas episode titled "Abed's Uncontrollable Christmas". It's a holiday television classic.

I do not want to see "Community" go the way of "Arrested Development" and "Firefly", so I'm crossing my fingers for NBC to pick it up for a third season. Watch "Community" on Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC. Check out the official site by clicking here.

Oh, and check out the "Community"/Avengers mash-up picture I posted above. It was done by cartoonist Chris Schweizer, and it works very well as a wallpaper.

Wednesday, January 19, 2011

Anne Hathaway to play Selina Kyle; Tom Hardy will be Bane in 'The Dark Knight Rises'


Batman fans, this is a big one. Warner Bros. and Christopher Nolan announced today that Anna Hathaway will be portraying Selina Kyle (and, presumably, her alter-ago, Catwoman) in the Nolan-directed The Dark Knight Rises, due in theaters on July 20th, 2012. Nolan also revealed Inception scene-stealer Tom Hardy’s role in the new film: he’ll be playing the villainous Bane.

I’m absolutely stunned by this news. I had been assuming, for one reason or another, that Catwoman was not being considered as a potential character in The Dark Knight Rises. I figured we’d have heard something. Then, I remembered: Christopher Nolan is the king of film secrecy. We can speculate all we want on the Riddler and Talia al Ghul and Vicki Vale, but chances are we’re totally off. Today proved that.

After the initial shock and surprise, I was very happy with the news. Nolan had already told us that the Riddler would not be in the movie, a revelation I was very happy to hear (he’s too similar to the Joker). However, after hearing rumors of Jessica Biel, Eva Green and Keira Knightley being considered for roles like Talia al Ghul and Vicki Vale, I suddenly wished we’d hear some more rumors about Johnny Depp playing the Riddler. This would be a safe, marketable choice.

Hathaway’s Catwoman might not be as marketable as Depp as the Riddler, but it’s arguably the next-best choice, at least where finances are concerned. Most of the members of Batman’s Rogues Gallery (at least the ones who lend themselves to Nolan’s style) have been seen in the recent films already. Catwoman is a very recognizable character, and I think we’ve had enough time to recover from 2004’s horrendously campy Catwoman, in which Halle Berry delivered a Razzie-winning performance in the titular role. Hathaway is also a very marketable star and a talented actress, too. She was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar for her work in the 2008 film Rachel Getting Married.


Tom Hardy playing Bane is huge news as well. For those who don’t know, Bane is a villain created for the “Knightfall” story arc back in 1993. An orphan born in a Central American prison, Bane was forced by a corrupt government to serve out a sentence in place of his father, a revolutionary who escaped the court system. Bane was given a classical education in prison, and developed astonishing physical abilities as well. He eventually became a test subject for a drug called “Venom”, which even further enhanced his physical power.

There’s a quick rundown of Bane, courtesy of his Wikipedia page. Hardy should be perfect in the role, even though he’s British and Bane is usually portrayed as Hispanic. Hardy did a wonderful job playing a prisoner in Bronson; that should transfer over quite well here.

Bane is not a very well-known character, which is fine; Catwoman is plenty recognizable. He was, however, the instigator of a very pivotal moment in the Batman canon: he broke Batman’s back, as pictured above. To me, it would only make sense to feature this in the film. Bane is often thought of as the first villain to truly best the Batman; it would be logical to have this moment in the third film, but who knows if it’ll be in there.

Another interesting tidbit: according to the Wikipedia page, Bane operated in Gotham City during a time in which fear ruled; specifically, fear of Batman. Considering the ending of The Dark Knight, that doesn’t sound too far-fetched for Rises. Interestingly, Bane caught the attention of the League of Assassins (the League of Shadows in Batman Begins) and Ra’s al Ghul following the Knightfall arc. Ra’s al Ghul died in Batman Begins, but his comic book counterpart has a penchant for coming back from the dead. This seems a little outlandish for a Nolan-directed Batman film, but it could be a lead-in for Talia al Ghul, who hasn’t been ruled out yet as a possible player in The Dark Knight Rises.

For me, this is where the true excitement starts. We’ll probably see some official pics sometime in the next four or five months, and I honestly can’t wait for the inevitable trailer. We have our players, at least a few of them, and now the real speculation can begin.

Monday, January 17, 2011

'Mass Effect 2' Finally Hits the Playstation 3 Tomorrow...


The wait is almost over. After a year of wishing we could play Bioware's excellent Mass Effect 2, Playstation 3 owners can finally pick up their copies tomorrow. And it's being called the definitive version of the game. Watch this space for a review from me in the near future. I cannot wait to play this game.

Thursday, January 13, 2011

Marshawn Lynch's 67 yard TD run against the Saints...According to Tecmo


Too bad they can't get the entire offense into the endzone with him like in the actual game. BEAST MODE indeed.