This Jurassic Park Explorer Is A Race Car(via Jalopnik)

Who still wants to play Power Man? What is the studio calling Edge of Tomorrow? Where can you eat like you’re in Doctor Who? When will a Klingon run for Senate? How epic is Mark Hamill’s beard? Plus, reviews of Guardians of the Galaxy and Sharknado 2.

I’d love to hear what you think of the Internet’s greatest moments in this week’s “Geek Bits.”

Links

10. Doctor Who Themed Restaurant Lands In NY. Or Was It Always There? – *I* *am* *eating*! (via The Mary Sue)

New York (specifically Brooklyn) already boasts The Way Station, a bar with a TARDIS for a bathroom. But now the state claims another geeky notch on its belt—The Pandorica, a Doctor Who inspired restaurant.

Located in Beacon, New York, the restaurant boasts themed food items
like “Madame De Pompadour sponge cake” as well as their own TARDIS
bathroom. Apparently the restaurant had already been around for a while
but underwent a regeneration in July. User jacquelinesarah explained a bit about her visit on reddit:

I spent the day in the quiet little artist town of
Beacon, NY and passed a restaurant called “Pandorica” as I walked down
the main street. I smiled to myself but didn’t think much of it. On the
way back, I looked inside and saw the giant mural of the exploding
TARDIS. Of course, I then ran in and started talking to the owner
(dressed head to toe in TARDIS blue). She took me around the entire
restaurant pointing out every tiny detail, from the sunflowers on the
tables to the “fish fingers” (aka french toast sticks) and custard on
the dessert menu. I told her that I’ll be moving to London this autumn
(the mecca, really) and she replied that she’s actually from there. It
made a lot of sense seeing how much British influence is in the
food–they do an afternoon tea that looks lovely.

9. Mark Hamill’s STAR WARS: EPISODE VII Set Teaser Photo (via GeekTyrant)

Epic beard

8. Terry Crews Reiterates Desire To Play LUKE CAGE In Upcoming Marvel And Netflix Series (via Comic Book Movie)

7. Warner Bros. Pretends ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ Isn’t Called ‘Edge of Tomorrow’ (via /Film)

The title is pretty bad…

6. The ‘Batman’ Role Robin Williams Never Got to Play (via Yahoo)

5. Klingon Candidate Running for US Senate in North Carolina (via Trek Movie)

Perhaps today is a good day to run!

4. Michael Bay Planning To Vacate Director’s Chair For ‘Transformers 5’ (via ScienceFiction.com)

Thank goodness

3. Watch the Dancing Groot Scene From Guardians of the Galaxy (via /Film)

2. Zack Snyder crashed a radio show to defend Aquaman (via Blastr)

(Source: io9)

1. Marvel Has a Finished Script for ‘The Inhumans’ (via /Film)

Marvel is reportedly ready to take Cole’s script out to filmmakers. In much the same way that the development of Guardians of the Galaxy proceeded, this script will likely be rewritten by either the director, or a new writer working in concert with that filmmaker. 

In the past, a logline for the script surfaced on some industry boards:

The Inhumans are aliens who were put on Earth as sleeper
cell aliens to eventually call back their race to take over the planet.
Ultimately, the group of aliens fully assimilates and don’t want to
cause war.

Reviews

Movies

Guardians of the Galaxy (2014) – Recommended

“From Marvel, the studio that brought
you the global blockbuster franchises of Iron Man, Thor, Captain
America and The Avengers, comes a new team–the Guardians of the
Galaxy. An action-packed, epic space adventure, Marvel’s “Guardians of
the Galaxy” expands the Marvel Cinematic Universe into the cosmos,
where brash adventurer Peter Quill finds himself the object of an
unrelenting bounty hunt after stealing a mysterious orb coveted by
Ronan, a powerful villain with ambitions that threaten the entire
universe. To evade the ever-persistent Ronan, Quill is forced into an
uneasy truce with a quartet of disparate misfits–Rocket, a gun-toting
raccoon; Groot, a tree-like humanoid; the deadly and enigmatic Gamora;
and the revenge-driven Drax the Destroyer. But when Quill discovers the
true power of the orb and the menace it poses to the cosmos, he must do
his best to rally his ragtag rivals for a last, desperate stand–with
the galaxy’s fate in the balance.”

James Gunn has taken what could be a bizarre concept and turned it into
one of the greatest Marvel films ever. It’s wierd, it’s funny, it’s
action-packed and still touching. Chris Pratt (Star-Lord) is a
brilliant reluctant hero, Zoe Saldana (Gamora) gives her role a mixture
of toughness and sweetness that’s hard to do. Dave Bautista (Drax)
proves his acting and comedy chops. Bradley Cooper (Rocket) seemed like
an odd choice at the time, but he really brings life to a odd
character. Lee Pace (Ronan the Accuser) gives a terrifyingly
understated performance. Vin Diesel (Groot) is awesome of course and
Karen Gillan (Nebula) proves she can play more than just Doctor Who’s companion. It’s got mind-blowing action and more laughs than any movie you’ll see this year.

Here are some more reviews from the blogosphere

• Guardians of the Galaxy Review (via

  
  Alex J. Cavanaugh) – “Overall, it’s one fun and satisfying ride and now my second favorite
  Marvel film. And from the setup, I predict we will see the Guardians in
  the third Avengers film.”

• GSB Film Review – GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY (via Geek Soul Brother) – “…If you’re a fan of the Marvel films you will certainly like
  Guardians of the Galaxy. You don’t have to know them from the comics. 
  But if you do you should be satisfied with the Quill and the others
  brought to life.”

• Review: Guardians of the Galaxy (via Never Mind Pop Film) – “With Gunn at the helm, he manages to keep references to other titles to a
  minimum while infusing the film with his own enthusiasm and a great
  deal of laughs.”
• Movie Round-Up 8/15/14: Guardians of the Galaxy (via P.T. Dilloway) – “Overall it was a good time and I’d be more excited for the eventual sequel.”

Sharknado 2: The Second One (2014) – Not Recommended

“In Sharknado 2: The Second One, a freak weather system turns its deadly
fury on New York City, unleashing a Sharknado on the population and its
most cherished iconic sites. Only Fin (Ian Ziering) and April (Tara
Reid) can save the Big Apple.”

While the first one is one of my all-time favorites this one is
garbage. It went from goodbad movie to badbad movie. It’s boring,
non-sensical and has too many “isn’t that cool” moments that don’t
work. The obsession with chainsaws in this movie kills it for me. The
cameos were funny though. But it made so much money that Sharknado is now officially an annual tradition.

Books

Dawn of the Planet of the Apes: Firestorm (2014) – Recommended*

“The official prequel novel to the brand-new movie Dawn of the Planet of the Apes bridges the gap between the events of the box-office smash Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the much-anticipated sequel, as well as offering fans the full story that leads into the action on screen.”

This book, written by Greg Keyes is terrifying and enlightening at the same time. It follows the lives of several characters who live through the pandemic created by the “Simian Flu” teased at the end of the first film. It also gives the back story of Koba, the disfigured lab ape in the first film. Through flashbacks it follows his life through every single type of animal abuse of chimpanzees from research animal to entertainment and back. The tribe created by Caesar is just beginning and it explains how a bunch of apes could form a society. The story is moving, powerful and fits the narrative perfectly.

You can buy it at Titan

* Disclaimer: Some products for review provided by Titan Books, this
in no way affects the opinion of the reviewer and do not necessarily
reflect the opinions of Titan Books or related publishers. 

What do you think of this week’s links and reviews?

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