Author: Nigel G Mitchell

Do you recognize all 44 of these famous guns from pop culture? Federico Mauro created a series of illustrations entitled “Famous Guns“, which focuses on weapons and pistols from your favorite movie characters and historical figures. There are a bunch of sci-fi ones too. How many do you recognize? Which is your favorite sci-fi gun? Please use the buttons below to tell your friends about this post. Click on the links to follow us for free by Email, RSS and follow us on Twitter @thegeektwins and like us on Facebook Follow @Thegeektwins

Star Trek Into Darkness (2013) Spock (Zachary Quinto) yelling “Khan” I finally got to see Star Trek Into Darkness, and I thought it was awesome. Easily the best Star Trek movie, better than Wrath of Khan…yeah, I said it. I was honestly baffled as to why Trekkers voted Into Darkness the worst Star Trek movie, worse than Insurrection. After checking the web, I found six reasons why Trekkers hated this movie, and why I disagree. 1. Into Darkness is All Style and No Substance A lot of Trekkers said Into Darkness is too stylish, and has nothing solid underneath. I…

There are a lot of aliens that have appeared in movies and Marcus Varner set out to make a definitive infographic of all their appearances. Varner said, “As a culture, we have been enamored with the idea of life beyond this planet for over a hundred years. In 1902, a silent film called “A Trip to the Moon” was the first movie to ever portray extraterrestrial life and there have been many more in its wake. We’ve seen stories of aliens who sought to destroy the Earth, some who have abducted humans out of curiosity, and some who were just…

Zollner Elektronik AG robot Giant robots have been in science fiction for decades, but now we have a truly impressive giant robot in real-life. A remote-controlled robot dragon known as “Tradinno” (a combination of tradition and Innovation) is featured in the latest entry in the 2014 Guinness World Records Book as “The Largest Walking Robot” along with “Largest Collection of Star Wars” and the “Fastest Crossing of a Tightrope by a Dog.” The robot (affectionately nicknamed “Fanny”) is used in the German folk play “Drachenstich,” performed each August in the Bavarian town of Furth im Wald. It’s 51 feet (15.72…

Phil Postma is most well known for his work taking famous movies like Avengers and rendering them as Pixar movies. But he also creates a lot of original work. One outstanding example is these Superman Breakfast Cereals. Featuring Superman and his Rogues’ Gallery of villains, it makes me wonder if Man of Steel missed the boat by not using these. Check ’em out. [Via Minion Factory] Would you eat these breakfast cereals ? Which one is your favorite? Please use the buttons below to tell your friends about this post. Click on the links to follow us for free by Email,…

Inception (2010) Inception is widely regarded as a modern science fiction classic. Critically acclaimed with an 86% score on Rottentomatoes and commercially successful with a $800 million gross, Inception is a rare movie that thrilled both critics and audiences alike. It also established Nolan as a true blockbuster filmmaker. That’s why it’s interesting to look back and see how Hollywood saw Inception before its release: as a colossal flop in the making. Here are seven commonly held views on Inception and why they proved wrong. 1. Inception is a Gift Hollywood insiders saw Inception the way Philadelphia Weekly described it: “a weirdo pet project”, a…

Note: This introduction was posted earlier with the wrong video A lot of people are wondering what a fight between Batman and Superman would be like. Comic book fans already know the answer, because the two have fought many times in the comics. The most famous battle occurred in the pages of the graphic novel, The Dark Knight Returns. Significantly, they even read a line from the graphic novel when announcing the Superman vs. Batman movie. Actor Harry Lennox read the line, “I want you to remember, Clark. In all the years to come. In all your most private moments. I want you to remember my hand…

Google is fond of sticking little jokes and features known as “Easter eggs” in their products (my favorite was typing “do the harlem shake” into YouTube). There’s a new Easter Egg in Google Maps Street View. And it is bigger on the inside. Outside the Earls Court Road underground station, there’s a replica police box that has long been an attraction for Doctor Who fans because of its resemblance to the TARDIS. Well, it looks like someone at Google feels the same way, because Jalopnik discovered an Easter Egg where you can go down Earls Court in Google Street View and click…

It’s Tuesday, and that means another game of “Would You Rather,” where we ask you to make the tough choices. In last week’s question, “Would you rather own the Enterprise or the Death Star,” 62% chose the Enterprise. Today’s subject will be about mind over matter. The Scenario You return to Wood University as a test subject, and Dr. Rather explains he has a new experiment. He can transform your body at the expense of your mind or supercharge your mind at the expense of your body. Which would you choose? The Ground Rules If you choose the perfect mind,…

Total Recall (1990) – Melania (Rachel Ticotin), Lori Quaid (Sharon Stone) Ah, the catfight. Usually, the term means a fight between two women that are distinctly titillating. That’s not what this list is about. Well, not really. There have been some really awesome fights in sci-fi movies and TV shows that just happen to involve two women. Here are nine. And while there may be some kinda sexy moments in them, that’s entirely not the point. At all. 9. Xena vs. Varia in Xena: Warrior Princess (1995) In a show with a warrior princess, she’s bound to fight another woman every now…

Doctor Who (1981) The Fourth Doctor (Tom Baker) begins to regenerate The hero of the hit scifi series Doctor Who is a Time Lord. When Time Lords die, they can come back to life through a process called “regeneration,” which gives them a new form and even a new personality. The Doctor has regenerated eleven times, and is about to regenerate again at the end of the year. The regeneration of Doctor Who is undoubtedly one the most popular aspects of the show, and always a dramatic moment. Here’s an overview of the deaths of every Doctor so far. Last…

I wasn’t a huge fan of Smallville, but I did appreciate the way they handled some of the iconic DC heroes in teen form. One impressive interpretation was Cyborg, played by Lee Thompson Young. There haven’t been very many black superheroes on television, so Cyborg was welcome. That’s why I was sad to hear Young died of an apparent suicide this week. Young was better known for his role as the title character on the Disney Channel’s The Famous Jett Jackson and as Chris Comer in Friday Night Lights. He portrayed Boston police detective Barry Frost on the TNT police drama…

Science fiction struggles on American television, and so do anthology series. When you put them together, you have a pretty small pool. However, there have been a few that have survived and thrived to become legendary. Here are five of them: 5. Amazing Stories (1985) This science fiction television anthology series was created by Steven Spielberg. The show had a broader range of stories than other Scifi shows, and focused on happier stories than the others on this list. It also had very impressive visual effects for the time. The show had a broad legacy with the episode “The Family Dog” becoming its…

It’s Tuesday, and that means another game of “Would You Rather,” where we ask you to make the tough choices. In last week’s question, “Would you rather have Photographic Memory or Erasable Memory,” photographic memory won with 66%. This week is about the ultimate ride. The Scenario You walk into a used car lot, and the salesman takes you into the back room, where he gives you a unique offer. Through an error in inventory, a bankruptcy, and a rip in the spacetime continuum, it turns out they have a used USS Enterprise and an intact Death Star. Both are…

Pixar has a distinctive style that’s ripe for parody. Numerous artists have taken the Pixar style to various properties, but none more successfully than Phil Postma. He’s tackled the Avengers and Star Trek. This time, he’s taken the Pixar treatment to Star Wars. What would happen if they remade the original trilogy? This would be the trading card series. What do you think of the trading cards? Would you watch a Pixar Star Wars Trilogy? [Via minionfactory.blogspot.co.uk]

Nothing says gender equality like men and women showering together and getting dressed together, completely naked, and not caring. There are co-ed locker rooms today in the real world, but it does stir up some controversy. Co-ed locker rooms are rare in mainstream movies and TV shows, but pop up often in scifi. In scifi movies, these scenes are often used in a military or law enforcement context to show how open and progressive the future is. Let’s talk about five of them. (Note: Due to the family friendly nature of this blog, sorry, we won’t be featuring any of…

Do you know the difference between an AT-AT and an AT-ST? Do you know at least five phrases in Klingon? Can you play “snake” on YouTube? If not, you’d better get cracking if you want to maintain your geek cred. You don’t want to get caught without these essential skills at the next Comic-con. Here are fifty things every geek should know, thanks to a handy infographic by Virtualhosting.com. Courtesy of: VirtualHosting.com How many of these do you know? Which ones do you need to learn? [Via Makeuseof.com]

The Ewoks are polarizing figures in the Star Wars community. Often reviled for their toy-friendly and overtly cutesy design, and simultaneously loved as adorable and cuddly, there’s one thing often not considered. And that’s that the Ewoks should be the most feared creatures in the movies. Here are five reasons why: 1. The Ewoks Eat People – One thing that’s often glossed over with the Ewoks is that they clearly intended to cook and eat Luke and Han. That’s disturbing in and of itself, but more disturbing is the realization that this couldn’t be their first time eating someone. They…

It’s Tuesday, and that means another game of “Would You Rather,” where we ask you to make the tough choices. In last week’s question, “Would you rather prove the existence of UFOs or fairies,” a whopping 83% voted to prove UFOs. Today’s subject will be about memory. The Scenario You go to volunteer again as a test subject at Wood University Laboratories. Professor Rather has a new experiment he’d like to run on you involving brain surgery. His team has conquered the age-old problem of memory. He can now manipulate your memory to new levels, and wants you to be…

At ComicCon 2012, they held the Starship Smackdown to decide the greatest starship of all time. The battle came down to USS Enterprise NCC-1701 from the original series versus the USS Enterprise NCC-1701-A from Star Trek: The Movie. Astrophysicist Neil Degrasse Tyson offered an impassioned defense for the original Enterprise, and basically argued that you need to look at the Enterprise compared to other spaceships of the time. Well, I thought it would be interesting to do just that. I combed scifi movies and TV shows from 1960 to 1966, and found four other fictional spaceships we can compare it…

In the last few years, Wikileaks has turned the political scene upside-down by releasing thousands of previously classified documents from around the world. What has not been fully publicized is that some of those documents come not just from our world, but from the worlds of science-fiction movies and television. We here at Geek Twins have recovered and reviewed some of those shocking secret documents. For security reasons, we’ll be releasing them only a few at a time. These selections come from Soylent Green. (Warning: Contains spoilers if you haven’t seen the movie) SUMMARY: The following details the meeting held on November 15,…

Lauren Faust created My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, a show that redefined television for girls by refusing to be (in her words) “a puddle of smooshy, cutesy-wootsy, goody-two-shoeness.” When Cartoon Network created DC Nation to showcase short films about the DC Universe, Faust got to tackle one of the other typically challenging areas of female entertainment, superheroines. Just recently, the CW gave up on developing Wonder Woman into a TV show, calling it too challenging. Well, maybe they should hire Faust, because she seems to have a handle on superheroines. She created Super Best Friends Forever, a series of…

It’s easy to tell a movie is based on a comic book when people are flying and wearing spandex, but comics aren’t all about superheroes. The art form encompasses many different genres, and many movies have been adapted that don’t advertise their comic roots. A perfect example is the new movie 2 Guns, which looks like your typical action movie until you read the fine print. Here are comic book movies you might not have known were comic book movies. 1. 30 Days of Night (2007) Josh Hartnett; 30 Days of Night This horror movie about an Alaskan town where…

One of the defining aspects of science fiction is the use of aliens. Yet several pillars of scifi have no aliens at all or have aliens that are missing or long dead. Here are six movies and TV shows that specifically have no aliens in them. 1. Forbidden Planet (1956) Alien Status: Dead When a crew investigates a missing expedition, they find a mad scientist experimenting with alien technology. In this movie, the aliens are the Krell, and they all died off millions of years earlier. Of course, it turns out their technology is partly responsible for their disappearance. 2.…

Futurama has developed a cult following partially due to the large number of in-jokes it contains, most of which are aimed at geeks. In commentary on the DVD releases, David X. Cohen sometimes explains the nerdiest jokes. Not all fans have listened to the DVD, so not all of them know the explanation. Of course, there’s an old saying that if you have to explain a joke, then it’s not funny. I’m going to buck that trend by doing just that. 1. Quantum Horseracing Appearance: “The Luck of the Fryrish” The Joke: At a racetrack, they use a “quantum finish” to…

Flying Saucer (Plan 9 From Outer Space); Tinker Bell (Disney) It’s Tuesday, and once again time to play “would you rather,” the game that asked you to make the hard choices. Last week’s question, would you rather watch the Death Star destroyed or the Genesis planet form, 62% of you voted to watch the Genesis Planet form. This week, we’ll be choosing proof of life. The Scenario You’re out camping in the woods late at night when you come to a strange ridge. Turning a corner, you stumble across an extraordinary sight: a valley with two distinct communities at either…

From the premiere of ’u’ in 2010 (Source: Wikipedia) It’s long been a part of Star Trek lore that the Klingons love opera. It’s almost inevitable that some persistent Trekker would create a real Klingon opera, and so they have. This video is from “U,” an opera created by Floris Schönfeld, formerly staged in the Netherlands. The opera tells the story of Klingon hero Kahless (founder of the Klingon empire) who journeys to the Underworld to recover the souls of his brother and father. In the process, he invents the iconic Klingon bat’leth weapon, and overthrows the ruthless tyrant Molor. The…

When the Chinese decided to bootleg Batman Begins, something got lost along the way. There’s a phenomenon known as “Engrish,” where Asian attempts to translate English go horribly wrong. The best example I’ve seen is the Chinese translation on the back of a bootleg copy of Batman Begins. It comes from a Redditor named whynow who found a copy at a Chinese dollar store. I don’t know which is funnier, the actual translation or a video trailer someone made reading the translation. So here’s both. [The Awesomer via IMGUR] What do you think? Can Batman stroke all criminal activities in Gate?…

Wolverine’s costume is iconic, but has actually changed quite a bit over the years. That’s why this infographic by Halloweencostumes.com is surprising, interesting, and cool. It has most of the major costumes listed, as well as interesting facts chronicling his life and uniforms. Infographic Created by HalloweenCostumes.com NOTE: This infographic was provided for informational purposes only. The Geek Twins do not endorse Halloweencostumes.com or its services, and have not been compensated in any way for presenting this information. [Via Dorkly] What do you think of the infographic? Which costume is your favorite? Please use the buttons below to tell your friends…

As I said in my overview of why Pacific Rim failed, partly marketing could be blamed. Maybe if Warner Bros had pushed harder to connect Pacific Rim to the giant monster movies of the past, it would have been more successful. Or not. Either way, this fanmade trailer is cool. It’s made in the style of the old Godzilla movies, complete with cheesy logo, indecipherable Japanese, and grainy footage. It’s giant robotics go watching happy lizard time! [Via Geekexchange] What did you think of the trailer? Would it have made you more or less likely to watch Pacific Rim? Please use…