Archive for March 3rd, 2010


Awesome-O-Rama: February 28-March 6, 2010

Filed Under: awesome-o-rama by Marty Day — 2 Comments
March 3, 2010

Raising myself out of a vicodin induced stupor, I have come once again to drop knowledge on the appropriate things in the world of geek to buy this week.

That’s right…it’s time once again for….AWESOME-O-RAMA!


Ponyo
As I write this article, I actually have this on in the background.  While the intended audience for the latest Studio Ghibli film to hit the US shores is decidedly younger than in the past, this reinterpretation of the classic Little Mermaid tale is never the less a must see.  With stunning as usual animation (made even more jaw-dropping on the blu-ray) plus a super dub, you have little to no reason to not want to see this.  As with anything with the Ghibli name on it, you can just dive in and enjoy.  Recommended as always.

Where The Wild Things Are
When Spike Jonze’s artsy adaptation of the classic children’s novel hit theaters last fall, it didn’t always arrive in front of it’s intended audience.  Less a film for children than it is for adults who remember what it was to be a child, this moody, dark and overall engrossing film is more a journey through the id and ego of a child.  Beautifully shot, wonderfully put together, and an emotional rollercoaster, it was one of the best films to hit the screen last year, and I can’t wait to revisit it again at home.

Mega Man 10
Available this week for download on the Nintendo Wii, and then in the future for both the XBox 360 and Playstation 3, this throwback title picks up where last year’s Mega Man 9 left off, providing more old school fun for those of us who remember the hours of frustration spent in front of the NES with the original Mega Man games.  Now with a built in easy mode for those of us who couldn’t get through the first level of the super hard 9, it’s even more a relaxing journey through one of the best games of years past.  And hey, who can’t get excited about the new boss character SHEEP MAN?!

Invincible Iron Man Omnibus, Vol. 1
In the flurry following the theatrical release of Iron Man, Marvel set a brilliant plan in motion to have a comic series perfectly written and designed to be eaten up by the new fans from the flick.  The result was Invincible Iron Man, and with beautiful art from Salvador Larocca combined with great stories penned by Matt Fraction (writer of the super underrated Immortal Iron Fist), it was the closest thing to a monthly movie featuring everyone’s favorite shellhead.  One of my favorite monthly titles coming out of Marvel right now, you can get the first 19 issues in one delicious digestable chunk.  I can’t recommend it enough.

Until next week, that’s been this week’s Awesome-O-Rama!

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STEAM ON MACS: The Internet Just Broke

Filed Under: gaming by Marty Day — Leave a comment
March 3, 2010

Ultra secretive and super awesome gaming developer Valve just released a series of teaser images across the web to different gaming sites.

Let’s be honest, if these images don’t basically give away that the popular gaming platform Steam is coming to Apple computers, I’ll eat another McGangbang.

And as a proud Mac owner – HOLY SHIT I’M EXCITED.

Yes, I own Left 4 Dead, Portal, Team Fortress 2 and Half Life for my XBox…but I would SO QUICKLY repurchase them all for my MacBook, that people’s heads would spin.

Let the obvious answer be the true one, Valve -  you’ve got my money coming!

Source: Valve’s Mac Teasers Just Made Me Change My Pants – Steam – Gizmodo.

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Yes Virginia, There Was Almost a US Version of SPACED

Filed Under: across the net, tv by Marty Day — Leave a comment
March 3, 2010

Back in the early 2000′s, Simon Pegg, Nick Frost and Edgar Wright made their name in the US with their classic flick Shaun of the Dead.  In fact, they made such an impact, it’s somewhat hard to remember a time before they were popular over here too.

But before they were, they, and the lovely Jessica Hynes created a brilliant TV show called Spaced.  I’ve gone on record for my love of the show before, but a rather dark piece of Spaced history found it’s way onto the internet today.

In the post Shaun period, it seems Fox attempted to put together a US remake of Spaced, and because of the nature of their TV contract, there was nothing Pegg, Frost or Hynes could do about it.

Luckily, the internet bitched loud enough and early enough that the remake was canned before the pilot went to order. And it seemed that was that.

Until today, wherein Pegg himself tweeted a link to a YouTube clip of the US remake.  It’s amazing how the clip not only seems to grab the proper aesthetic of the show, but holds zero of the heart or intrigue.  I guess, considering it was produced by McG, we shouldn’t be that surprised.

Source: Watch This: A Peek at the Doomed ‘Spaced’ Remake – Cinematical.

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WHAT THE CHRIST?! Marvel HDTVs?

Filed Under: comics, tech by Marty Day — Leave a comment
March 3, 2010

OK, I’m not going to submit to the normal level of nerd rage here, because as an adult, I completely understand – Marvel is a gigantic, publicly owned company, and they’re more about the dollar than the quality when it comes to licensing their properties.

But I cannot see the appeal for the audience here, with this new line of Marvel approved High Definition Television sets.

Created by RTC23 (have you heard of them? I sure as hell haven’t), these sets come between the sizes of 22 and 55 inches in both LCD and LED flavors, and not just feature comic designs on the outside case, but also a custom character related image appearing on screen for 8 seconds when you turn the television on.

So let me get this straight  – it’s an HDTV of a lesser quality, with ugly case designs, a shitty image whenever you turn the TV on, and you’re paying a premium over a quality Samsung or Vizio HDTV? And they’re online sales ONLY?

Who the fuck is the market for this, REALLY?

Source: You Can Now Get Officially Licensed Marvel Comics TVs…Wait! What? – Marvel hdtvs – Gizmodo.

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Grab A Taste Of The SCOTT PILGRIM Soundtrack With “Black Sheep”!

Filed Under: comics, movies, music by Marty Day — 1 Comment
March 3, 2010

If I weren’t psyched enough about Edgar Wright’s adaptation of my favorite comic series ever, Scott Pilgrim, with the release of the film 5 scant months away, the hype and anticipation is starting to ramp up with more media coming from official sources.

Early on in the production of the film, it was revealed that popular Canadian indie rock bands would have their song’s standing in as the music for the bands in the film, appropriate, as they’re indie bands in Canada.

One such band is Metric, serving as the musical interpretation of the villainous Clash at Demonhead.  The song appearing in the film is titled “Black Sheep”, and it first appeared on Metric’s Facebook fan page, but now it’s been uploaded to YouTube for all to listen.

So check it out, and get psyched like I am!

Scott Pilgrim vs. The World is scheduled to hit theaters on August 13th.

Source: Metric Unveil Black Sheep, Our First Listen to the Scott Pilgrim Soundtrack | /Film.

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Watch As Two CG Samurai Kick Each Others Asses!

Filed Under: across the net by Marty Day — Leave a comment
March 3, 2010

Samurai from Phil Shoebottom on Vimeo.

Just stumbled upon this super sweet video – seems an FX team in the UK worked on this in their spare time over a few months.

Hard to believe work of this quality is being churned out by 5 people for free these days.  Really stunning stuff.

Click play and enjoy, it’s just a minute out of your day!

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So How Will Disney Affect Marvel?

Filed Under: across the net, comics, movies by Marty Day — Leave a comment
March 3, 2010

Since it’s announcement at the end of last year, the Marvel/Disney merger has been the talk of the internerd, my website included.

But finally, some amazing artists have stepped up to the plate and shown us how the merger may affect some long time favorites, in a stunning photoshop contest from Worth1000.com.

The concept? Hybrid versions of Marvel & Disney characters.

I’ve chosen one of my favorites to feature above, but really, it’s only the tip of the iceberg – I highly recommend you check out the full list of entries!

Source: Marvel/Disney Hybrids – Worth1000 Contests.

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And So The DC/Marvel Movie Wars Begin

Filed Under: comics, movies by Marty Day — 2 Comments
March 3, 2010

For four decades now, comic book juggernauts Marvel and DC have been in an ongoing war for the love and appreciation of fans worldwide.

I think it’s safe to say that in the world of comics, it’s been a dead heat for years.

But when it comes to the world of movies, Marvel has had the leg up this decade.  Sure, DC and it’s parent Warner Brothers have the most successful comic book movie of all time in 2008′s The Dark Knight, but Marvel has consistently won audiences over since 2002′s Spider-Man, and won even more favor with the launch of Marvel Studios and Iron Man, building a consistent universe across multiple films.

Now that Disney owns Marvel, and is continuing to build their film universe with sequels to Iron Man, the debut of Captain America and Thor, and of course the forthcoming Avengers film, it should come as no surprise that Warner Bros and DC Entertainment are working to counteract Marvel’s silver screen successes with a series of films of their own.

Much like Marvel Studios, the first true test of this new film universe will start with a second stringer character, as Ryan Reynolds stars as Green Lantern, but this past week has sent some rumors across the web which indicates he won’t be alone for long.

Major rumor number one has attached a director to the long anticipated film adaptation of The Flash.  Intended to helm the film? Greg Berlanti.  If his name doesn’t ring a bell, it will soon, as in addition to handling the directing for the Flash, he wrote the script for Green Lantern.  Taking a page out of Marvel’s book by having creative talent involved in multiple films (see Jon Favreau’s involvement in the Avengers films).

If that wasn’t enough, it seems we have some movement on the Superman front, as rumor not only puts the script in the hands of Batman Begins and Dark Knight scribe David S. Goyer, but the new film (titled The Man of Steel) is apparently going to be the directoral debut of Jonah Nolan, brother of Dark Knight director Christopher Nolan, who co-wrote The Dark Knight with Goyer.

I’ve got to say, I’ve never been a huge DC fan, but if these moves do pan out, it’s going to make for quite the series of movies.  But of course, only time will tell if it all pans out.  Me – I’m very excited.

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