Author: Maurice Mitchell
Imagine if Batman and Robin had been cool. Bat-girl is edgy. Poison Ivy is seductive and Batman and Robin still wear the goofy costumes, but everything else is so cool we can ignore it. Joel Schumaker almost ruined the franchise, but in the fan film Death Wish (2012) directed by Matthew Hiscox and written by Jennifer Zhang they add a much needed dose of cool to the film. Synopsis: Armed with a lethal neurotoxin, a mysterious assailant is targeting the kingpins of Gotham’s criminal underground. As Batman and Robin are drawn deeper into an investigation that ensnares more and more…
This week we have a couple of sought after disks in Transformers 3 and Star Trek: The Next Generation and a few schlocky movies which may be fun. Plus, a series narrated by Stephen Hawkings! The Run-Down Transformers: Dark of the Moon (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray 3D/Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy) Transformers Limited Edition Collector’s Trilogy (Seven-Disc Blu-ray/DVD Boxed Set: Transformers / Transformers 2 / Transformers 3 (+ Blu-ray 3D Version)) Star Trek: The Next Generation – Next Level [Blu-ray] In Time [Blu-ray] Dr. Jekyll Vs. The Werewolf (1972) 2 Headed Shark Attack [Blu-ray] Into The Universe With Stephen Hawking [Blu-ray] The Break-Down 1. If…
An enterprising geek, named David Johns, took the fourth draft of the Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope script and colored the words to make a black and red portrait of the evil man himself: Darth Vader. The smaller image doesn’t do it justice, so here is the enormous hi-resolution version from his site. It’s a beautiful image, and it only gets better when you zoom in to read the text. For example, zoom into Vader’s left eye and you get this. Head over to his site for the full Darth Vader image, plus several other sizes and a…
Here are this week’s links and tidbits. Trivia Question Motivational Geek Quote Links Trivia Answer 1. Trivia Question In the 1999 film The Matrix, about people fighting a battle in a virtual world, why was one of Morpheus’ crew nicknamed “Switch”? 2. Motivational Geek Quote “I must not fear. Fear is the mind-killer. Fear is the little-death that brings total obliteration. I will face my fear. I will permit it to pass over me and through me. And when my fear is gone I will turn and face fear’s path, and only I will remain.” – Paul Atreides Dune (1984)…
Remakes of films and television shows are tricky. Some are watchable, like War of The Worlds, and others are horrid like The Bionic Woman. There’s a built-in audience of people looking to relive memories, so Hollywood loves remakes. We hate them because it destroys our memories of the originals. However, some actually manage to improve on the original in some way. Feast your eyes on our Deja Vu list of remakes that have managed to surpass the original movie or TV show. 1. Battlestar Galactica (2003) / Battlestar Galactica (1978) In 1978, Glen Larson created a show about the last…
This week has a number of interesting DVDs being released you may want to pick up. The star is Real Steel of course, but there are a couple of Japanese releases you may like and, if your a fan of the 1970s Buck Rogers series, it’s finally on DVD! Sort of. The Run-Down Real Steel (Three-Disc Combo: Blu-ray/DVD + Digital Copy) Godzilla (The Criterion Collection) [Blu-ray] Ancient Aliens: Season Three Revenge of the Electric Car Roger Corman’s Cult Classic’s Lethal Ladies Collection, Vol. 2 (The Arena, Cover Girl Models, Fly Me) Buck Rogers in the 25th Century: Season One Time…
Back in 2008, there was a confirmed rumor that Johnny Depp was going to play “The Riddler” in the Dark Knight sequel. The Riddler, for those who don’t know, is a green-suited comic book villain who tries to trick Batman with puzzles that give clues to his crimes. Frank Gorshin played him the the 1960s television show and Jim Carrey played him in Batman Forever. The rumor was there would be three villains: The Riddler, Penguin (Philip Seymour Hoffman) and Catwoman (Angelina Jolie). An “inside source” said, “Producers are convinced that the role of The Riddler is perfect for Depp. Johnny’s…
We can’t cover everything going on in the blogosphere. So, on Friday’s, I share links and news and fun things I think you’d enjoy. Trivia Over 30 years ago this week (January 18, 1974), the first episode of Six Million Dollar Man aired. What was the name of the episode? *Answer at the end of the post. Links The Force.net Look Like Darth Maul Thanks to LucasFilm’s promotion of Star Wars: Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 3-D (February 10, 2012) there’s a mobile app for the iPhone that uses the built-in camera to turn you into Darth Maul. Or you can do…
The Dark Knight is great, but there’s a reason we still love the campy 1960’s Batman series. It was great fun and had great villains like the Joker, The Riddler, Penguin and Catwoman. It also had a collection of wonderfully odd villains played by the biggest stars of the time. Many actors clamored for cameos, and most showed up poking their heads out of windows. A few went on to become some of the strangest villains Batman has ever fought. From book-lovers to stamp collectors. From piano players to eggheads. Here’s the bizarre, strange and wonderful list of the oddest villains…
For those trying to keep track of the YouTube arguements between William Shatner (Star Trek) Carrie Fisher (Star Wars) and George Takei (Star Trek, Star Wars), my brother and I present this visual timeline of their major arguments. Just when we thought the war of words between William Shatner and Carrie Fisher about Star Trek or Star Wars being better, Shatner returns with another attack video. This one is aimed at George Takei, who tried to broker a peace treaty between them. Since the battle isn’t over yet, I made up this infographic. I created another chart before, but decided it needed…
George Takei posted a fan image “Keeping Up With the Cardassians” based on the reality series “Keeping Up With Kardashian’s”. I wish I knew enough about Star Trek: Deep Space Nine or the Kardassians to know who they’re supposed to be. Maybe you could share your thoughts in the comments. To Trek fans this is a real knee-slapper, while others would ask the valid question, “What the heck is a Cardassian?” I’d watch it. Would you? Would you watch Keeping Up With the Cardassians? Can you think of another scifi reality mash-up you’d watch? Via Huffington Post [Image Source: George Takei…
The title Cowboys and Aliens (2011) grabbed my attention, but it turns out the title was disappointingly accurate. The idea of cowboys, with primitive weapons and limited scientific understanding, fighting highly-advanced aliens seemed to make the plot of the movie all by itself. So, what went wrong? Directed by John Favreau, the movie stars Daniel Craig (Casino Royale) as a mysterious stranger who wakes up in the desert with no memory and a metal object clamped to his wrist. He quickly kills the three bounty hunters and heads to the nearby former mining town of “Abandon” where aliens have been kidnapping…
I’m renaming “Friends Friday” to “Geek Bits” and expanding the coverage to include more blogs with a focus on sci-fi. Also, I’m adding trivia, pictures and more! Let me know if you like the new format. Trivia: What was Roddenbery’s original name for Star Trek: The Original Series’ starship? (Answer at the end) Links Anglophenia: Doctor Who’s First Sarah Jane Smith Revealed When the BBC auditioned actresses for the role of Sarah Jane Smith in 1973, they didn’t offer the part to Elisabeth Sladen straight away. Instead they went for another actress, even getting as far as rehearsing scenes between…
I wrote before about how I hate the new Superman costume, but I’ve noticed some have objected to the viewpoint. Some like it. So, I decided to play “Angel’s advocate” and examine the costume through the eyes of someone that likes it. It wasn’t easy, but here goes.There are some new on-set images of the Superman costume for Man of Steel (2013) online and I’m going to do a quick analysis to show the changes. I can summarize it by saying it’s awesome! It looks like a fresh new take on the old costume. It’s a pretty drastic shift from…
How many times have you seen an amazing movie trailer and been horribly disappointed when you left the theater? We’ve all been there. You watch a trailer that blows you away and say, “Have you seen the trailer? It’s going to be amazing!” Then you watch the film and curse yourself for being tricked. Thankfully, we’ll always have the trailers to remind us how good the movie could have been. Here are the top ten films that made a really bad film look awesome. Watchmen? Batman & Robin? Battlefield Earth? Where would you rank them? 10. Star Trek V: The…
If you love Batman and Angry Birds, say hello to our little friends: Angry Bat-Birds. There are eleven characters in the poster. Some are obvious like Batman. Can you name the ten others? Illustrated by Daniel Halyburton and Jennifer Herd. Via Bleeding Cool Can you name the angry bat-birds?
Last month, on my other blog Film Sketchr, I interviewed concept artist Peter Rubin about his work. One topic he mentioned was the Superman reboot Man of Steel (2013). I was impressed that he designed the Superman chest emblem since it’s pretty much the only thing I like about the new costume. Last week Comic Book Resources, as well as other blogs picked out some points I missed. Here now are a few key points he revealed. Here’s his quote: Well, Man of Steel comes out in 2013. I’ve left some fingerprints on that. I spent nine months working with Alex…
Every Friday I like to share some blog posts from some of our friends you might be interested in. When does the A-Z blogging challenge start? What is Enceladus? Which movie taught us to watch out for dinosaurs? First, a quick story. I work in the I.T. industry and I was all set for a nice long vacation when my boss asked me to help do some cable rewiring during the break. My first reaction was, “Sucks to be you!” and bounce out of there. He subtly reminded me that I had no time off left for the year. So, I…
When most people think of science-fiction they think of rayguns and spaceships, but sci-fi has it’s share of culture. My wife insists no one will be reading this, but I’m an opera fan and if only one other reader appreciates it then its worth it. Plus, is there anything more bizarre than aliens singing opera? 1. Klingon Opera Makes Great Bar Music A huge fan of Klingon opera, Worf requests to hear “Aktuh and Maylota” from a bar singer. This is enough to drive a Ferrengi to cry about the dreadful noise. 2. The Fifth Element Opera Gets Funky On…
We all know Han Solo and Princess Leia are the most mismatched couple in the universe. Did you know they’re the worst too? This parody video by OneMinuteGalactica cuts clips of Star Wars to a 1950s instructional video. Who do you think is the worst couple in the universe?
Apollo 18 is terribly unscary considering its supposed to be a horror movie. But, if long shots of nothing, with occasional moments of surprise, are your kind of movie then welcome to paradise. The film is now on DVD, but I saw out in the theater. My wife and I went to see it and as we drove to the theater I mentioned I was surprised she wanted to go since she doesn’t like scary movies. She asked, “Is this movie scary?” I said, “Yeah, its a horror movie.” She nervously asked if she would be scared and I thought…
With all the different releases of Star Wars here are some good reasons that we should have a screening of the original and uncut version of the 1977 Star Wars film. The uproar over the recent changes to the Blu-Ray release of Star Wars proves one thing: Everyone loves the real thing. Just like the 1980s new Coke debacle, it’s not always better to mess with a good thing. While some love the changes (I have to admit some make sense) there is a small group of us who long for the nostalgia of watching the film as it was. All…
Happy trails 2011! Here are the 35 things we’ll remember most about you. 1. Filming of the Dark Knight Rises When a picture of the Batmobile being delivered to the set on a flatbed truck makes front page news, you know you’ve got your marketing is working. Read More: http://geektwins.blogspot.com/2011/08/unimpressive-first-looks-dark-knight.html 2. Fisher and Shatner Argue About Star Wars vs. Star Trek Geeks have been debating about which is better for decades, but William Shatner and Carrie Fisher took to YouTube to settle it once and for all. It turned into an ugly war of words insulting each others bodies, or lack…
This week’s Friends Friday Saturday has Batman, Doctor Who and Superman. So, go check out our friend’s blogs! Ann Wilkes has nice review of Earthbound – a post-apocalyptic tale. Load up your Kindles! SQT has some new Images From “The Dark Knight Rises” This movie looks better and better the more I see of it! Alex J. Cavanaugh has a list of January Movies! Frankly, this is going to be a slow month for movies. The Grey could be good though. Superheroes-R-Us has a good description of the G.I. Joe: Retaliation Trailer , “The shot of the White House…
I was working on a couple of blog posts and my blogging client “ScribeFire” blew up. I don’t know where they are or if they were saved. So, this means I have to postpone this week’s “link love” and 2011 send off till tomorrow since i have to rewrite them. Sorry…
If you’re in the Phoenix area on January 7th you’ve got to check out the screening of the hilarious web-series Voyage Trekkers. Here’s a press release we got. SPECIAL ‘VOYAGE TREKKERS’ SCREENING ON JANUARY 7TH PHOENIX, AZ – DECEMBER 21, 2011 – Squishy Studios and Inside Creative Minds Media announce a special screening of their acclaimed local comedy web series Voyage Trekkers to raise money for a second season of the show. The event takes place on Saturday, January 7th at FilmBar in Phoenix with two showings at 8PM and 9PM. Admission is $7. According to writer and director Nathan…
This infographic shows the history of actors who have played Batman in movies or television from Adam West to Christian Bale. Bob Kane’s comic book hero Batman was first introduced in Detective Comics #27 back in 1939. With Christian Bale retiring from playing Batman next year he follows a long line of actors who have put on the cape and cowl. There are probably some we missed, but these are the most significant. Also, I’m not including voice actors even though Kevin Conroy was amazing. Who played Bruce Wayne first? Who played him the longest? Who’s your favorite Batman actor?
SyFy channel’s hilarious trend of creating a movie based on a title and casting washed up has-beens continues with Arachnoquake.The film, to air on the channel in 2012, has Tracey Gold fighting giant albino spiders that are released by a series of earthquakes in New Orleans. Do they even have earthquakes in New Orleans? Tracey Gold is best known for playing, Carol Seavers on the eighties TV series Growing Pains. The best part is it also stars Edward Furlong! He played the whiny John Connor in Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Its a two-for-one! I found a description of one scene… At a…
Battlestar Galactica was cool in a lot of ways, but one of the best things was its realistic portrayal of technology. This image says it all.
Here’s this week’s Friends Friday link love! Alex J. Cavanaugh has a hilarious Sharktopus: A Play-by-Play. Arlee Bird has a review on Tossing It Out called My Wife Fell Asleep and I Wish I Had. Whatever you think of the movie Transformers 3 I can’t think of a more succinct review. Back at the Man-Cave there’s a funny video showing what would happen if the schlocky Silent Night Deadly Night were an 8-bit video game?