Poison Ivy in Batman: Arkham Asylum

Bane, Harley... now Poison Ivy! These game trailers keep winning me over, I guess August 25th isn't that far away! Originally, this game was to be released in June, but for non-disclosed reasons it was delayed to August. If the game will deliver in the same fashion as the trailers and the developer demos, this game will definitely be worth the wait.

iPhone Undies

Not sure if Victoria's Secret will have lines of girls, or guys, anxiously awaiting to purchase these, but I'm sure all the iPhone nuts will get a kick out out of em!

GI Joe, what their real agenda is!

Movie Trailers - Movies Blog

I'm taking the same attitude with this movie as I did with Transformers, very low expectations. While I don't doubt there will be some great action and fight sequences, I'm sure GI Joe will not resemble the original GI Joe series beyond Snake Eyes and the use of familiar names. It does help that Sienna Miller looks smoking hot as the Baroness.

If you ask me, I think the underlying goal of this movie is to sell toys. All I need to say to prove this point: "Acceleration Suits!"

Surrogates Trailer

This trailer looks awesome! What trips me out is that this is how many MMORPG gamers live their lives. Looks like I know what my next graphic novel purchase will be!

Megan Fox - "Wonder Woman is a lame superhero"

"Wonder Woman is a lame superhero," Fox told the paper. "She flies around in her invisible jet and her weaponry is a lasso that makes you tell the truth. I just don't get it. Somebody has a big challenge on their hands whoever takes that role but I don't want to do it." -Megan Fox

Megan Fox is the "it girl" right now, as she graces every magazine cover known to man. In addition, she'll be starring in the anticipated sequel, "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen." If you ask me, I can't stand her, and for her to put down such an iconic character makes me feel sorry for her. Wonder Woman paved the way for female superheroes, and here comes Megan Fox, spitting on years of gender equality that Wonder Woman has built.

Who's really watching Megan Fox for her acting? No one! When the roller coaster of good looks ware off, she'll be begging to play any role she can get. It won't be long until she reaches Lindsey Lohan or Amy Winehouse status.

Read the full article here.

Freddie Prinze Jr. on 24

The Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Freddie Prinze Jr. will be joining the cast of Fox's 24 next season [Season 8]. Mr. She's All That will be playing Davis Cole, "a recently returned Marine who runs CTU Field Ops and wants to follow in Jack Bauer's (Kiefer Sutherland) footsteps."

I've never really been a fan of Freddie Prinze Jr., I even shrugged at the thought about him gunning for the part of Peter Parker in Spider-Man. At the same time, I don't doubt the casting decisions that are made on 24. I'm on the fence on this one. While I don't doubt that 24 will be great, I'm worried Freddie will be a pretty-boy distraction. We'll see what happens.

Walmart cleaning up... their toy aisle!

Not too long ago, Walmart announced they will be launching a campaign to make their stores more organized, providing a "cleaner" shopping experience. This entails taking out certain displays and end caps making for wider aisles and room to visually browse products. Word on the street is that the toy aisle will be heavily affected to this new change, meaning less toys and collectibles to hunt for. Sure enough, the action-figure community, including scalpers, were up-in-arms. Where will toy-hunters and scalpers go to find rare MOC collectibles. On a broader scope, those most affected will be the toy manufacturers, as Walmart is a strong vendor for revenue.

Walmart fired back with this statement:

"Walmart has no new plans to reduce allocated shelf space for toys companywide, and any story or rumor to the contrary is false. Store assortments and quantity levels at Walmart stores will differ based on consumer demand and product trends, as well as seasonal and geographical differences. We will continue to be a leading destination for affordable, high quality toys in the markets we serve."

So let me get this straight. Walmart had the power to put mom-and-pop toy shops out of business, essentially being king-of-the-castle as toy sellers. Now they have the power to limit what toys we can buy? Sounds awfully sketchy to me.

Read the full article here.

Fan Made Green Lantern Trailer

Thought this fan-made Green Lantern was pretty cleaver. You'll recognize many of the movie clips used for this trailer:

Terminator Salvation Review

With the Memorial Day weekend winding down, so are the final tallies for box office numbers. Unfortunately, Terminator Salvation is not reigning supreme. Here is my review on Terminator Salvation.

I had high hopes for this film. From exclusive clips and panel interviews at Comic Con to the final trailers leading-up to the release of the film, McG and Christian Bale looked like they had the right formula for reigniting the Terminator franchise. Well, the movie was good, but I didn’t love it. Stop here if you’re wary of spoilers.

I was led to believe the story was going to focus on John Connor. Being the leader of the resistance, I imagined they’d explore his character’s personal conflict and how he came to be the legend that is “John Connor.” I was completely mislead as the focus was almost entirely on Marcus Wright, being the prototype design of Skynet and Cyberdine Systems as a Terminator with total human emotion. Marcus Wright was basically a Terminator, not aware of being a machine. The future isn’t too distant as its set in 2018, so there were no laser guns as seen in flashbacks from the originals, so the technology was relatively primal. There were no hints of time travel being developed. In addition, I’m a big fan of post-apocalyptic stories, which is why I was looking forward to this film, but there was something about this movie that didn’t show a futuristic level of desperation that they should have.

Christian Bale’s performance was great, but something about it seemed a bit misplaced. It almost seemed like he would’ve been better suited playing Marcus Wright. Don’t get me wrong, I think Sam Worthington did a fantastic job, but I think having Christian Bale and Sam Worthington on this movie together almost seemed like duplicating roles. On an unrelated note, I keep getting the impression Bale is not being forgiven for his “Batman voice.” Will people leave that alone already? For the rest of the cast Anton Yelchin did a great job as a teenaged Kyle Reese and Moon Bloodgood was simply hot. Beyond breaking Marcus Wright free from captivity, I can’t recall why her character was really needed.

Reigniting a franchise obviously doesn’t come without hints to its predecessors. There were plenty of tongue-in-cheek references to the original two films. The keyword here is TWO, as they conveniently made no references to Terminator 3, which I don’t blame them for. From “I’ll be back” to “Come with me if you want to live” you’ll find a lot of familiarities. They even played Guns N Roses "You Could Be Mine," which was prominently placed during a motorcycle sequence. The mother of all references was having Arnold Schwarzenegger come out as a prototype T-800 in full garb, or lack thereof. The CGI used to superimpose Arnold’s face on another body looked flawless, and was actually a highlight for me.

Overall, the movie looks great on the surface, but it doesn’t have as much depth as I would’ve expected.

It's official, Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles is terminated!

Sad but true, Terminator: Sarah Connor Chronicles is officially canceled, as are other shows from a variety of different networks. I wasn't surprised Fox's newest animated show got the boot as well, "Sit Down and Shut Up." where I actually meet the voice cast recently at San Francisco's Wonder Con 2009 including Will Arnet, Henry Winkler, Keenan Thompson. For me, Terminator will be sorely missed. At least we have Terminator Salvation to look forward to this week.

Check out which shows made the cut, and who got cut here.

Thor!

Director Kenneth Branagh has cast Chris Hemsworth as Thor. If he looks familiar, it's because he was "a captain of a star ship for twelve minutes," recently portraying James Tiberius Kirk's father, George Kirk. Scheduled to be released in 2011, Samuel L. Jackson will also be on board, returning as Nick Fury. If Marvel will continue to utilize the "Ultimates" version of the Avengers, using Sam L. Jackson as an example, I'm hoping they give Thor the same treatment. As much as I like the classic version of Thor, I think the contemporary version of "The Ultimates" Thor would be more appealing to today's audience.

Do Alien fans make goiod parents?

Do they? You decide!

Batman Arkham Asylum - Free Flow Combat

As more of these developer videos are released, the more I can't wait for this game to come out. My first impression of Batman: Arkham Asylum was that it will be a great Batman game. After watching this developer video, I'm starting to believe this is going to be a great game! Period!

Read the full article here.

Are you the "Ultimate Comic-Con Fan?"

G4 is teaming up with Dark Horse Comics to find the "ultimate Comic-Con fan." The winner will win a free trip to San Diego's International Comic Con, the hub of all things pop-culture and nerd-ery, hosting part of comic-cons coverage along side Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn. In the last decade, Comic-Con has been the nesting ground for Hollywood, a place to generate buzz and hype for movies on the horizon. Even if the movies have nothing to do with comics, you'll find it at Comic-Con. I'm sure the winner of this contest will have access to most of the celebrities that will be available. I'm sure they'll end up picking charisma over fanboy-ism. I'd love to see Comic Book Guy win this contest, trust me, there is no shortage of these guys at comic-con!
Read about the contest here.

Tim Sale's Hulk #600 Variant

I'm not much of a Hulk fan beyond Ed Norton's take on The Incredible Hulk. I would like to point out that one of the first comic books I owned was a Hulk book. It was a handout from Halloween I got when I was kid. Looking back, it's probably one of the most memorable Halloween treats I've ever received, as I still remember it to this day. It's not until now that the Hulk caught my eye. Check out the variant cover of Hulk #600, done by Tim Sale. Coming out in July, Hulk # 600 will be written by Jeph Loeb, penciled by Ed McGuiness and the cover art will be done fifty-fifty between Alex Ross and Tim Sale. Check out Sale's work on the Jolly Green Giant himself:



Being a big fan of Batman: The Long Halloween, Batman: Dark Victory, Catwoman: When in Rome and Superman For All Seasons... I'm a little bummed Sale won't be doing the full issue. Well, not yet at least. Read the full article here.

Kevin Smith has some choice words for Star Trek's Chris Pine

Kevin Smith sat down with MTV to chat about Star Trek. Smith was not shy at all about his love for Chris Pine's performance, gladly complementing hand-over-fist about his bright future in Hollywood. Here are some things Kevin Smith said:

"That dude is astounding. To be able to invoke Kirk without doing a Shatner impression? That performance was so electric and so wonderful to watch."

"That dude is an instant movie star," Smith added. "That dude is gonna work forever. He's so good and effortless in his delivery."

"I'd watch that dude do anything, [laighing] I'd watch that dude have sex with my wife at this point. He's such a good actor."

if you've ever heard Kevin Smith at Comic-Con, I don't find that last line surprising at all. Besides the wife comment, I agree with Kevin Smith, I think Pine has a great future in Hollywood, and I'm excited to see what roles he'll be taking on next. You can read the full article here.

Youngblood Movie

If you collected comics in 1992, you'll remember Youngblood. Created by Rob Liefield under Image Comics, Youngblood tells the story of a government sanctioned superhero team that fights super villainy in all its violence and glory. The team followed a formula that was notorious in Image comics: the leader-Shaft, the strong guy-Badrock, the hottie-Vogue, and the killer-Chapel.

It sounds like Brett Ratner is on-board to turn this 90's comic into a big screen movie blockbuster. The film is currently being scripted by J.P. Lavin and Chad Damiani. Although it's reported Liefield is not on the writing end of the project, he's been actively involved with the project in some fashion. Riding on the coat tales of The Dark Knight and Iron Man's comic-to-film success, I don't think this movie will have a fighting chance. Image had their shot with their flagship character Spawn, and honestly, I don't think Youngblood will fare any better. If they're lucky, Youngblood will have the same box office success as Battlefield Earth and 10,000 B.C. An even better chance if Rob Liefield stays far away from doing concept art for the film. Comic fans will never forgive Rob Liefield for this:

You can read the full article here.

12" Joker at Toys R Us in June

Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight" shattered records and it's toys are still hitting shelves. Toys R Us will be carrying an exclusive twelve inch Joker, to be in scale with the twelve inch Batman. I don't think these will be tough to find come June when they are released, but it looks like a great cost effective alternative to the highly detailed Hot Toys line. You can pre-order this here.

Batman & Robin + Quitely & Morrison = Awesome

Here are more screen shots of Frank Quitely and Grant Morrison's run on Batman and Robin courtesy of IGN.com I think they've revealed enough for me to get hooked on this series, but not enough to spoil the story. I can't wait for this book to come out!

Gamer

Saw this trailer today for "Gamer" today. Before clicking the Youtube link, I was guessing it was a documentary about gamers that live and die over Halo and Call of Duty. Boy was I completely wrong. Here is the plot summary courtesy of IMDB.com

Set in a future-world where humans can control other humans in mass-scale, multi-player online gaming environments, a star player from a game called "Slayers" looks to regain his independence while taking down the game's mastermind.

This kind of looks like a straight to DVD/cable television type of movie but it's got some heavy hitting actors such as Gerard Butler, Milo Ventimiglia, Kyra Sedgwick and Ludacris. I hope this movie hits us with a surprise!

Dragon Ball See?

After our late night Star Trek show last Friday, my friends and I grabbed a bite to eat at the local diner, discussing upcoming movies we're looking forward to seeing. I'm not sure how Dragon Ball Evolution snuck into the conversation, but it was brought to my attention that the movie was already released in theaters. Really? Apparently so! Looking at the reviews, I can see why no one paid any special attention to this movie.

I thought this would at least have a fighting chance in the box office because Chow Yun Fat and James Marsters were a few credible names listed on the project. Unfortunately, that wasn't enough to keep the film remotely afloat in the box office. Alas, speculation came to fruition as Dragon Ball was destined for failure. In addition, there were no marketing campaigns made for this movie as far as I could tell. The only offline presence this movie had were the horrible toys I saw warming the pegs at my local Walmart. Dragon Ball needs to stick to its animated form!

Bane looks insane in the membrain!

I found this great drawing of Bane from IGN.com, designed for the Batman: Arkham Asylum game. I'm hoping they won't make the mistake of turning him into a Hulk-like monstrosity, and actually show that he's smart. Joel Shumacher's 1997 "Batman and Robin" portrayed Bane as a muscled-out henchmen, simply to be told what to do and take care of any heavy lifting. If you've read the comic saga Batman: Knightfall, Bane is actually intelligent, making him a formidable opponent for Batman. I hope they don't repeat this in the game and show there is some brain behind his brawn.

Batman Beyond Long Overdue

I've been a Batfan for as long as I can remember. The animated television series "Batman Beyond," by Bruce Timm and crew, was actually responsible for reigniting my passion for the caped crusader. Hell, my first collection piece started with a limited edition Batman Beyond statue I got as a gift. Remember those Warner Brother Studio stores? I'll digress before I continue to age myself. It looks like Mattel is re-visiting Batman Beyond in action figure form. I can't wait to get my hands on these (particularly old Bruce Wayne), which should be released this spring. You can read the source review here.

Set phaser... to AWESOME!

I'm a sucker for movie prop replica's. It's a pricey hobby as most well made movie props are custom made. So when a $15.99 toy is nearly identical and aesthetically functional (minus laser blasts) like this Star Fleet Phaser, it's an absolute must buy for me. With a shiny metallic finish, this Star Fleet Phaser, is very well detailed.

There are three functioning pieces to the Phaser. The press-able trigger fires the weapon that mimics two sounds, "stun" and "kill" which light up when pressed. Red for kill and blue for stun. This is the weakest feature as it doesn't sound remotely movie accurate. In stun mode, it almost sounds like a gassy relief after eating several cans of beans (the magical fruit). There's a reloading/recharging button at the top of the gun, which lights up and makes a great re-energizing sound. Last, my favorite feature, is the button to the side of the gun that allows you to toggle from stun-mode to kill-mode, flipping the tip from blue to red, in turn adjusting the respective sound and light color. What's great about this feature is that it's screen accurate. In Star Trek, there's a gun-sling battle where you see Spock switch from stun to kill. Unfortunately, you have to manually reset it as the button doesn't go back from kill to stun.

Overall, this is a great toy that you can have fun with which also makes for a great display piece.

Iron Man 2 set photos plus a familiar SHIELD operative!

More Iron Man 2 set photos available. See them all here.

Movie Review: Star Trek

With my shinging Starfleet Phaser within arms reach, I can’t help but think about how awesome Star Trek was. The Starfleet Phaser in front of me is not part of a collection I already have, rather, it was an inspired purchase after watching Star Trek late last night. Please be warned, my review has some minor spoilers.

My expectations were high as well as my anticipation as I was with a group of friends, first in line waiting to be seated for the reignited franchise that is Star Trek. Finally settled in my seat, the projector rolled on and sounds sci-fi goodness began. The movie began with no credits, no fancy logo or title… rather the simple sound of the ever-so-familiar Star Trek bridge ping… and the movie begins.

Casting was brilliant for this film. Not only did Kirk, Spock, McCoy, Sulu, Chekov, Ohura, Scotty and the rest of the crew look like youthful spitting images of their original counterparts, they were able to carry the weight of acting on an equal level if not better than I expected. Let’s face it, looking the part and acting the part is a tough feat to accomplish, even more so with a heavy fan following. What was great was that each actor embraced their character as their own, not trying to mimic the acting format of the originals. Kirk and Spock especially, which almost made me say “William Shatner who?” The tongue-in-check phrases such as “Damn it Jim I’m a doctor” and “I’m giving it all she’s got captain” stuck out like sore thumbs, but were cleverly placed in dialogue enough not to be terribly annoying.

Pacing of the film was moderate. My only complaint (which was very minor) was the transition of James Tiberius Kirk being the rebellious street punk in a rowdy bar to being a Starfleet Cadet within a matter of minutes. Before you know it, he’s being snuck into the Starship Enterprise. I got the feeling that a lot of footage during this transition hit the cutting room floor to keep the tempo of the film on a consistent beat. Do I hear “Blu-Ray extras?” Again, pretty minor complaint which can easily be overlooked. The rest of the film paced well, with no dragging scenes or overuse of action {ala Wolverine and Ultraviolet)

I couldn’t help but sit back and feel like a kid again watching this movie. You’ll laugh and cheer and in the end you’ll realize how bad ass Captain James T. Kirk is. The end of the film couldn’t have been better. Leonard Nimoy, the original Spock closed with the “Space, the final frontier” verbatim. A perfect segway to jump right back into the original series.

Let's mix a little mythology, science fiction and Vodka!

It wasn't a coincidence that Dan Aykroyd played Dr. Raymond Stantz in the 1984 classic "Ghostbusters." Not only did he write the film, Dan Aykroyd is a believer and advocate for all things paranormal. Well, it looks like Dan Aykroyd is currently taking advantage of the buzz that is being generated for the highly anticipated Ghostbusters game by introducing a premium line of Vodka. Using the Crystal Skull mythology as a driving force behind this Sweedish made, quadruple distilled Vodka, Aykroyd presents this Vodka in a way that combines science fiction and class. I'm not sure if this is a viral video to hype the Ghostbusters video game, but he's got me sold on it. Even if the Vodka taste like aged mildew, I'd buy it simply for the awesome skull! Watch the complete presentation of Crystal Head Vodka here.

Star Trek opens today!

Today embarks on a revolutionary trek (pun intended) as Star Trek, for a new generation of fans, officially hits theaters today. With JJ Abrams in the director's chair, along side an all star cast that seem to be mirror images of their Star Trek predecessors, I can't wait to see this movie tonight. I was surprised to find a full list of showings yesterday at my local theater, from 6:00PM to 12:01AM. Sign of the economic times presumably? Unfortunately, I was unable to make it, building even more anticipation for me to see it. A few friends of mine, closet Star Trek fans, managed to make it at 10:00PM last night and from what I'm hearing, they loved it. They are giving me the thumbs-up that I will like it just as much. I'll be back for a review sometime tonight.

Does the Punisher need Eminem vs. Does Eminem need the Punisher?

Comics can always use a resurgence of new readers, but I'm not sure using Eminem in a Punisher book or Punisher in an Eminem book (however you wanted to see it) is the best way to go. I like the Punisher and Eminem, but sharing panels in a comic book between the two of them is like water and vinegar, just not for me. To add insult to injury, the dialogue is absolutely horrible! You can read the full issue here.

Jack Bauer: Art Imitating Life or Life Imitating Art

Kiefer Sutherland (aka Jack Bauer) may be charged with third degree assault for head-butting a fashion designer, Jack McCullough, at the Metropolitan Museum Costume Institute. Allegedly, the fashionista was getting a little too close for comfort with actress Brooke Shields, where Sutherland stepped in. Sutherland turned himself in to the Manhattan police shortly after. I wonder what kind of torture techniques they will use, stuffing dry rag down his throat or shooting him above the knee caps? On a serious note, this could have an impact as this violates his parole for the DUI he got not too long ago. Read the full article here.

Iron Man! Cool as Ice!

This is a panned out view of where that picture was taken. This was posted on Jon Faverau's Twitter.


I'm sure anyone would look cool, lounging in an Iron Man Mark 3 suit, but Robert Downy Jr. steps it up a notch. Here he is wearing Stark's finest sporting Oakley's? Ray Ban's perhaps? I can't wait to see more pictures of Iron Man 2 to unfold, especially shots of Scarlet Johanson!

Wade "Van Wilder" Wilson

If you haven't already seen a leaked version of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" or actually paid to see it in the theaters [like I did], it's undeniable that every comic geek was excited to see Deadpool, aka Wade Wilson, played by Ryan Reynolds. I'm not a Deadpool fan, but I can see the appeal as he's ultimately a ninja with mutant powers, a formula you really can't go wrong with. Well, it sounds like the "Merc With A Mouth" may spin-off into his own movie. I'm sure Ryan Reynolds' sex appeal, much like Hugh Jackman's, helped drive this thought to fruition. If they can turn Deadpool into the next "Blade" I'm all for it (by that I mean making a relatively lesser known character awesome). If they're looking to repeat the same campy tongue-in-cheek dialogue... I'll be saving my theater money for something else. You can read the full article here.

Potential Green Lantern?

Rumor has it that Bradley Cooper is being considered for the starring role in The Green Lantern as Hal Jordan. Who is Bradley Cooper? You may've seen him on the television series "Alias" or the movie "Wedding Crashers." He's a relative no-name in the industry which I always favor. Warner Brothers is targeting a release date for The Green Lantern for December 17, 2010. They begin filming this summer. Read the full article here.

You can star in the next Batman movie!

If you peruse comic book sites, movie sites and or action figure sites that support advertising, chances are you've seen this ad:

If you're smart, you didn't click on the advertisment. If your a genius, then you didn't follow the steps that eventually asked for your personal information. There are some great online ads that actually promote value. Unfortunately, this is not one of them. The world of online advertising has its dark side, and yes, this is one ad that exploits that. What is this advertisement really saying? Let me translate.

"Hello, are you a Batman/Movie/Comic Book fan or starving actor seeking your big-break that's unemployed and would love to make money in the entertainment industry? Well, place all of your personal information here so we can sell it to a mailing list to actively send you unwanted messages."

2009 MTV Movie Awards

If the Oscars and the Golden Globes are the Olympics, consider the MTV Movie Awards the X-Games! Below were some of the categories and nominees that were announced. I highlighted the nominees I really care about. Anything that contains the words "Hannah" and "Efron" I could care less for.

BEST MOVIE (voting stays live throughout the 2009 Movie Awards ceremony)

The Dark Knight
Director: Christopher Nolan, Producers: Charles Roven and Emma Thomas (Warner Bros. Pictures)
High School Musical 3: Senior Year
Director: Kenny Ortega, Producers: Bill Borden and Barry Rosenbush (Walt Disney Pictures)
Iron Man
Director: Jon Favreau, Producers: Avi Arad and Kevin Feige (Paramount Pictures)
Slumdog Millionaire
Director: Danny Boyle, Producer: Christian Colson (Fox Searchlight)
Twilight
Director: Catherine Hardwicke, Producers: Wyck Godfrey, Greg Mooradian and Mark Morgan (Summit Entertainment)

BEST FEMALE PERFORMANCE

Angelina Jolie - Wanted (Universal Pictures)
Anne Hathaway - Bride Wars (20th Century Fox)
Kate Winslet - The Reader (The Weinstein Company)
Kristen Stewart - Twilight (Summit Entertainment)
Taraji P. Henson - The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (Paramount Pictures)

BEST MALE PERFORMANCE

Christian Bale - The Dark Knight (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Robert Downey Jr. - Iron Man (Paramount Pictures)
Shia LaBeouf - Eagle Eye (DreamWorks SKG/ Paramount Pictures)
Vin Diesel - Fast & Furious (Universal Pictures)
Zac Efron - High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Walt Disney Pictures)

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE FEMALE

Amanda Seyfried - Mamma Mia! (Universal Pictures)
Ashley Tisdale - High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Walt Disney Pictures)
Freida Pinto - Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight)
Miley Cyrus - Hannah Montana: The Movie (Walt Disney Pictures)
Vanessa Hudgens - High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Walt Disney Pictures)
Kat Dennings - Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist (Columbia Pictures)

BREAKTHROUGH PERFORMANCE MALE

Robert Pattinson - Twilight (Summit Entertainment)
Taylor Lautner - Twilight (Summit Entertainment)
Ben Barnes - The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (Walt Disney Pictures)
Dev Patel - Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight)
Bobb'e J. Thompson - Role Models (Universal Pictures)

BEST COMEDIC PERFORMANCE

Amy Poehler - Baby Mama (Universal Pictures)
Anna Faris - The House Bunny (Columbia Pictures)
James Franco - Pineapple Express (Columbia Pictures)
Jim Carrey - Yes Man (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Steve Carell - Get Smart (Warner Bros. Pictures)

BEST VILLAIN

Derek Mears - Friday The 13th (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Dwayne Johnson - Get Smart (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Johnathon Schaech - Prom Night (Screen Gems)
Luke Goss - Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Universal Pictures)

BEST FIGHT

Anne Hathaway vs. Kate Hudson - Bride Wars (20th Century Fox)
Christian Bale vs. Heath Ledger - The Dark Knight (Warner Bros. Pictures)
Ron Perlman vs. Luke Goss - Hellboy II: The Golden Army (Universal Pictures)
Robert Pattinson vs. Cam Gigandet - Twilight (Summit Entertainment)
Seth Rogen and James Franco vs. Danny McBride - Pineapple Express (Columbia Pictures)

BEST KISS

Angelina Jolie and James McAvoy - Wanted (Universal Pictures)
Freida Pinto and Dev Patel - Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight)
James Franco and Sean Penn - Milk (Focus Features)
Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson - Twilight (Summit Entertainment)
Paul Rudd and Thomas Lennon - I Love You, Man (Paramount Pictures)
Vanessa Hudgens and Zac Efron - High School Musical 3: Senior Year (Walt Disney Pictures)

BEST WTF MOMENT (New Category)

Amy Poehler - Baby Mama, Peeing In the Sink (Universal Pictures)
Angelina Jolie - Wanted, Curved Bullet Kill (Universal Pictures)
Ayush Mahesh Khedekar - Slumdog Millionaire, Jumping in the Poop Shed (Fox Searchlight)
Ben Stiller - Tropic Thunder, Tasting the Decapitated Head (DreamWorks SKG/ Paramount Pictures)
Jason Segel and Kristen Bell - Forgetting Sarah Marshall, Naked Break-Up (Universal Pictures)

BEST SONG FROM A MOVIE (New Category)

"Jai Ho" - AR Raham, Slumdog Millionaire (Fox Searchlight)
"The Wrestler" - Bruce Springsteen, The Wrestler (Fox Searchlight)
"The Climb" - Miley Cyrus, Hannah Montana: The Movie (Walt Disney Pictures)
"Decode" - Paramore, Twilight (Summit Entertainment)

Film Review: "X-Men: Origins Wolverine"

"X-Men Origins: Wolverine" faced a lot of uphill battles before it was released this weekend. The entire movie leaked a month early, swine flu and the terrible reviews (which I rarely trust). I had no expectations for this movie. In addition I did not expect to find myself paying for a full price ticket to see it.

Alas, I saw the movie... and I kind of liked it! Despite my reservations about the film that opened this weekend, I ended up watching it today. In fact, I literally just go out of the theater. When I found out that my friends had watched it before me, who generally aren't comic-movie fans, and were shocked that I didn't catch a pre-screening or midnight release, I almost felt a bit challenged to watch Wolverine for myself.

As the title suggests, this film concentrates entirely on Wolverine (aka Logan, James, Jimmy). The story focuses on WeaponX, his love life, his conflicted moral ethics and the path that leads him into Bryan Singer's X-Men universe. Don't let the title fool you, Wolverine is the star player but he's accompanied by many other familiar mutants such as Sabertooth, Deadpool, Cyclops, Gambit, Emma Frost, Blob,and a handful of other not-so familiar mutants. I couldn't help but notice how often Wolverine looked to the skies a yelled as if he were Captain Kirk yelling "Khaaaann!" Another thing that stuck out like a sore thumb was a lot of the tongue-and-cheek dialogue primarily coming from Sabertooth played by Liev Schreiber. "Look what the cat dragged in... oooh shiney..." c'mon! Really? How did those get past the editing floor? I must admit, it's still a bit hard to get over how debonair and tall Wolverine/Logan is portrayed on film. In the comics, he's a 5'2" grunt who could care less about looking good for the ladies. I'm not a Wolverine expert, but I do know he's not supposed to be a GQ model.

Overall, if you can look past some of the campy dialogue and some of the inconsistent continuity issues, Wolverine isn't half bad. Hitting an 87 million dollar weekend opening, despite the entire film being leaked... it's actually worth seeing.

Free Comic Book Day Today!

The first weekend of May is upon us and Free Comic Book Day (FCBD) is here! I went to my local shop and picked up a few items. One of our local artists managed to make an appearance at my shop, Justin Greenwood, promoting his book "Resurrection." I'm new to this title and know nothing about it, but it was great seeing some local star power making it out to FCBD. In addition to the local talent, tt was great seeing more kids in the shop, as it brings a new generation of comic book fans into the arena. Here are a few items I picked up for free.

Batman: Arkham Asylum Delayed Until End of Summer

Batman: Arkham Asylum will be delayed until the end of summer. BOO!!! I've never been as excited for a game until Batman: Arkham Asylum came along. So much that I already have the game on pre-order. The deluxe collector's version to boot. I'd like to think the wait will be worth it... let's hope so!

I am Iron Man... 2

I'm as excited as the next geek about Iron Man 2, which has a release date scheduled for May 7th, 2010. The first Iron Man was a winning success from trailer-to-credits, utilizing a formula that you can't go wrong with: staying true to the source material, taking the characters seriously, and top notch casting. Oh, and seamless, eye-popping CGI and action! Will Faverau and crew deliver the second time around, now that the bar has been set so high? My guess... YES!

"I really enjoyed when we were a dark horse and no one knew much about us. ... I hope we can find that place again." -Jon Faverau

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