Author: Nigel G Mitchell

While the LA Times interview with Christopher Nolan about his Superman script doesn’t have much in the way of his Superman script, it does have tantalizing information on the third Batman film. In it, Nolan confirms that he’s not going to cop out. The third movie will tackle the fact that Batman ended up a wanted fugitive in The Dark Knight. He’s also approaching the third Batman as an ending to the story, not just an attempt to keep the franchise going. I think that’s a good approach, and it’s an exciting idea that we’ll have a Christopher Nolan trilogy…

So it’s been confirmed that Christopher Nolan is writing a script for a new Superman movie. However, he’s not slated to direct. Personally, I’m good with that. While I thought Nolan was a fantastic director in Batman Begins and The Dark Knight, his real strength was the way he constructed a compelling, powerful, and faithful story. Hopefully, he can do the same thing with Superman that he did with Batman. The funny thing is to read his interview with the LA Times about the Superman script he’s writing, and see how they managed to fill page after page with almost…

I stumbled across this fan-created poster for a potential Superman/Batman movie, and it is just too cool to ignore. I found it at Sardonic Sister, but I don’t think that’s the original source. If anyone knows who created it, let me know, so we can give credit. Like the poster? Hate it? Found one better? Sound off in the comments.

In our tradition of recognizing the death of C-level actors just who because had brief roles in a science-fiction-type film decades ago a small but significant role in science-fiction entertainment, today we honor the death of Corey Haim. Because He was in the vampire flick, The Lost Boys, Watchers, and the Stephen King TV movie Silver Bullet. Happy Trails. UPDATE: The original version of the post was sarcastic and disrespectful to Corey Haim’s memory. My sincere apology to all parties involved. There’s an excellent obit in the LA Times called “License to Cry” about how Corey Haim’s death wasn’t just…

Well, Avatar didn’t win Best Picture at the Oscars. Frankly, I’m relieved. Not just that James Cameron is an egomaniac who doesn’t need any more stroking of his ego. And not just that Avatar even being nominated as Best Picture seemed to me more a publicity stunt than serious recognition. No, I’m relieved, because if you consider the truly great science-fiction films that didn’t win an Oscar, you’ll see that Avatar would have gotten something that far better films should have received. Here’s a list of the 10 greatest sci-fi films that didn’t win an Academy Award. 2001: A Space…

When I was younger, I had a crush on Princess Leia. That crush was solidified by her infamous slave girl outfit in Return of the Jedi. But back then, there was no Internet and I had no friends who were into Star Wars as much as I was. So it was years later before I discovered how many people shared my Leia fantasies. The surprise I felt was nothing compared to when I stumbled across the fascination with Aayla Secura. Who’s Aayla Secura? That’s what I was wondering when I came across her name. Turns out, she’s the Twi’lek (a.k.a.…

**SPOILER ALERT** If you haven’t seen Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen and don’t want it spoiled, don’t read this post. Either check out another post or check out the movie at Amazon.com. Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen (hereafter referred to for convenience as Transformers 2 ) was a horrible movie. I’m not even going to debate that with anyone. But even if you liked the movie for some reason, there was a moment that proved once and for all that the director Michael Bay had no understanding of the Transformers concept, other than giant robots punching each other. That moment,…

I guess I should probably weigh in on this movie, since it’s the biggest movie of all time and my brother already posted his review a long time ago. My opinion on Avatar? Good, but not great. I think I would’ve enjoyed it more if it hadn’t been directed by James Cameron. Besides the fact that he’s a sadistic egomaniac, I can never forgive him for the monstrous travesty of Titanic. But here’s my feeling on Avatar: there’s a lot of hype behind it. It’s in 3-D. It has the most advanced computer-generated motion-capture we’ve ever seen. It has eye-popping…

One of the problems with accurately predicting technology of the future is that it doesn’t exist yet. Obviously. So the tendency is to extrapolate based on existing technology. That’s why sci-fi movies and TV shows in the fifties imagined home computers in the year 2000 as being massive refrigerator-sized boxes. Nobody could imagine that computers could one day be made small enough to fit into a cell phone. Something similar happened when the SETI project was established. It seemed a simple enough project; Earth generated radio signals with powerful ground-based transmitters that reached into deep space. The theory was that…

To say I’m a fan of Douglas Adams’ Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy series is an understatement. I consider the book series a major influence in my life and my writing. (If you’ve never heard of the book series or the TV series or the radio series or the recent movie, then you should try one of them. Or all of them.) That’s why I was eager to read the fifth novel, Mostly Harmless. And I was very disappointed with the finality of it. Even Adams himself admitted that he didn’t like the way he ended the series and planned…

Thanks to the new Star Wars trilogy, we have a deeper glimpse into the training required to become a Jedi. One thing that struck me is the constant warnings about falling to the Dark Side. Let’s review some of the ways that someone can end up on the Dark Side, according to the Jedi: Hate leads to the Dark Side Fear leads to the Dark Side Anger leads to the Dark Side Jealousy leads to the Dark Side That all makes a bit of sense. But then Yoda dropped these bombs on us: Love leads to the Dark Side The…

Movies and television have embraced and dramatized cloning since the 1960’s, and they’ve almost always gotten it wrong. The basic principle they tend to ignore is that a clone of another human being is nothing more than a twin created artificially rather than the usual method. Instead, the media turns the act of cloning into an extremely complex and slightly mystical procedure. Since it’s the year 2010, and human cloning seems right around the corner, let’s take a look at the ten most common mistakes in the portrayal of human cloning in movies and television. 1. Cloning is Evil -…

Okay, I think we all saw this coming, but it finally happened. Avatar officially earned 1.8 billion dollars over the weekend, surpassing the gross of Titanic over the weekend, making it the number-one highest-grossing movie of all time. That means the two highest-grossing movies ever were written and directed by James Cameron. Okay, Cameron, you can say it: you’re king of the world. Why were these movies so popular? I think it’s because Cameron created the perfect date movies. It appeals to both men and women. Men could enjoy the sinking-ship scenes in Titanic while women could enjoy the romance.…

There’s an old saying that when you point one finger at someone else, you’ve got four fingers pointing back at you. That’s what I was reminded of when I discovered the identity of the leak of the pre-release print of X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Just to recap, back in April, an unfinished version of Wolverine was leaked onto the Internet a month before release. The studio, the director, and even Hugh Jackman went crazy. The FBI launched a full investigation. In December, they arrested Gilberto Sanchez, a glass installer from the Bronx and charged him with leaking the movie online. Looking…

Almost any male child of the eighties has a special place in their hearts for He-Man and the Masters of the Universe. One of the most bizarre and fun action figures ever created, characters like Skeletor, He-Man, Trap-Jaw, and Man-at-Arms still trigger fond memories. Yet the series has never really gotten much respect, partly because of its quirkiness (with figures like Stinkor and Mekaneck, who can blame them). But the Masters of the Universe have a new member in their ranks, the Master of Pop Art. The Gallery 1988 Museum teamed up with Mattel and an army of nostalgic artists…

Just dying to see Ryan Reynolds in costume as the Green Lantern for the upcoming movie? Then check it out. Here’s the first top secret photo straight from the set of Reynolds in his test costume. Okay, not really. It’s actually fan-made art from Josh MC. But it’s pretty freakin’ awesome, both as a Green Lantern costume, and a photoshopped fake. One can only hope the real costume looks this good. What do you think of this pic? Let us know in the comments!

The second in our continuing series Comic Questions is asking the questions that comic book fans are afraid to ask. We’ll be pointing out the gaping flaws in logic in some of the most beloved figures and concepts in comic books. Why? Because it’s kind of funny. This week, we look at the length of Wolverine’s claws. Let’s make it clear: Wolverine is a great character. The idea of a guy with unbreakable, razor-sharp knives that he can pop out whenever he wants is awesome. But let’s ask the question that needs to be asked: how does Wolverine bend his…

Recently, Megan Fox has been quoted as saying that she likes nerds. While a lot of the geek community are salivating with cries of “I have a shot,” my reaction is different. You know what I say to that? Megan Fox, we don’t need your charity! Megan Fox has been dating Brian Austin Green, hardly the prototypical nerd. When was the last time you saw Megan Fox on the red carpet with a guy with a pocket protector? How often does Megan Fox walk out of ComicCon with a nerd on each arm? This is akin to women who say…

When Google announced its new custom smartphone, what did its name Nexus One bring to mind? Futuristic? Technology? Focus? Coolness? Blade Runner? Yes, Blade Runner. The estate of the late science-fiction writer Phillip K. Dick, author of the novel Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep that inspired the movie Blade Runner, is planning to file a lawsuit against Google. They claim that the term “nexus one” is violation of copyright. You see, the term “nexus” was not invented by Phillip K. Dick. And the term “nexus one” never appeared in the original novel or the movie. Rather, “Nexus-6” is the…

There’s an interview in LA Times with Tim Burton about directing his upcoming movie, Alice in Wonderland. The movie looks like it’s going to be incredible, but it doesn’t take much reading between the lines to see that Burton is not happy filming this movie. He complains incessantly about working with the special effects. Here are some samples: Q: …how liberating has it been to utilize these new tools [green screen and CGI]? A: I don’t feel liberated yet, no, only because it’s a very strange process. On a live-action, you’ve got actors, you’ve got sets and that’s what I…

Scifiwire wrote an interesting article on “7 Ways Dollhouse Could Have Been Great.” Personally, I don’t agree with most of them, because they don’t address the fundamental flaws in the show. So here’s my version: 5 Ways Dollhouse Could Have Been Great. 5. Don’t make the hero an Active. This is probably the most radical change to the series, but I think an important one. If you’re going to make the Actives child-like automatons with no personality or control over their lives, don’t make them the main characters. Focus on someone else at the Dollhouse. Make one of the handlers…

Once again, as he did in Titanic, director James Cameron has sacrificed original storytelling and characterization for thrills and special effects in the new movie Avatar. Here are some quotes from the reviews: I’ve complained that many recent films abandon story telling in their third acts and go for wall-to-wall action. Cameron essentially does that here… – Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times Perhaps the most surprising thing about Cameron’s visual accomplishments is that they are so powerful we’re barely troubled by the same weakness for flat dialogue and obvious characterization that put such a dent in Titanic. – Calendarlive The story…

Let’s say you want a miniature replica of the Bat-Signal that plugs into your computer’s USB port and projects the signal onto the wall…and who doesn’t? Well, you have a couple of choices. There’s a miniature Bat-Signal available from bigbadtoystore.com for only $394.94. Then there’s Instructables.com, where they have instructions on how to build your own miniature Bat-signal out of household materials for about four bucks. Hmmm, decisions, decisions. I guess the question is, how badly do you want that Bat-signal on your wall?

One of the true signs of the egomaniac is the failure to admit his or her own mistakes. I think there’s no greater proof of Joss Whedon’s egomania than his interview in the Chicago Tribune, where he tries to explain the failure of his sci-fi series Dollhouse. As I predicted in my earlier post, Whedon spends the entire interview blaming everyone and everything for the show’s failure – with one notable exception. Here are some samples: Basically, the show didn’t really get off the ground because the network pretty much wanted to back away from the concept five minutes after…

There’s an interview at Mania.com with Alan Moore that’s causing a big stir out there in Geekland. In it, he goes off on his usual anti-comic industry rants. But the controversial thing to me is that a lot of it is right on the money. In a series, we’ll be analyzing some of his points. In this third installment, let’s take a look at the fate of the monthly comic book: We are seeing the death of comics publishing as we know it. The pamphlets—the individual issues—are not selling. They haven’t been selling for years. The companies using them as…

There’s an interview at Mania.com with Alan Moore that’s causing a big stir out there in Geekland. In it, he goes off on his usual anti-comic industry rants. But the controversial thing to me is that a lot of it is right on the money. In a series, we’ll be analyzing some of his points. Second, let’s take a look at his commentary on the “dark hero” trend that he started: I suppose the thing to say about …Watchmen…is that these books were not meant as the Bible. They were ways in which the superhero could be handled. They weren’t…

This week begins a new series, Comic Questions. It examines some of the questions that comic book fans are reluctant to ask. This week, we take a look at the Bat-Signal. Gotham City’s police summon Batman with a spotlight that has Batman’s symbol in the middle, known as the Bat-Signal.The Bat-Signal is one of the most iconic images from the comic books. Who can forget the dark, cloudy sky with Batman’s symbol rippling across it, like a gigantic winged avenger soaring over the city? Of course, there’s a glaring flaw with the Bat-Signal: it only works if there are clouds…

There’s an interview at Mania.com with Alan Moore that’s causing a big stir out there in Geekland. In it, he goes off on his usual anti-comic industry rants. But the controversial thing to me is that a lot of it is right on the money. In a series, we’ll be analyzing some of his points. First, let’s take a look at his commentary on modern comic book writers: The people drawing and writing [in the 1960’s] … were often professional writers who happened to be making a living in comics…. Then, they were replaced in the middle ‘60s by basically…

In the tradition of Clue: The Movie, there’s an unlikely movie adaptation of a board game in the works. That’s because the game Monopoly is coming to the big screen. Why are we talking about Monopoly in GeekTwins? Because they’ve added a sci-fi twist. Apparently, the movie will take a page from Alice in Wonderland. The story, according to an interview in the LA Times, will involve a real-estate executive obsessed with the game Monopoly who ends falling asleep during a marathon session of the game and wakes up in a world that mirrors the game. He finds himself in…

Duke Nukem has fought many enemies like giant floating brains, aliens and mutated pig cops. Yet now an even more powerful force may kill Duke Nukem for good: economics. On May 8th 2009, 3D Realms abruptly fired everyone on the team developing the ironically named game Duke Nukem Forever. Take-Two Interactive, the company that owns the publishing rights to develop the game, is suing 3D Realms to try to rescue the twelve million dollars they put into the project. Reports of 3D Realms’ clandestine off-shore accounts and wild parties drinking champagne from the bellybutton of scantily clad women abound*. As…