!!! The Nerd Apocalypse Is Here (San Diego Comic-Con News) !!!

It is finally here. The biggest geek, nerd, and dork convention in the world. So far it's been pretty good. Within the first three days, it's already beat E3 for big announcements and it doesn't appear that will change. Since there has been a lot going on both there and here (my life got a little crazy this week) I decided to put all the Comic-Con news in one post (at least the first three days). I've also got my review of Spider-man coming so keep checking back for that. Also my computer's decided to go on vacation this week, so I will try my best with what I got. Here. We. Go.


Like I said, Comic-Con is punching E3 in the bejewels and giving us more cool things to be excited about than the Punisher in a wise guy factory (come on admit it, you laughed). First up is the king of superhero movies, Marvel (DC doesn't count because Batman's just one hero and they screwed up Green Lantern). Marvel is kicking on all cylinders following the total domination inflicted by "The Avengers" (that's 1.5 billion dollars for everyone keeping count) and the "Amazing" (I so funny) numbers that "Spider-man" is putting up. But not content to rest, Marvel went full tilt at their Marvel Studios' panel and can I just say, "excelsior". This is some crazy stuff that their attempting. This is like over the top, i just bought the USS Flag off of eBay in it's original box for a ungodly amount of money crazy (I don't actually have to buy it off of eBay because I still have mine from when I was a kid, but you know that kind of crazy). Marvel announced that they will be making two more movies to go along with the already announced, Iron Man 3, Thor, and Captain America films that they intend to release between now and the second Avengers flick. So, Todd, what might these two movies be? Well, I'm glad you asked. It looks like we'll have "Guardians of the Galaxy" on August 1st, 2014 (art below). You heard that right, we will have a movie that has a gun-toting raccoon in it. If that doesn't get you excited, I don't know what will. Raccoons with guns, good golly miss Molly (not to mention a full on butt kicking tree or Ent for all you LOTR fans). Marvel eased the audience into the whole otherworldly stuff by going from the "grounded in reality" vibe of Iron Man, to the "magic is just what we know as science" in Thor (you know plus gods and ice giants and Asgard), to the Tesseract and Super Soldier Serum of Captain America (not to mention the Gamma irradiated man who turns into a giant green monster), then, BAM, aliens and flying aircraft carriers and Scarlett Johansson's breasts (well we already knew about that last one) and of course "Thanos". Now it appears they trust you, the audience, to go wherever they want to take you (and you know you will). Congratulations, audience, you passed suspension of disbelief 101 and may now move on to the advanced course, "Gun Carrying, Explosive Expert Raccoons and You". This is gonna rock.

Second, they showed a logo and test footage for Edgar Wright's "Ant-Man" (again, see below). No firm date for when we'll see it but it's coming. Henry Pym on the big screen, who would have thought. Here's hoping we get some Janet Van Dyne to go along with my order of Pym. An Ant-Man movie from the maker of "Shawn of the Dead" and "Hot Fuzz" sounds like a hot Krispy Kreme doughnut (happy 75 years best doughnut in the world). Can't wait.

Marvel also gave us a very vague hint at what we can expect from the next Thor movie with a new title and logo. "Thor: The Dark World" will be headed to theaters on November 8, 2013. I have absolutely no idea what that title could mean and I'm sure there will be a lot of speculation over the next year and a half, but hey, I'm in.

Then, Marvel gave us a gigantic hint at what we will see in the next "Cap" film. "Captain America: The Winter Soldier" tells you everything you need to know about what the "man out of time" will be doing next. If you don't want to be spoiled in anyway, that's fine. For everyone else, if you have never read Ed Brubaker's run on the Captain America comic book (that will soon come to an end, "tear"), do yourself a favor and pick it up. You'll not only find out the general storyline for the next Captain America film but get some of the best stories Marvel has put out about the premiere Super Soldier and his greatest "friends" and "foes". This is the right way to go and I applaud Marvel for taking us there. The Winter Soldier arrives in theaters on April 24, 2014.

Tony Stark's new Iron Man suit for Iron Man 3 was on display at "the con" surrounded by the suits from all the previous films and the Avengers. Less red, more gold, maybe Downey Jr. wants everyone to know that he made so much money off the Avengers that he had the suit gold plated (that's just rubbing it in).

Extra Marvel stuff included, Jessica Biel may be playing "Viper" (Madame Hydra, for you comic nerds) in the new Wolverine film, Josh Trank (the director of "Chronicle" of which you must watch if you haven't) has signed on to direct the Fantastic Four reboot (this is very good), David Slade is out as director of the Daredevil reboot (not good, you know for Fox, but maybe for Marvel), and a fairly candid interview from ComingSoon.net with Simon Kinberg who is one of the writers on the X-Men: First Class sequel which you can check out "here". He's surprisingly forthcoming for someone who, "can't breath a word" about the film. There's also a little short film on the Avengers home video release called "Item 47". It's good from what I've heard. Fun stuff.

The Marvel news is huge, but that's not all we got in San Diego. A new clip from "Dredd" (cause Judge Dredd is too long) debuted and it is certainly not for the timid. Consider it "Red Band" material and know that you have been warned before you trot off to watch it "here". From the reviews that have been popping up on the "world wide web" (yeah, old school, right?), this is going to kick some serious tail. So that means, you people need to get off your mama's couch and go see this movie, cause if it make 50 million we get a sequel, according to producers. Go, watch, be amazed.

For all you Mortal Kombat freaks out there (yes, you too, Josh), if you have never see the "Legacy" web series you can check it out now on Blu-ray (my personal preference) and you can still find it online for free. It was written and directed by Kevin Tancharoen, who directed a short Mortal Kombat film called "Rebirth" (also online) that was a more gritty realistic take on the franchise. NetherRealm and Warner Bros. were so impressed that they green lit the Legacy web series, and what a web series it is. With the likes of Michael Jai White, Jeri Ryan (yes, Seven of Nine), and Tahmoh Penikett, this little gem is like an intimate fatality to the face. It takes place before the original tournament and serves as a prequel. So, it's with no small amount of joy that I found out that a second season of Legacy has been given the go ahead. Tancharoen announced it himself at San Diego via a video clip "here" that also gives us a look at which characters we can expect to see. But the best news of all is that the second season will be about the tournament itself, fraking cool. I'm a Kombat fan from way back (I remember playing the first one in the arcade, shut up, I know I'm old) and I've had every version of the game on every system. I can't play for crap, but I love the story and characters. And who doesn't like to see Sub-Zero rip a guy's head off his body with the spine still attached, dripping blood, ah, good times. The first series was very popular so we may be seeing the future of small budget cinema right here. Web series that bring people in for free, then move to big budget mega films with a ready made fan base sounds like a plan to me.

Speaking of web series, not all of you guys out there like "Halo". I tend to be one of those few people (Halo is an indie game after all) who does. Again, I'm very much about story as opposed to the playing of the game itself (love to play, but still suck at it). I was super excited when we were told that Peter Jackson was producing a live action version of the game. He decided to get an unknown director by the name of Neill Blomkamp. The studios all said, "no thanks" to Peter because he had an unproven director at the helm (even though Blomkamp and Weta had put together a kick butt demo reel of what a live action Halo would look like and it was "Boo Yow", and can still be found online "here"). Big mistake Hollywood, because Neill Blomkamp went on to make "District 9", great film, and his new film "Elysium" that's getting very good buzz from everyone who has seen footage. So, here we are a few years later and 343 studios is finally giving us the live action Halo we've been longing for. But guess what Hollywood, it'll be free on the Internet in a web series prequel to Halo 4. Put that in your pipe and flush it down the toilet (cause, the police just pulled up outside), Hollywood. You can watch the first trailer "here" and it starts out pretty good. We get to see a Warthog very briefly, and some cadet training. Then things get crazy, everyone is looking up in the sky in fear (of the Covenant, more that likely) then everyone is running away in fear (we see a shot of a puddle of water in the foreground and a bunch of blurry cadets running in the background, then invisible feet splash in the water, the Elites have arrived), everyone huddle into a room and the door starts to be broken down. We think it's the bad guys but when the doors blows inward, guess who standing there to rescue those scared little cadets. The Master Chief, boyee, come to stop your grinning and drop your linen. We just kicked it up a notch, Emeril. Maybe this will get the wheel turning and maybe we get a real big budget movie out of the deal. Looks promising so far.

Alright, now for some odds and ends. The Robocop remake showed off some viral images this week and went a good ways to make me more excited to see it. They showed off the "ED-209" and it looks like an advanced version of the original, not bad I say. We'll definitely keep an open mind on this one. Check out the picture below, and the synopsis for the film "here". We got our first look at "Q" in the new James Bond film "Skyfall", played by Ben Wishaw (see below). He looks like a young Desmond Llewelyn, perfect. The Trolls from "The Hobbit" are on display at the Weta booth and are full size, cool. To promote the Blu-Ray release of the "Indiana Jones" films they put up a Well of Souls complete with live snakes (why did it have to be snakes).

That what I got for now, I'll be back tomorrow with more news from Comic-Con including the Warner Bros. panel with news and previews of "Pacific Rim", "The Hobbit", and "Man of Steel". Also, a little "Hellboy 3" news that ties into my post the other day, very cool stuff. As always, you can check out all the cool stuff from the experts on ComingSoon.net. Until then, "live long and prosper" dorks!!!

Todd "now preparing for the zombie apocalypse" B.

[ComingSoon.net]

!?! E=E3 Squared Times Pi, Plus The Square Root Of Metroid... Ah, Forget It!?!

Has anyone ever heard of E3?? What a great idea. Why have they not done this before??

Ok, I was being sarcastic there. Most of you, if you have been paying attention of course, know that E3 is the "Electronic Entertainment Expo (or E3 for short)". It is held currently at the Los Angeles Convention Center in California and it is the place to go if you want to find out what the next cool thing is in the video game world. You have all the heavy hitters in the video game community including the Big Three (Nintendo, Sony, and the all powerful Microsoft). If you didn't know, now, you know (and knowing is half the battle).

Anywho, I am not the video game guy. No sir, I am not. Don't get me wrong, I love video games. I just no longer have time to devote to endless hours of sitting on a couch, drinking Mtn. Dew, and screaming at the top of my lungs at an inanimate piece of hardware. Games, that are rated mature, and small children do not go well together. So, my playing of video games has dwindled to very little. If you want the real scoop on the state of video games, you would be better served by talking to Josh (All things Microsoft and Playstation) and Nic (all things Nintendo). But, like any self respecting Internet commentator, I still have an opinion on the trends in the industry (I like da way dat Plummer steps on them there tortoises, Uh-Huh). So I will attempt to put my cent and a half (I'm a little short on cash) into the pot and see if I can provide my prospective on the video game landscape and give you a little news along the way.

First up is a topic that is near and dear to me personally. Video Games that have a storyline. I could care less if I get to play with some loud mouthed stranger (under the age of 15) on some online server somewhere. I got very little use for online death match play. Playing with people I know is great and I If I had my way we would all be in the same room when that happens. That is probably not realistic, but I like to know and see the people I kill with my BFG. So, from my perspective, I am more interested in the experience and story than I am multiplayer. I have always thought that one day video games could become something akin to an interactive movie experience. They could immerse you fully into the fantasy of the silver screen and add a whole new dimension to our entertainment business (no matter what Roger Ebert says, hack). So it is with no small amount of interest that I saw two video game debut Footage at E3 that blew me away.

The first comes from the studio that gave us the Resistance and Uncharted franchises, Naughty Dog. Their new property called "The Last of Us" may bring an entirely new aspect to the gaming landscape. Naughty Dog has always valued story above all else and they look to be pushing the envelope to it's limit. This report at IGN contains the first gameplay footage that we have seen from the title. To say I'm floored, is an understatement. This looks like a movie and the fight/shoot out moment is jaw dropping in not only its brutality but also it's execution. The ability to be this fluid in a video game is amazing. Yes, you could just run and gun your way through, but it appears that would be an unwise decision. From what I gathered from the footage is that you have a limited amount of supplies, including weapons and ammunition to use. This makes finding different ways to dispatch your enemies that much more important (plus it looks really cool when you see it on screen). This is pushing the visual and narrative boundaries to the breaking point. This thing looks great and I can't wait to play it (really late at night when my children are in bed).

Second, is a new title from the makers of Heavy Rain, a story based game from the studio Quantic Dream. They call it "Beyond - Two Souls". Not only do you have a very cinematic looking game, it also stars a film actress (the very cute, Ellen Paige) as the title's main character. Again, my words fall short of the actual viewing of the trailer so head over here and check it out for yourself. Computer graphics are never going to completely replace human actors, but this makes a case for the continued use of them as a storytelling medium. Neither one of these games are new innovations, we have already seen this type of game before in titles such as Alan Wake, Heavy Rain, the Shenmue series, and Resident Evil, but they are a giant step forward in the way games tell stories.

While your at it check out the new trailer for Halo 4. It looks like the quality of the game has not tanked since Bungie handed over the series to Microsoft and 343 Industries. I am happily optimistic that we will have another great game on our hands.

Well, thats what I got for now. I'll try to be back with more updates from E3 and beyond as the need arises. If you want to check out all the E3 news and videos, head over to IGN at the link below (shameless plug for a great site) and then come back here for more of our meaningless ramblings (come on, you know you love us). Stay Frosty or Toasty for you Mortal Kombat freaks.

Todd "all your base are belong to us" B.

[IGN.com]