ABC adopts ‘Find My Family’ show
Net nabs six episodes of relationship reality skein
ABC has picked up six episodes of the relationship reality series “Find My Family,” which follows the stories of people desperate to find a long-lost relative or friend. Two different reunions are featured in each episode, as participants reveal what happened to their relationship — and cameras follow them as they meet up with their long-lost relative, friend or love.

Piligian to fly airplane repo show
Producer snatches rights to reality show
“Dirty Jobs” exec producer Craig Piligian has nabbed the rights to turn the dangerous work of airplane repo man Nick Popovich into a TV series. Popovich is the co-partner of Sage-Popovich, a repossession firm that specializes in taking back big-ticket items — mostly airplanes. According to a recent profile of Popovich by Salon.com, the company’s clients include Citibank, Transamerica and Credit Suisse, and the firm nets $600,000-$900,000 per job. Popovich’s business is booming in this weak economy, as he travels the globe to grab Gulfstreams, Learjets and even 747s from cash-strapped owners who have defaulted on their payments.

CBS sets date for ‘Neighborhood’
Reality show to air on Sundays at 9 p.m.
The show has already been drawing attention for the sheer spectacle it has created in suburban Atlanta, where a massive 20-foot wall has enclosed an entire block of homes. “Neighborhood” centers on eight families locked inside that compound and competing in various games for $250,000. With little electricity and no contact with the outside world, the families are forced to reconnect as they face off with their neighbors.

Business of the Business

Yahoo CEO gags at gossip glut
Britney overload makes Bartz want to ‘throw up’
At its annual shareholder’s meeting Thursday, Yahoo CEO Carol Bartz proclaimed her solidarity with a man who practically begged her to reduce the amount of “Jon & Kate Plus 8″ and similar celebrity news off the home page. “I’m the same way. If I see another Britney Spears thing, I’m gonna throw up,” she said. Then she mentioned something they’re doing internally called the Fluff-o-meter where users can customize their preferred mix of hard news and fluff, which, of course, will only work if consumers will be honest about what they want.

Report deflates teen tech tendencies
Teens still rely primarily on traditional media, study finds
“The notion that teens are too busy texting and Twittering to be engaged with traditional media is exciting, but false,” according to the executive summary. Instead of replacing traditional media with new-media consumption, teens are simply making time for both, it concludes. Other myths that the report debunks are that teenagers’ preferences differ vastly from adults, that teens’ media and entertainment spending is insulated from the recession (they actually reduce it, with out-of-home entertainment more affected than in-home) and that traditional advertising can’t resonate with teens (once ads break through the clutter, teens like them more).

High court declines to hear DVR case
Cable firms want to phase out In-home recording devices
The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday refused to hear a challenge from television networks and Hollywood studios alleging the remote-storage architecture violates copyright laws. The high court’s decision to reject the complaint affirms an earlier ruling by the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals, which found that Cablevision’s network DVR service, which stores captured content on servers at the head-end, is fundamentally identical to what end-users experience while using traditional set-top DVR.

Aborigine filmmakers break the mold
New voices emerge in a slew of Australian films
The box office success of two aboriginal stories by white directors, Phillip Noyce’s “Rabbit-Proof Fence” and Rolf de Heer’s “Ten Canoes,” has gone some way to enhance distributors’ perceptions of the prospects of indigenous subjects. Both were internationally acclaimed and achieved domestic grosses of A$7.6 million ($5.5 million) and $2.8 million respectively.

Transmedia storytelling is future of biz
Studios create mythologies, multimedia worlds
Transmedia takes the concept of the bible — a document containing backstory information that film and TV writers rely on for building plots and characters — to an extensive new level. The idea of developing a piece of intellectual property in a consistent manner across multiple media platforms was pioneered in its modern form by George Lucas, who turned his first “Star Wars” film into five more features, multiple TV shows, a panoply of books and an onslaught of toys and games. The feature films alone have generated a cumulative worldwide box office of more than $4 billion.

Planet of the Odd

Michael Jackson dies at 50
Pop icon suffers suspected heart attack in L.A.
On Thursday afternoon, a crowd gathered at UCLA Medical Center soon after word spread that the self-declared “King of Pop,” aged 50, had been rushed there from his Bel-Air home. The Los Angeles Fire Dept. responded to a call that he was not breathing.

Farrah Fawcett Dies of Cancer at 62
Farrah Fawcett, an actress and television star whose good looks and signature flowing hairstyle influenced a generation of women and, beginning with a celebrated pinup poster, bewitched a generation of men, died Thursday morning, June 25, 2009, in Santa Monica, Calif. She was 62.

Johnny Depp Leaves $4K Tip For Chicago Waiter
Depp, his “Public Enemies” co-star Marion Cotillard, director Michael Mann, along with about a dozen other folks — who were in Chicago last week for the premiere of their new gangster movie — made a stop at Gibsons Steakhouse around 11:30 PM, according to the Chicago Sun Times. Once the bill came around 2:30 AM — totaling up to a reported $4,400 — Depp made sure the man who waited on the group into the late hours was well compensated for his time, as Mohammaed A. Sekhani reportedly received a $4,000 tip from the star.

Ray Bradbury to Yahoo: “To hell with the Internet!”
“The Internet is a big distraction,” said Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 and The Martian Chronicles, while speaking out in defense of libraries in The New York Times. Bradbury was being interviewed prior to a public appearance benefiting Ventura County’s H.P. Wright Library, which is in danger of shutting its doors because of budget cuts. “Yahoo called me eight weeks ago,” he said. “They wanted to put a book of mine on Yahoo! You know what I told them? ‘To hell with you. To hell with you and to hell with the Internet.’ It’s distracting. It’s meaningless; it’s not real. It’s in the air somewhere.”

EuropaCorp fined for ‘Taxi 2′ death
Company guilty of involuntary manslaughter
France’s Court of Appeal has fined Luc Besson’s shingle EuropaCorp Euros 100,000 ($140,607) for involuntary manslaughter of a cameraman. Alain Dutartre, 41, died in 1999 during the lensing of a car chase scene for “Taxi 2.” It found that “Representatives of the company tried to reduce costs, which led them to refuse the budget proposed by Remy Julienne to carry out preliminary tests to prepare for the car chase scenes.”

The Fine Print

This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive roundup of the entire weeks’ news. All stories are chosen by me for no other reason than that they got my attention and might capture yours. If something you think is more important chime in on the feedback; we’d love to hear comments and have a conversation about it.

Here are some photos of the event.

AmEx Pre-Sale Begins June 24 for Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark
Beginning June 24 American Express cardholders will be able to purchase tickets to the new musical Spider-Man, Turn Off The Dark. (A previous ticket initiative allowed fans of Marvel Comics and the band U2, among others, to purchase tickets to the new musical via special websites and codes.) Tickets will go on sale to the general public Sept. 12. Directed by The Lion King’s Julie Taymor, Spider-Man will begin previews at Broadway’s Hilton Theatre Jan. 16, 2010, with an official opening scheduled for Feb. 18, 2010. Casting will be announced shortly.

How will the Avengers movie succeed in bringing Iron Man, Cap and Thor together?
Earlier in the week, Avengers screenwriter Zak Penn told an audience at the L.A. Film Festival that he is running around between Iron Man 2, Thor and Captain America production offices to make sure his script coordinates with the introduction of key superheroes, and, of course, his script has to be done before the other films are. Marvel Studios head of marketing Doug Finberg was confident that all teams could unite for a solid Avengers film. The long-term plan is to introduce Thor and Captain America, then combine them with Iron Man to form the Avengers.

Why comic-book filmmakers trash Watchmen and Elektra (even the guy who wrote it) but praise Bryan Singer
“We blew Elektra,” admitted Zak Penn, who wrote the Jennifer Garner film. “We blew chunks. It should have been R-rated, like Sin City. … It should have been La Femme Nikita: She is an assassin, and you can’t do that unless it is R-rated. I should have known that Fox would not make an R-rated movie, so it’s probably my fault. They denuded it.”

X-Men writer Zak Penn breaks his silence about adapting The Avengers
“They’re doing Captain American and Thor first, and then Avengers is coming out,” Penn said. “They want to see that they’re all connected, not like the Fantastic Four can’t come into the X-Men world, like I was told. I’m taking a meeting next week with the Thor and Captain America people, and we are all going to get together, and I will see what is going to happen. I’ll see where they are leaving the characters; it’s pretty complicated. … There’s a board that is tracking what is happening. [We’ll see] how this movie overlaps in that movie. … Marvel is autonomous now. It is night and day: Everyone has read every comic. They know how to make a cool movie.”

Smallville gets its General Zod, who will labor in the shadow of the great Terence Stamp
Looks like The CW’s Smallville will be edging ever farther into full-blown Superman territory in its upcoming ninth and final season: The show announced the hiring of actor Callum Blue to play the iconic villain General Zod.

Evan Rachel Wood joins ‘Spider-Man’
Alan Cumming also cast in Broadway rendition of comic
Evan Rachel Wood and Alan Cumming have joined the cast of “Spider-Man Turn Off the Dark,” the upcoming Broadway musical about the famous web-slinger. Wood will portray Peter Parker’s girlfriend Mary Jane Watson, while Alan Cumming takes on the role of Norman Osborn, also known as the villainous Green Goblin. The musical, directed by Julie Taymor, begins preview performances Feb. 25, 2010, at the Hilton Theatre. An opening date will be announced later — as will the actor who will play Spider-Man.

‘Watchmen’ director’s cut to theaters
Four cities to screen pic a week before Comic-Con
The cut, which will have an additional 25 minutes of footage including the death of a supporting character, will screen in Los Angeles, New York, Minneapolis and Dallas before the movie is released on Blu-ray and DVD on July 21.

‘Transformers’ Star Tyrese Gibson Talks ‘Mayhem’ Comic, ‘Luke Cage’ Movie And… ‘Captain America’?
“The energy from Comic-Con really did something to me,” Gibson told MTV News of what prompted him to try his hand at comics. “Instead of me sitting back and waiting on ‘Luke Cage’ to finally happen — which I’m still looking forward to doing once they get the script together — and instead of me waiting on ‘Captain America,’ which they were talking about me for, I’m going to create my own. And that’s what I did.”

Exclusive: ROBOTECH Movie Gets New Writer
The live-action film version of the popular anime/manga/game franchise ‘Robotech’ has a new writer, according to sources close to the project. Comics2Film at Mania.com can exclusively reveal that award-winning novelist and UK TV writer Tom Rob Smith has taken over writing duties on the project.

Exclusive: The Making of “Superman/Batman: Public Enemies”
Superman/Batman: Public Enemies is the new direct-to-DVD animated film from Warner Premier, that has President of the United States Lex Luthor declaring that Superman and, by association, Batman, are enemies of the country and must be brought to justice by any means necessary. Voices From Krypton interviews Jeph Loeb, Tim Daly, Clancy Brown, Stan Berkowitz, Gregory Noveck and more.

EXCLUSIVE: ‘Dead Of Night’ Star Brandon Routh Talks PG-13 Rating And Villains
“The comic property would probably be rated ‘R,’ we’re going for a PG-13 so more people can enjoy the film,” Routh told MTV News regarding the “Dead of Night” adaptation. “It’s [not just] gore and horror, it’s a lot more straight action, with a bit of comedy.” The original Dylan Dog comics by Tiziano Sclavi included mature subject matter in their stories of the horror detective’s surreal investigations into the macabre.

“Superman/Batman: Public Enemies” on Sale September 29
A co-production of Warner Premiere, DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation, the full-length animated film will be distributed by Warner Home Video on September 29, 2009. Superman/Batman: Public Enemies will be available as a Special Edition 2-disc version on DVD and Blu-Ray™ Hi-Def for $24.98 (SRP) and $29.99 (SRP), respectively, as well as single disc DVD for $19.98 (SRP) and On Demand. Order due date for all versions is August 25, 2009.

The Fine Print

This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive roundup of the entire weeks’ news. All stories are chosen by me for no other reason than that they got my attention and might capture yours. If something you think is more important chime in on the feedback; we’d love to hear comments and have a conversation about it.

Anyway, one of the comics I am collecting is the DC Wildstorm Gears of War comic book series. Now some more experienced connoisseurs may scoff at this choice as not being a particularly great choice to begin a collection (I’m also collecting anything to do with Hellboy from B.P.R.D to Abe Sapien). I’m sure there is far better out there for me to “collect”. The thing is the mythology and cannon with much of well known comic book characters and series are still beyond me and still overwhelm me. Fuck, until 3 moths ago I still though Barry Allen was the Flash!

Some nice interiors, not Jim Lee nice. but still cool.

One thing I do know is Gears of War.  I frigging love the game.  Sure it has its detractors but it also has its fans.  It also has a universe ripe with potential.  I emphasise the word potential here.  Note:  During the course of this review I will make many references to the game as well as the actual thing I’m reviewing- the comic.  But hell, I was more proud of the non review part of my review of Sesame Street Volume 2 than the actual review (cheap plug- I made my boss and Q-dog cry when they read it.  Read it).  Back to the review.

Set in between games one and two, penned by Gears 2 writer Joshua Ortega and like the second game, the comic series tries valiantly to broaden the Gears universe.  It was a valid criticism of the first that here was an apparent back story but we didn’t really know much about it beyond- pasty muscular monsters from underground and guys with guns with chainsaws fighting them.  Take cover, kill the buggers… Look- yellow fuel, take cover, kill the buggers, ooh chainsaw bayonet! Repeat.  There was an implied history there that I wanted to know more about.  It just did very little to explain any of it.

While the second instalment did dig deeper it had an equally frustrating element, in setting up more plot devices than it actually answered.  Why are there no children Locust?  Why are the only females a human looking Queen and the Berserkers?  What were the Pendulum wars?  What happened to Tai and Dizzy?  There are a lot of characters referred to by name: Jayce for example.  How is Marcus’ farther involved?  What the hell are the Sires? There is a back story however and if the series takes a typical trilogy format in regards to storytelling- establish, evolve and resolve, then ultimately neither games have done anything wrong and we just have to be patient.

The comic book… oh yeah the actual comic book.  I found myself appreciating this series probably more than the average fan.  This is based upon my appreciation of the game.  I had some connection with the source material that made emotionally investing in the story easier.  I don’t think it’s going to increase in value a great deal and I don’t think it’s not particularly “collectable”.  I don’t care, it’s cool to me.

Jayce fights a big bug!

The first six episodes deal with “Jayce” a relatively green Gear and his brief connection with Delta squad fighting its way back to Jacinto after a mission kind of went FUBAR.  It was kind of cool to remember that we see Jayce (from a distance) and talk to him in the second game.  It enables some connection with the character that we simply pass in between all the bullets and chainsaws.  That arc takes 6 issues and includes flashbacks to Jayce being saved as a child by a Gear and transferring that emotional recall into taking a guardian role for the little girl whom the squad encounters and rescues.

In playing co-op the second game where we are separated from Tai and Dizzy my mate asked me what happens to them?  I didn’t know.  The game does little to answer that question apart from meeting a broken Tai who kills himself when found my Marcus.  Issue # 7 answers that question and from here the series takes a different turn.  The focus is now one off stories filling in the gaps about Tai beginnings and what happened to him and why the nearly superhuman Tai kills himself.  It’s not Citizen Kane but it’s probably the best in the series up to this point and gives some nice background to a character you were screaming to want to know more about.  He dies.  Bugger.

hot chick, big gun. Gold.

Issue 8 is one I am looking forward to above all the others.  All though the second game you collect info for your “War Journal”  many of the collectables involve a Gear called Sgt. Jonathan Harper who is captured, escapes and helps a family escape before dying.  You never meet him in the game but he is well known if you take the time to read his part in the story.  # 8 fleshes out his story and you get to know an engaging character that you don’t actually know but you know of and his selfless sacrifice to save a family of innocents. I don’t know what follows but it is pleasing to see that hey are giving the universe more scope so you are able to make these connections in game.

The next two issues appear to streamline the Aspro Fields story and has this redhead female gear with a lancer and tight bum on the cover.  Sing along: “These are a few of my favourite things!”

The writing is better than I initially feared- generally lacking clumsy exposition I was dreading from a game come comic book.  That being said much of the story in #1-#6 is a tad repetitive- shoot the drones, shoot the Theron, shoot the Bloodmounts, kill the Brumark, run away from the Berserker, but after 6 issues it was bound to repeat itself a little.  This predictable anvil tied to its feet hamstrings the whole series.  There is a story here but being confined within an action game hampers it, so the story could never be anything within the same hemisphere as say The Watchmen for example.  It’s not trying to be that either.  It’s taking a universe that has the potential for an engaging mythology but storytelling viewpoint limited by its very nature and core concept.  It is what it is: guns, bullets and blood.  Just like the game.

Graaahhhhh! Big guns and big men.

The art is pretty good.  I think.  Different perspectives and angles remove it from being one dimensional.  This is one part of the review process where my inexperience with comics is obvious.  It looks cool but I couldn’t name the style for you or anything about the artist.  I could research it but I think that stuff is poo boring and I’m not going to do lots of research to try and fool you into thinking I’m this expert in the visual medium- ask QDog- that’s his bone.  (Besides I currently really should be writing my school reports!)  The style is not overly stylised, it is a cartoon rendering of relatively accurate (albeit heavily scarred and muscular) faces and features from the game.  Yeah so the artwork is fine… I think.  NEXT.

Maybe in 10 years when I’m a more enlightened with what’s hot and what’s not with comics I’ll be more judgemental with my opinion of this series.  Until then and as someone who has some investment in the mythos I’ll give this a COOL judgement.  For some it may be a COOL+ for many I may just be a MEH.  Make your own judgement.  It’s also not a bad starter for a comic book collector just to get into when the next issue is coming out and bugging the local comic book store owners.

Yes, its her bum again. Thanks Noel.

Still I’m sure they’re going to look all nice in lined up together in their plastic enveloped and cardboard inserts. Man that bum was nice…  I think I’ll go hire Buffy: the Vampire slayer season 7.

Noel

Rattle your goddamn head!

Meghan Markle joins ‘Fringe’
Actress to recur on Fox’s sci-fi drama
Meghan Markle has joined the cast of Fox’s “Fringe” as a recurring. On the sci-fi drama, set to return for a second season in the fall, Markle will play an attractive, brash and quick-witted junior FBI agent. Markle recently did an arc on the CW’s “90210″.

Eddie Cibrian joining ‘CSI: Miami’
Will play character moving from Hollywood division
He will play a new character, an officer from the Hollywood division that joins the team in Miami. In the seventh season finale’s cliffhanger, the life of one of Horatio Caine’s (David Caruso) forensic team, Eric Delko (Adam Rodriguez), was left hanging in the balance. Rodriguez will return next season, according to the show’s producers.

Noah Wyle in alien-fighting role
TNT pilot produced by Steven Spielberg
Former “ER” star Noah Wyle has signed as the lead in TNT’s untitled alien-invasion pilot, marking a reunion with producer Steven Spielberg. The project, written by Robert Rodat from an idea he conceived with Spielberg, is set shortly after aliens have wiped out most of the human population. Wyle will play the leader of a ragtag group of soldiers and civilians who struggle against the occupying alien force.

Jeri Ryan gains ‘Leverage’
Actress to recur on TNT drama
Jeri Ryan is set to recur on TNT’s “Leverage.” On the sophomore drama about a group of vigilantes in pursuit of bringing down bigwigs, she will play Tara, a smart-ass, street-wise con woman whom Sophie (Gina Bellman) calls on for help and who gets sucked into the Leverage family. Ryan most recently co-starred on CBS’ “Shark.” Her series credits also include “Boston Public,” “The O.C.” and “Star Trek: Voyager.”

‘Privileged’ star set for ‘Gossip Girl’
Joanna Garcia to recur on Warner Bros. TV drama
“Privileged” star Joanna Garcia is returning to the CW with a recurring role on “Gossip Girl.” She will play Bree Buckley, an evil Miss America-type blonde from a conservative Southern family but is politically progressive. Her story line is being kept under wraps, but she is expected to have a fling with a regular on the show.

T.J. Ramini joins ‘24′
Actor cast as recurring character on Fox drama
T.J. Ramini will play Tarin Karoush, an associate of the Middle Eastern leader played by new series regular Anil Kapoor. Brit Ramini, who also co-starred on the long-running U.K. cop drama “The Bill,” is repped by Pakula/King and manager Brian Ferrantino.

Comic-Con boasts heavy TV lineup
Warner Bros. TV alone plans to present 11 series
The annual fan convention seems to feature a greater number of TV series each summer, with next month’s lineup including a few titles beyond the usual sci-fi and fantasy genres. Procedurals such as Fox’s “Bones” and USA’s “Burn Notice,” Fox’s musical “Glee” and Discovery’s “MythBusters” are in the mix. Warner Bros. TV is bringing 11 shows to the event, the most the studio has featured.

Hargitay, Meloni returning to ‘SVU’
Stars ink new deals for procedural’s 11th season
After on-again, off-again negotiations, Mariska Hargitay and Christopher Meloni have inked new deals to continue on the crime procedural, which is coming back in the fall for its 11th season. Additionally, Christine Lahti has signed on to play the assistant district attorney on the veteran series for the first four episodes. Stephanie March will return after that to reprise her role as ADA Alexandra Cabot.

‘Reaper’ actress corners ‘Copper’
Missy Peregrym takes lead role in ABC drama
“Reaper” co-star Missy Peregrym has been tapped as the lead of Canadian cop drama “Copper,” which will air on ABC. Billed as “Grey’s Anatomy” set in the world of rookie cops, “Copper” centers on Andy McNally (Peregrym), a newly minted cop fresh from the academy and the daughter of a homicide detective. She is anxious about her first day on the job, which doesn’t go as well as she had wished.

AMC orders 12 episodes of ‘Rubicon’
Political thriller stars Miranda Richardson
AMC has given a 12-episode greenlight to “Rubicon,” a serialized political thriller from Warner Horizon TV starring James Badge Dale and Miranda Richardson. Series revolves around an analyst at a think tank, played by Dale, whose work leads him to uncover a clue that points him toward an unfolding global conspiracy. Project was inspired by the edgy feel of such 1970s conspiracy theory features as “The Parallax View” and “Three Days of the Condor.”

Virtuality crashes and burns on Fox, so don’t expect a series
The sci-fi pilot, from Battlestar Galactica producers Ronald D. Moore and Michael Taylor, crashed and burned in its only outing, drawing only 1.8 million viewers and scoring a wan 0.5 adult demo rating, The Hollywood Reporter’s Live Feed column reported: “… tying ABC’s The Goode Family as the lowest-rated program on a major broadcast network Friday night and putting Fox into fourth place for the evening.”

Who might be the new nemesis for Heroes’ cheerleader: A college roommate?
“She’s in college, and she’s got a great roommate,” Panettiere said in a group interview. “You kind of don’t know about [the roommate] in the beginning.” The Company may be out of the picture, but there’s always someone butting in with people’s special abilities. “So there’s this new group of people called the Carnival,” Panettiere said. “They’re kind of the opposite of the Company.”

The Fine Print

This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive roundup of the entire weeks’ news. All stories are chosen by me for no other reason than that they got my attention and might capture yours. If something you think is more important chime in on the feedback; we’d love to hear comments and have a conversation about it.

Too Human is a Silicon Knights game that was in development hell for over 10 years before being released on Xbox360. Originally planed as a 4 disc epic action adventure game for the original Playstation. In 2008 the first part of a three part series was released to great fanfare and was promptly buried.

The game itself follows Baldor one of the Aesir who are Norse gods that are now cybernetically enhanced. The main mission of these gods is to contradictorily protect humankind from the onslaught from machines yet upgrade themselves in the process making themselves more machine. Three main players come onto the stage, the Aesir, mortal man and the machines. The plot gets complicated and without the booklet or the internet you will initially want to read about what the hell is going on. The game plays from a third person perspective where you traverse massive areas that seem to be repeated models to give the game longevity and battle huge amounts of enemies till the game system starts to slow down from the onslaught of too much to process.

When not running from one place to the next to finish a quest, you can walk the unnecessarily long halls of Valhalla and learn more of the story by visiting different rooms and upgrading your skills, weapons and tech. The third world that the story is told in and also puzzles are lay out in a 3d world is creatively called Cyberspace. The story may initially been ingenious and well thought out for a novel, but for the game it is short, confusing and all together uninspiring to keep you wanting to get to the next stage.

Too Human also wants you to level up your character for the yet to be released follow up games which due to the economic crisis and how badly this game was received leaves little reason to even attempt it. The vacuous nature of the game leaves you feeling hollow from the opening sequence. The introduction is poorly scripted with it having a seemingly pointless dialogue and as a meagre saviour to the smattering of plotline contains a large metal monstrosity. It is severely lacking a score and somewhat marionette style characters put you off visually. The online co-op is one of the more fun things in the game as it levels out the playing field between you and the monsters and team work actually pays off.

The biggest and most annoying aspect of the game is the now legendary resurrection sequences that follow after your character dies in battle. A Valkyire comes down picks up your body and takes you to heaven in a nicely animated sequence that you first go, wow that is pretty. The next time you die, “hey I have seen this before” and after the fifth time you come to the frustrating realisation that you can’t skip. You suffer the 30+ sec animation each and every time you die and the game is so weighted against you that it is nearly impossible to complete a mission with dying.

Too Human is a complete waste of time and the neither graphics, sound, game play nor the story will interest you for more than a couple of hours until you hit one too many death sequences. I personally wouldn’t bet on the next chapters coming out and would urge you to go play Uno on Xbox Live arcade than putting this disc in your 360.

GAMEPLAY: 20%

Your character displays skilled, slow jogging animation and the gameplay is mentally about the same speed.

GRAPHICS: 20%

Epic size rooms but with nothing more but superficial paint jobs

SOUND: 20%

Average effects, no great music to carry the cutscenes and somewhat rudimentary voice acting.

PLAYABILITY: 30%

Too many button combinations for what looks like 4 basic moves.

OVERALL: 22%

After playing the game you’d get more satisfaction from thrashing yourself with a wet, smelly sock.

Trailer

[See post to watch Flash video]

Written for Sauce Magazine. Republished by Permission.

Watchmen director Zack Snyder exclusively reveals more details about his Illustrated Man adaptation
Snyder said that the movie will comprise five of Bradbury’s 18 classic short stories, which are loosely knitted together as a novel, linked by the common thread of the title tattooed man, whose “illustrations” come to life for an unnamed narrator. Perhaps the most famous of the stories includes the virtual-reality cautionary tale “The Veldt” and a tragic tale of an astronaut about to re-enter the atmosphere, “Kaleidoscope.”

Daniel Craig awakes to ‘Dream’
Latest Bond eyes psychological thriller at Morgan Creek
Daniel Craig is in early talks to star in “Dream House,” a psychological thriller. Craig would play a man who moves his family to an idyllic small town, only to find his house haunted by its former inhabitants, who were murdered there.

Oscars’ best picture race: 10 in 2010
Academy doubles the nominee field for next year
In a move designed to let more movies share in the limelight that surrounds the contenders for the Academy’s top award, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ board of governors approved a rule change Tuesday night that ups the ante by doubling the number of movies that will be welcomed into the best picture category.

‘Transformers’ robots under fire
Film’s twins criticized for perpetuating stereotypes
Skids and Mudflap, twin robots disguised as compact hatchbacks, constantly brawl and bicker in rap-inspired street slang. They’re forced to acknowledge that they can’t read. One has a gold tooth. As good guys, they fight alongside the Autobots and are intended to provide comic relief. But their traits raise the specter of stereotypes most notably seen when Jar Jar Binks, the clumsy, broken-English speaking alien from “Star Wars: Episode I — The Phantom Menace,” was criticized as a caricature.

Michael Bay in ‘I Am Number Four’ deal
DreamWorks, Bay buy rights to sci-fi book
The studio completed a deal to purchase pre-emptively the film rights to “I Am Number Four,” an unpublished science fiction book, for Bay to produce and possibly direct. It is the first in a planned six-volume series co-written by “A Million Little Pieces” author James Frey. The “Four” story line involves nine alien teens assimilating to high school on Earth after their planet is destroyed by an enemy species. The fourth of the group discovers that the enemy is now after him on Earth.

Chinese censors tinker with ‘Transformers’
Government bleeps name of Shanghai during battle scene
China’s government once again demonstrated its sensitivity to portrayal of the country in foreign movies. Even-handed online debate in China about “Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen” and its depiction of Shanghai didn’t stop media monitors from bleeping the name of China’s biggest city from the soundtrack of the DreamWorks film, which was released here this week.

Michael Jackson scene cut from ‘Bruno’
Universal also leaving scene out of theatrical version
Uni removed a scene in which Bruno, the flamboyant Austrian journalist played by Sacha Baron Cohen, interviews an unsuspecting LaToya Jackson about a number of topics, including her brother. Among the gags is a joke about the King of Pop’s high-pitched voice, as well as a reference to his trademark white glove, all done in Baron Cohen’s characteristically absurdist tone.

‘Werewolf’ redo in works
Dimension remaking John Landis’ 1981 horror-comedy
Dimension Films has set its sights on remaking John Landis’ 1981 cult classic horror “An American Werewolf in London.” Dimension has picked up the rights from Landis in what was described as a competitive environment. No writer or director is on board but Dimension and the producers hope to make an elevated genre picture that will keep the fun comedy elements of the original as it seeks to be relevant to contemporary audiences. Landis will act as an exec producer and possibly consult.

Fincher circles Facebook movie
Director in talks for Columbia’s pic about website
Columbia Pictures is in advanced talks with David Fincher to direct “The Social Network,” the Aaron Sorkin-scripted film for Columbia Pictures about the formation of Facebook. The film will focus on the evolution of Facebook from its 2004 creation on the Harvard campus by sophomore Mark Zuckerberg to a juggernaut with more than 200 million members.

Ryan Reynolds to star in ‘Buried’
Actor will follow up ‘Proposal’ with indie film
Reynolds will star in “Buried,” playing a civilian contractor who’s kidnapped in Iraq and awakens buried in a coffin in the desert, armed only with a cell phone, a candle and a knife. He decided to go the indie route as a way to stretch his acting chops in a movie with a claustrophobic premise, and one in which he holds the screen through most of the picture.

Fox sets sights on ‘Hitman 2′
Kyle Ward tapped to pen sequel
Studio has hired screenwriter Kyle Ward to write a script for the movie that catches title character, Agent 47, at a low point. He must build himself back up psychologically and physically to reclaim his mantle as the world’s most feared assassin. The film will contain story elements from “Hitman 5,” the upcoming Eidos vidgame that will be released in late 2010.

WB adds pair for ‘Dicks’
Lee, Trachtenberg join Willis, Morgan in film
Jason Lee and Michelle Trachtenberg have joined the cast of Warner Bros. cop comedy “A Couple of Dicks,” starring Bruce Willis and Tracy Morgan. Kevin Smith is directing. Story centers on a pair of cops who track down a stolen baseball card, rescue a Mexican beauty and must deal with gangsters and laundered drug money.

Zack Snyder Transforming ‘High School Musical’ Star Vanessa Hudgens Into A ‘Sucker Punch’ Badass
“You’re going to see her shooting machine guns, fighting, beating the sh-t out of people,” Snyder revealed. “It’s funny – we sat her down for her physical evaluation, and she was really athletic. She’s a dancer, so all the choreography is gonna be fun for her.”

The Oldboy Must Go On
Legal troubles no problem for remake?
Futabasha, the Japanese publisher of the Oldboy manga, is suing the Korean film production company Show East, the makers of the film, over the remake rights to the story. Spielberg and Smith are said to be working on an American remake of the property for mainstream American consumption, but now to complicate matters — or perhaps simplify them — Reuters is reporting that Show East has shut down and its CEO, Kim Dong-Ju, has disappeared. Big Egg, a co-producer of the cult fave film, has also ceased operation and its ex-staff members are “unreachable.”

The Fine Print

This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive roundup of the entire weeks’ news. All stories are chosen by me for no other reason than that they got my attention and might capture yours. If something you think is more important chime in on the feedback; we’d love to hear comments and have a conversation about it.

Six years on and finally we get a follow up film from the makers; those same two brothers from Queensland, and wait for it… this one’s about undead too!  Vampires to be more specific, but before you discount the film as being more “Outback Aussie Malarky”  WATCH THIS TRAILER

Gone is the Aussie setting, and apparently most of the silliness and camp. This looks like the film Blade 3 could and should have been! I Love the look of it, the style and sofistication not to mention the A-list cast. Willem Dafoe looks great in there as the Vamp hunter and “man with the crossbows.” While Ethan Hawke and Sam Neil look great and creepy.

With vampires becoming a bigger and bigger part of pop culture thanks to Twilight and True Blood its SO refreshing to see a take on them that is unusual. I can’t wait to watch this film and i congratulate the Spierig Brothers on doing something very hard indeed: Following up on a cult hit.

What do you think?  Will this film suck? Or will it be a bloody good time?

sorry.

• Director: David Wain
• Writer: Paul Rudd, David Wain
• Year of Release: 2008
• Actors: Paul Rudd, Seann William Scott, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Bobb’e J. Thompson, Elizabeth Banks, Jane Lynch
• Genre: Comedy
• Country of Origin: USA

Trailer

[See post to watch Flash video]

Considering the film is made up of bits not used in “Anchorman”, there is enough there for “Wake Up Ron Burgundy” to have a pretty decent, if predictable, story.  The events of this movie take place after “Anchorman”, with Ron dealing with a group of bank robbers known as the Alarm Clock.  Of course this whole storyline uses extended versions of a few scenes and actually allows for more humor from the channel 4 news team.  Of course with any film, the story has to flow well.  Unfortunately this is where the movie shows its weakness, as the story does not mesh well as a sequel to “Anchorman”.  The biggest reason for this is the reuse of scenes, namely the scenes where Ron is interacting with Veronica Corningstone, as these scenes show them at odds or acting like they hardly know each other when in actuality they are supposed to have already fallen in love.  Of course the narration helps to add some explanation, but toward the middle of the film it is already clear that it does not work and is pretty much ignored.  Of course the scenes that were deleted that form the main story work well, as a lot of them do not feature any of the main cast.  This allows for these characters to exist without really throwing off the established “mythology”.  One could say this film’s story is meant to be a lot like an insert-able story that could have happened at any time in the life of Ron Burgundy.  Without spoiling the movie, if you have seen “Anchorman”, then some of the plot will seem almost exactly the same, but of course most people who enjoyed the first film liked it for the jokes, and this film does not recycle many of those.

A comedy film like “Anchorman” has a lot of memorable jokes, so of course one should expect this film to be no different, and it isn’t.  The one aspect of this film that makes it work better is the use of all of the characters, while “Anchorman” has some great bits, it really focused a lot on Ron Burgundy.  This film, while still centering on him, allows for more bits with the rest of the cast.  Whether this is a good thing, is really dependent on whether you like the other characters.  Oddly enough, this film also gives a lot more background on both Brick and Champ, two characters that were funny in the first film  but maybe needed a little more screen time.  Then there is the Alarm Clock, their scenes sometimes felt a little strained, but some scenes, like the bank scene with Amy Pohler were pretty funny and helped show that this film could stand on its own as an entertaining and hilarious movie.

Time for a rating, if you liked “Anchorman”, then I would say this is probably a great movie to add to the collection, as it is probably as funny as the first, making it a solid Cool, but if you haven’t seen the first film then you wouldn’t enjoy it as much, so for those uninitiated I would give it a Meh+.  Of course if you are looking for a great story, then this is definitely not it.

Trailer

[See post to watch Flash video]

Dollhouse is an exciting series full of twists and turns that will have you guessing week after week. The Dollhouse is a secret organisation that takes the memories of people in trouble and stores them in computers. These people are walking ‘dolls’, and when they’re needed, to be the perfect date, negotiator, or bank robber, they are implanted with other memories best fit for the job at hand. The trouble starts with one of the dolls, Echo, begins to remember her past life and her past jobs.

As dolls these people have a child-like mind, and everything in the house is kept calm and simple for them. When they are ‘active’ they can be dangerous, imprinted with a multitude of different skill sets and thoughts. During the first episode we find out that one of the earliest dolls, Alpha, became violent in his doll state and attacked and killed many people. Throughout the series we learn about why he did this, and discover why he kept Echo alive.

Created by a man who calls himself an atheist, Dollhouse asks many spiritual questions, namely about the soul and what can make a person good or evil. Echo was a woman named Caroline before she entered the house, and as Caroline she spent most of her time trying to stop animal exploitation. As Echo she cares about the other dolls, and she feels bad when others are hurt or sick. Other dolls who experienced abuse before they entered the house carry that over into their doll state, and one doll falls in love with another. In similar vain to the Orson Scott Card ‘The Worthing Saga’, Dollhouse struggles to find what makes a person they way they are, and if it is something that can be fundamentally changed.

This series also focuses on the morality of such a place. Would it be better to send one dolls imprinted with the best police defense data to handle a hostage negotiation, rather than an entire SWAT team? To use dolls instead of prostitutes could be safer for the women involved.

One of the main draw cards of this series is its cast, and Eliza Dushku shines each week with every different person she becomes. From sexy starlet, to serious hostage negotiator, to a woman investigating her own death, Eliza plays these roles so well you forget that it is one woman having to act these very different ways. Tahmoh Penikett makes his return to the small screen, after playing Helo in Battlestar Galactica for four years, as Agent Ballard, the man who’s investigating the Dollhouse. Other cast members include Dichen Lachman, Aussie actress who has starred in Neighbours, as Sierra, a new doll to the team who could be trouble for the house.

Dollhouse aires on Fox 8 Tuesday night at 8:30pm. The pilot episode is not the strongest of the series, which could be why so many Americans switched off after only one episode. However, the pilot does its job by introducing the audience to the characters and plot, as well as giving us a little glimpse into what can happen when the dolls don’t work as planned. The rest of the series is well crafted, with plenty of action and character driven moments sprinkled throughout.

Trailer

[See post to watch Flash video]

Endemol, Seinfeld to join in ‘Marriage’
Distributor to make local versions of reality series
Endemol has cut a deal with Jerry Seinfeld to serve as the international distrib for his nonscripted NBC show “The Marriage Ref.” “Marriage Ref” will revolve around couples who hash out their disagreements, major and minor, before a panel of comedians and other celebs. Endemol will produce localized versions of the show as well as shop the segs produced for NBC to foreign TV outlets. It will also manage digital rights, licensing and marketing efforts for the foreign editions.

Fox moves on ‘Deadlock’
Network gives reality show a six-week run
Fox TV Stations is giving a trial marriage to “Wedlock or Deadlock”. The show follows Dr. Michelle Callahan as she works with couples in determining whether they’re ready to get hitched. Half-hour show will kick off each episode with the couple handing their marriage license over to Callahan. After interviewing the pair, she’ll either return their license or rip it up.

E!, Maxim to produce specials
Deal to last two years
E! has partnered with Maxim magazine in a two-year deal to produce a series of hourlong specials. Cabler will air a minimum of six specs, including two to be telecast before the end of the year — “Maxim’s Celebrity Beach Watch” and “Maxim’s Hottest Moments 2009.” The two entities are also planning “Maxim Does …” specials that focus on parties and travel.

Jessica Simpson returns to reality TV
Joins VH1’s ‘The Price of Beauty’
Six years after she became a breakout reality TV star with MTV’s “Newlyweds: Nick & Jessica,” Jessica Simpson is returning to MTV Networks for a new reality series on VH1 targeted for a 2010 launch. “The Price of Beauty,” a docu-series, will feature Simpson traveling the world to meet every day women as well as some local pop culture icons. Simpson will study local fashions, dietary fads and beauty regimes and even participate in some of the extreme practices she discovers.

Business of the Business

Producer calls indie world to task
Jim Stern touts careful budgeting, more
Producer Jim Stern issued a warning call to the indie business Saturday, saying that if it wanted to endure, it needed to stop working at cross purposes with itself and its financiers. “It’s been hip to disrespect the money,” he said. And “most businesses have a complete plan from the start of a project, which includes the whole chain, from manufacturing through distribution. Ours typically does not… I love Sundance, but it gave rise to a sense of entitlement to personal films,” adding that filmmakers are at a point in the business cycle that “if you make a personal film, don’t be surprised if it doesn’t get an audience, or, even much worse, if it doesn’t get sold.”

New service tracks online interest in TV
Will measure engagement on Facebook, Twitter, Google
Web site creation service Wetpaint has launched a measurement system that tracks fan interest in popular TV shows. Billed as the first measurement tool of its kind, TV Fandex tracks the level of “fan engagement” of popular programs on Facebook, Twitter, Google, and Webpaint’s own network of 1.5 million user-created fan sites.

Nine, Warners renew pact
$500 mil deal brings content to Australia through 2015
In what is being billed as the largest single TV deal ever inked in Australia, Network Nine finally has locked up a renewal of its long-standing output pact with Warner Bros. for series and movies. The total price tag for five more years of content through 2015 is almost $500 million if all escalators kick in and the studio’s slate continues as hefty as it is today. The Aussie arrangement essentially secures for Nine ongoing access to upcoming series from such Warners-based TV producers as Jerry Bruckheimer, John Wells, J.J. Abrams, Josh Schwartz, Kevin Williamson and Chuck Lorre as well as the studio’s entire slate — think three more “Harry Potter” installments, Christopher Nolan’s “Inception” with Leonardo DiCaprio and more “Happy Feet.”

Blu-ray sales up, but homevideo rev dip
Piracy, prices, online availablity drag down sales
Consumer spending on video, DVD and Blu-ray — both retail and rental — outside North America fell to $26.4 billion last year, down 3.6%. This year is forecast to see a further 2.5% decline. Sales of DVDs, which make up 68.6% of homevid spending abroad, totaled $18.1 billion, down 4.7% despite a 6.4% rise in units sold to 1.2 billion, as the average price fell 10.5%.

Australian TV indies defy economy
Power subtly shifts to local programmers
Producers of local shows, the hitherto minnows of the Oz TV biz, are gaining clout. The networks have seen their power eroded by the weak ad market, by the eyeball shift to new media and by new cost-conscious network owners. But audiences want local shows, and given that most broadcasters have dismantled their inhouse production arms, they have little choice but to commission them from indie producers.

Planet of the Odd

How expensive is a Hollywood lawyer?
on Monday, attorneys for the film industry filed papers in the Real DVD case about the rates they are charging. Here’s the declaration. According to the papers, Akin Gump partner Stephen Mick is billing an hourly rate of $703.80, partner Reginald Steer is billing at $765 and counsel Maria Ellinikos is billing at $490. The MPAA may seek additional legal fees on other matters at a later time. A $700 billable hour is about twice as much the average billing rate at a Am Law 200 firm.

Publisher of ‘Potter’ denies plagiarism
Bloomsbury to fight copyright infringement claims
The publisher of the “Harry Potter” books says it intends to fight a lawsuit alleging that author J.K. Rowling stole the idea for the series about the boy wizard. Bloomsbury Publishing PLC is being taken to court in London by the estate of the late author Adrian Jacobs for copyright infringement. “The estate … claims that the book `Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire,’ reproduces substantial parts of the works of Adrian Jacobs, ‘The Adventures of Willy the Wizard,’ without consent, and that in selling the books, Bloomsbury has infringed and continues to infringe copyright.”

Cohen Threatened With Guns During Bruno Shoot
The funnyman was shooting scenes for the upcoming film in one of the USA’s southern states last year (08) with a group of deer hunters. But the unsuspecting participants in the movie reportedly became angry when the star, in character as the flamboyant Austrian fashion journalist, stripped off and pranced naked around their campsite. The hunters are then said to have turned their guns on Cohen, who was forced to flee with his film crew, according to British newspaper the Daily Mirror.

Black-Eyed Peas manager charged in Perez Hilton fight
Confrontation happened Sunday at MuchMusic awards
Police have charged Black Eyed Peas manager Liborio Molina with assault after a confrontation with celebrity blogger Perez Hilton at the MuchMusic Video Awards in Toronto. Hilton first alerted the police via Twitter that he had apparently been involved in an altercation with the Black Eyed Peas entourage at an awards show afterparty during the early hours of Monday morning.

California girl gets dying wish to see movie ‘Up’
A 10-year-old girl desperately wanted to see the new Disney-Pixar movie, “Up.” But the cancer-stricken girl was too sick to go to a theater. Thanks to a family friend who got in touch with the movie studio Pixar, an employee of the Emeryville-based company arrived at Colby’s home with a DVD copy of the movie, The Orange County Register reported Friday. The girl died later that night. Colby’s mother, Lisa, said she had asked her daughter if she could hang on until the movie arrived. “I’m ready (to die), but I’m going to wait for the movie,” she said her daughter replied.

The Fine Print

This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive roundup of the entire weeks’ news. All stories are chosen by me for no other reason than that they got my attention and might capture yours. If something you think is more important chime in on the feedback; we’d love to hear comments and have a conversation about it.

• Director: Sheldon Wilson
• Writer: Tom Berry, Philip K. Dick
• Year of Release: 2009
• Actors: Gina Holden, Jana Pallaske, Lance Henriksen, Greg Bryk, Christopher Redman, Tim Rozon
• Genre: Sci-Fi, Horror
• Country of Origin: Canada, USA

Trailer

[See post to watch Flash video]

Writer reveals Green Lantern movie’s progress and a few hints
Screenwriter Marc Guggenheim confirmed that his script will focus on Hal Jordan, based on the Silver Age DC Comics incarnation of the superhero, and how he became a member of the Green Lantern Corps. “The goal here is to do the best cinematic representation of the Green Lantern character. You know, there’s no desire on anyone’s part to completely change the character and just call this other character Green Lantern and try to … draft off the name recognition. This is all about ‘How do we bring the best version of this character to the silver screen?’”

Alexander Skarsgard Was So Close To Playing Thor, He Even Tried On The Costume
“It depends on the circumstances,” Skarsgard said of possible roles in “Captain America” or beyond. “It’s pretty hard to say [whether I’d take another comic role]. It depends on the circumstances – who the director is, and what the character is. But of course [I’d be interested in looking into it]. I think it’s every little boy’s dream; it would be a person’s dream to play an action hero.”

New Screenwriter For ‘Sleeper’ Movie, Sam Raimi & Tom Cruise Still Attached
As for where the adaptation stands right now, Brubaker said he’s fairly certain everything is still “in the outlining stage” at this point, but as far as he knows, Raimi and Cruise still have “Sleeper” on their radar. In fact, he said the success of “Star Trek” actually might have been one of the obstacles in the studio’s plan for “Sleeper.”

‘Twilight’ Star Cam Gigandet Corrects Earlier Report — Won’t Play A Vampire In ‘Priest’
“There are vampire-esque creatures in the movie, but it’s really a battle between god and evil. Paul Bettany and I are on this journey to rescue someone that we love, and it’s just this fascinating journey movie taking place in a different reality.”

Is Watchmen’s Jackie Earle Haley risking his career by joining TV’s Human Target?
“The TV series, I’m really excited about that. It should be a real fun kind of throwback to ’80s action films, like Die Hard and stuff, and kind of the weekly action show of the week. And I’m also kind of really looking forward to acting every day for a period. I think it might [help] as an actor to grow, and a way to become a better actor is to work in that environment and to work every day for months. It could be a really good experience as an actor.”

Teresa Palmer Still Attached To Play Talia Al Ghul In ‘Justice League: Mortal,’ Uncertain Of Film’s Status
“I’m still attached to the film. But who knows if the movie is going to come off the ground or not. I hope it does, obviously… I’m always the last person to find these things out.”

Smallville Casting Exclusive: Brian Austin Green Is Metallo!
Brian Austin Green has been cast on Smallville as the DC Comics villain Metallo. Green will appear as the kryptonite-powered villain (alter ego “Daily Planet” journo John Corben) in at least the first two episodes of Season 9.

Producer Don Murphy is ready to shop his We3 movie, about armored animals
Don Murphy, who is producing a live-action film adaptation of the comic book We3, says he has a script and a director, no studio. “We’re working with a director named John Stevenson,” Murphy said in an exclusive phone interview on Monday. “Don’t be confused, though. Even though he directed Kung Fu Panda, the movie’s going to be live action. It’s going to be a combination CG, puppetry [and] real animals. We have a great script, a great director, and we’re trying to figure out who’s going to pay for it in this marketplace, but we’re looking.” We3 is a Vertigo series about animals encased in weaponized armor who are part of a secret military program.

Bruce Timm Talks “Green Lantern: First Flight”
“This is a total science fiction film – we spend maybe 10 minutes on Earth at the beginning of the movie and then the rest of it all takes place in outer space and in several different alien environments. So while we did base the initial, broad strokes design on pre-existing comics characters, we still needed armies of Green Lanterns and tons of aliens.”

David Goyer’s Batman 3 Blurb
The screenwriter gives us a morsel about the third film.
“Well, I believe [Chris Nolan] said if we can find the story that he’s happy with, that he would return. And unfortunately, respecting Chris… You know, talk to him after he finishes Inception, which he’s shooting right now. That just started shooting.”

Joe Quesada Talks Thor, Iron Man 2
“See, it doesn’t quite work on film that [Iron Man] goes and stops a little lady from getting mugged. While that may be an ancillary part of it, when you have that suit of armor, the world’s greatest weapon, the story has to be bigger, and your reason for being has to be bigger. But at the same time, it has to be small and streamlined enough that an audience can grab hold of it. Favreau is all about that.”

Jessica Alba Options ‘The Insiders’
Along With Robert Rodriguez
Various French language Websites are reporting that actress Jessica Alba has acquired screen rights to The Insiders, a series of graphic novels created in 2002 by Jean-Claude Bartoll and Renaud Garreta.  Alba’s partner in acquiring the rights to create both movies and videogames based on The Insiders was director Robert Rodriguez (Sin City). The heroine is Najah Cruz, a Columbian who is as deadly as she is beautiful with the weapons expertise and combat skills of a James Bond.  At the secret request of the White House she infiltrates a worldwide mafia-like organization composed of businessmen and politicians and becomes the bodyguard of the organization’s leader.

Whiteout Comic-Con Promo Trailer
a trailer for Whiteout, the adaptation of Greg Rucka’s Eisner Award winning comic book series. Starring Kate Beckinsale as US Marshall Carrie Stetko and featuring The Spirit’s Gabriel Macht, this is a murder mystery set in Antarctica. A mystery revolving around, as the trailer points out, the very first murder in Antarctica.

The Fine Print

This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive roundup of the entire weeks’ news. All stories are chosen by me for no other reason than that they got my attention and might capture yours. If something you think is more important chime in on the feedback; we’d love to hear comments and have a conversation about it.

With the release of Transformers 2 just around the corner, its only necessary that we take a look at the new Optimus Prime. Every Transformers series needs Optimus Prime to lead the way, and each year, the toys for old OP get more and more impressive.

Vehicle mode

Optimus transforms into a Peterbilt 379 big-rig truck, with red & blue flame décor streaked across his chasse. Now possessing flames on the side of his hood, & a lighter tone of blue, his paint scheme is much more screen accurate, and generally looks nicer, than the previous movie leader Prime. This upgrade from the first movie Prime also does a much better job of hiding the bits that transform. There are no visible hinges and clips in vehicle mode, and the creases between the pieces (yay, rhyming!) are all in places one would expect individual plates of metal to be situated, which makes the truck mode near seamless.

Structurally, the truck mode also has a longer, slightly tapered hood, and a longer wheel section, again making it more screen accurate than its predecessor. However, a slight downgrade from the earlier version is that the tires are plastic, rather than rubber. Whilst rubber tires would have been nice, considering the complexity and expensive nature of the toy, it’s forgivable.

A cleverly concealed button on the back of the cab, when pushed, plays revving truck engine sounds, and causes lights in the windows to light up. Holding down the button makes the sound continue to play, until the button is released. The button is easily accessible from most angles, which makes it perfect for kids who want to push it along the ground, making driving noises.

All-in-all, this is a gorgeous mode. Not only is it an entirely screen accurate truck, with incredibly fine details, right down to individual screws on the chasse, but it’s a great display piece. One could place this truck on a shelf, with other vehicle replicas, and there would be nothing to suggest that it was actually a giant robot. It’s a toy which epitomizes the term ‘Robot in disguise’.
5/5

Robot mode

Standing 10 ½ inches tall, (taller than all but one of the figures in my collection) Optimus Prime’s robot mode is without a doubt, the most screen accurate depiction of this incarnation you are going to get outside of the robot replicas. The thing that makes this toy better than the replicas is the fact that this guy transforms.

Articulation-wise, Optimus’s head is on a swivel joint, and can rotate 360 degrees. His arms can bend up and down, and rotate 360. His elbows hinge back and forth on ratchet joints, and rotate 360. There is no waist articulation, but his hips hinge in and out, as well as backwards and forwards, and his knees bend back and forth, and rotate to a certain degree, though I have found it is somewhat limited by the armour on his thighs & his wheels. His feet are on ball joints, and are wide, meaning he can assume many positions, whilst still perfectly balanced on his broad feet.

The amount of screen-accurate detail on this guy is incredible. There are so many tiny details and features on this guy, which make me really appreciate the effort that went into this toy. The orientation of his back armour, shoulder cylinders, golden chest rings, knee spikes (which can hinge up and down), the shape of his feet, and so many more. little things that most people wouldn’t notice on the on-screen character, but make this toy a fantastic piece of engineering.

A hinged piece of armour on OP’s stomach flips down, and when pressed, it makes his head and the windows on his chest shift, and his robot-form sound bite is activated. “I am Optimus Prime.” He declares. It sounds very much like Peter Cullen was hired for the voice, and it’s a nice little feature  The moving armour reveals the new gimmick in the ROTF line. Gears inside Optimus’s chest form the ‘Mech-alive’ system, which is composed of moving gears, which spin upon the windows moving. Whilst, considering the engineering of the toy, its pretty impressive that this feature had any space to be incorporated into the toy, it seams kinda pointless to me. The gears are visible through the windows in truck mode, and the promotion for the ROTF line seems to put a huge amount of focus on the mech-alive, when its really kinda insignificant.

Small buttons on Optimus’s forearms release hinged Energon-swords, which flip out from underneath his arm guards. Again, highly detailed, with Cybertronian hieroglyphs adorning the blades, They make him all the more impressive and intimidating. They are also something of a precursor to awesome, as the trailer for ROTF reveals that Prime now has two blades. Double the blades, double the carnage, double the awesome.
5/5

Final verdict

To cap-off, this is not a toy; this is a work of art. This is the pinnacle of what a Transformer toy can achieve. It’s incredibly accurate, highly articulated, & it’s the best toy based on the movie Prime that you’re gonna get. A word of warning before you purchase it though; the transformation is insane! I honestly believe this is the most complex & convoluted conversion for any transformer I have ever seen. It honestly gives the masterpiece figures a run for their money as having the most complex transformation of all time.

However, the transformation can be forgiven, because the transformation results in the forming of one of the most gorgeous, and magnificently designed robots I’ve ever seen. It’s a must have, and it is now the crowning jewel of my collection.
5/5

This just in: Bryan Fuller exits ‘Heroes’
Just as Heroes was gaining some creative momentum comes word of another setback: Bryan Fuller has vacated his post as consulting producer. The acclaimed Pushing Daisies auteur left to focus on developing new projects for NBC, and not (as some have speculated) due to creative differences with series creator Tim Kring.

Another signs on for ‘24′
Clayne Crawford joins cast of Fox drama
Clayne Crawford has been added to Fox’s “24″ as a recurring. On “24,” Crawford will play a bad boy from Dana Walsh’s (Katee Sackhoff) past. Sackhoff recently signed on as a new regular on the real-time drama starring Kiefer Sutherland, playing an expert data analyst at CTU with a secret past who is involved with CTU agent Davis Cole (Freddie Prinze Jr.).

Lost’s Maggie Grace Is Returning to Hawaii!
Emilie de Ravin’s return to the Island is already confirmed, and Dominic Monaghan’s is in a promising state of limbo. Now, Maggie Grace is hinting that she may be the next deceased survivor of Oceanic 815 to crash Locke’s power party.

Linda Hunt a lock for ‘NCIS: LA’
Joins series after departure of Loiuse Lombard
Oscar winner Linda Hunt has joined CBS’ new drama series “NCIS: LA” as a regular. Her character will oversee the “backroom” support staff tasked with providing everything from micro surveillance cameras to cars for Callen (O’Donnell) and his team. Efficient, hard-nosed and resourceful after years of being a Miss Fix-it in the film industry, she seems tough but genuinely cares about Callen and his team.

Showtime’s up on Tracey Ullman
Cabler greenlights third season of ‘Union’
Showtime has greenlit a third season of “Tracey Ullman’s State of the Union.” In the half-hour laffer, Ullman portrays a variety of real-life and fictional characters, doing impersonations of celebrities such as Celine Dion, Jodie Foster and J.K. Rowling. Cabler ordered seven episodes for the new season, with a launch set for 2010.

Congloms making nice for ‘NCIS’
NBC U to assist CBS in launch of show spinoff
NBC Universal will assist CBS in launching the Eye’s upcoming “NCIS” spinoff. USA has struck a deal with CBS to air the two “NCIS” episodes from this past season that set the stage for this fall’s newcomer “NCIS: Los Angeles.” USA already carries reruns of “NCIS,” currently the top-rated off-net series on cable.

Vampire-themed campaigns push ‘Blood’
Faux ads feature major brands
But for the second-season launch of “True Blood,” HBO enlisted eight major marketers to create vampire-themed campaigns in major newspapers and magazines, on billboards and across the Web. It’s a push any marketing maven would die for. The Mini car brand touts a blood-red convertible with the tagline “Feel the wind in your fangs” while Geico claims it can save vampires 15% on auto insurance. Monster.com offers “thousands of night shifts,” and a new fragrance from Marc Ecko promises to “attract a human,” accompanied by a titillating shot of a vamp about to snack on a model.

‘Pacific’ Trailer Online
The same filmmakers (Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks) that brought you Band of Brothers have decided to bring the Pacific version to the television screen. The first ever look at The Pacific trailer as shown on HBO on June 21st. Here it is:

Alexander Skarsgard is out for TRUE BLOOD
Alexander Skarsgard talked about how fans will be getting to see much more of him as Eric Northman, the 1,000-year-old Viking vampire who is also the owner of the local vampire bar, Fangtasia, on the acclaimed HBO television series True Blood, in Season 2.

Michelle Forbes Wants TRUE BLOOD
Best known for her work on Star Trek: The Next Generation, Homicide: Life on the Street, 24, Battlestar Galactica, In Treatment and Prison Break, Michelle Forbes promises that Maryann’s motives will be revealed, as the season progresses. In this interview, Michelle Forbes talked about working with the talented cast of True Blood, and the devotion and dedication of sci-fi genre fans.

VIRTUALITY Interview with Ron Moore
Writer/executive producer Ron Moore has become one of the premiere voices in television’s sci-fi genre, with his work on such series as Battlestar Galactica, Carnivale, Good vs. Evil, Roswell, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and Star Trek: The Next Generation. While promoting the two-hour Virtuality, Moore talked about how he developed this captivating original feature.

WAREHOUSE 13 Interview with Eddie McClintock
In this exclusive interview, series star Eddie McClintock spoke about how getting to do comedy, drama, action and thriller, all in one, makes Warehouse 13 his dream job.

David Cross Creates UK Television Comedy With Spike Jonze and Will Arnett
Cross has written a pilot for a UK comedy show called The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret. His co-writer is Shaun Pye, an actor who had a recurring role in Extras. Alongside Cross, the stars of the show are Will Arnett and, in his first big acting gig since Three Kings, Spike Jonze. The plot follows a US exec who is mistakenly sent to run his company’s UK arm, he knows nothing about British culture and nothing about sales. This is further complicated when he lies continuously to cover his ignorance and spectacularly fails to impress Alice the first beautiful girl he meets. Dave his British co-worker, soon takes full advantage of Todd’s situation and chaos ensues. Cross stars as exec Todd Margaret, with Jonze, Arnett and Russell Tovey supporting.

‘Reaper’ TV Series Could Live On As Comic Book, Says Tyler Labine
“Bret [Harrison] told me a comic book is definitely in the works,” Labine said. “That’s a green light. I think ‘Reaper’ would make a great comic book. I would read that one.”

The Fine Print

This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive roundup of the entire weeks’ news. All stories are chosen by me for no other reason than that they got my attention and might capture yours. If something you think is more important chime in on the feedback; we’d love to hear comments and have a conversation about it.

I’m not exactly Johnny on the spot with this review, but since it was the last thing I saw in theaters (and possibly the only ‘Summer ‘09’ film I’ll bother with theatrically) I figured I should at least try to knock together a review.

After an opening set in 1968, in which a young boy is the subject of a séance in which a medium unsuccessfully attempts to thwart a demon’s efforts to take his soul, we jump to present day to meet our heroine.

Christine (Lohman) is a loan officer angling for a promotion, though her inherently nice personality is working against her in the race for a promotion against another employee, and her boss has no problems with playing that to his advantage at every turn.  When she asks him about the promotion, he tells her that he’s just not sure if she has what it takes to make the tough, unpleasant decisions that the position would require.

Left to mull that one over, Christine finds herself confronted with a disheveled (and wholly repulsive, if one is being honest) Gypsy woman named Mrs. Ganush (Raver), who is on the verge of losing her home.  Ganush explains her situation being due to an illness, and desperately asks for a third extension on her mortgage.  Seeing this as her opportunity to prove herself to her manager, and obviously against her instincts, Christine tells her that there’s nothing that she can do, which very nearly drives the old woman ‘round the bend.

Mrs. Ganush throws herself to the floor, begging her to help her, telling her that she’s a proud woman, but for this she’s willing to beg, even tugging and kissing at the hem of her skirt.  When Christine still refuses, she goes absolutely apeshit in traditional Raimi fashion, complete with Deadite sound effects and security forces her from the building.

Christine notices the woman’s car in the parking structure when she leaves for the day and edges towards her own vehicle with caution, only to be attacked by Mrs. Ganush, who is hiding in her back seat.  The ensuing struggle includes the best use of a stapler as a weapon I’ve ever seen and ends with Mrs. Ganush tearing a button from Christine’s jacket, which she says a mumbling incantation over before forcing it back into Christine’s hands. After the customary reports are filed with building security, Christine leaves with her boyfriend Clay (Long), who tries to comfort her as best he can, talking her down from her hectic day.

Heading back to their car, Christine is drawn to a fortune teller’s shop, and Clay reluctantly humors her.  Rham Jas (Rao), the fortune teller they meet seems at first to be something of the con artist that Clay is expecting, but he quickly becomes visibly troubled and tells her that she has a dark spirit upon her and rushes her out because he is unable to help her.

Clay is the customary skeptic, laughing it off (which I suppose is easy when it’s not your dark spirit) and he drops her back at her house (they have an oddly distant relationship, maintaining separate residences), where she is eventually attacked by an chaotic force, which she only sees as a goat shadow on the walls of her home.

Clay thinks she was attacked by Mrs. Ganush, and a psychologist assures them that she could be reliving her past stress, but after increasingly strange events, Christine goes to the home of Mrs. Ganush to try and sort things out, only to find her relatives holding a wake: the old woman is dead, she ain’t gonna be removing any curses anytime soon folks.

Rham is able to tell her that the demon haunting her is called Lamia, and after three days of torment and abuse, it will take her soul to hell.  He eventually employs the services of the medium we saw at the beginning of the film, Shaun San Dena (Barazza) in a desperate bid to trap the demon in another living creature, leading to more Deadit-styled action and a possessed Billy Goat, which is just awesome.  Christine fights against time to rid herself of the demon by whatever means necessary, and Raimi puts this waifish little girl through about as much punishment as he does Bruce Campbell in the Evil Dead films, it’s a rather wild ride.

Alison Lohman is great as the girl next door type, and it’s interesting to watch her become increasingly desperate in her situation, as well as her ability to handle the physical abuse she’s put through by the Lamia, it’s a splattery, gross-out filled film and she comes through it like a trooper.

Sam Raimi has made a fun little film that has as many laughs as it does chills, even if lots of said chills are the somewhat cheap jump-scares: he still makes it fun.

Give it a look.

Trailer

[See post to watch Flash video]

Ivan Reitman Sits Down To Discuss The Past, Present And Future Of ‘Ghostbusters’
The three actors and I and Columbia Pictures, think of us as five equal powers, each with veto power. The real truth is the project just sat there. It was just lately when Columbia decided on their own to hire some writers to come up with a story that would entice the rest of us. It was a very prescient thing to do because you can feel it’s in the zeitgeist now. The movie has always been popular but now it seems to be more popular than ever. Partially that’s because of the game and the Blu-ray.

‘Akira’ Project is Dead as a Doornail
Sad news comes in this weekend as we have learned that not only has Ruairi Robinson left the project, but Tetsuo and Kaneda’s adventure is “dead as a doornail,” a report we’ve confirmed with two separate sources. I can only hope it gets revived in the near future as this could have been one of the coolest effin’ movies ever.

These A-list U.S. stars will voice Miyazaki’s Ponyo for its American release
An A-list cast—including Liam Neeson, Matt Damon and Tina Fey—will voice the masterful, otherwordly animation of Japanese virtuoso Hayao Miyazaki’s Ponyo on the Cliff by the Sea for its North American release. Inspired by Hans Christian Andersen’s fairy tale “The Little Mermaid,” Ponyo tells the story of a goldfish and her quest to become human.

Meet the new Conan, same as the old Conan
Companies are in talks with a 41-year-old Austrian actor named Roland Kickinger to play the title role that Arnold Schwarzenegger made famous in the 1982 classic “Conan the Barbarian.” There are parallels between the two: both bodybuilders-turned-actor from Austria; both played a T-800 in the “Terminator” franchise (Kickinger in “Terminator Salvation”); and Kickinger played a Conan-era version of Schwarzenegger in “See Arnold Run,” the 2005 A&E biopic.

Indiana Jones 5 Is A Go!
Frank Marshall spills the beans
Although he didn’t specify timelines, Marshall told Empire that ideas would be worked on with a view to green-lighting production sooner rather than later. “It’s really about the script,” says the veteran Indy producer. “Once we see that, we’ll see. We’re not going to wait another 20 years. We’d all love to make another one. I’m anxious to hear the idea!”

Sean Penn backs out of two films
‘Three Stooges,’ ‘Cartel’ lose Oscar winner
Penn star has dropped out of two films: “The Three Stooges” and crime thriller “Cartel.” He is taking a leave from his Hollywood career to focus on his family. Penn has already informed the productions he will not be available. It’s unclear how long the absence could last, though sources have said up to a year.

Jason Sudeikis cashes in ‘Bounty’
To star opposite Jennifer Aniston in comedy
Jason Sudeikis has been cast in the Columbia comedy “Bounty Hunter” opposite Jennifer Aniston and Gerard Butler. The movie centers on Milo (Butler), a bounty hunter hired to track down his ex-wife, Casidy (Aniston), who has skipped out on bail. Sudeikis will play Stewart, a work friend of Casidy’s who falsely believes he is her boyfriend and takes off after her when she goes on the run.

It may be Quixotic for Gilliam to think he can get Depp back
‘I love Terry and I’d do personally anything the guy wants to do,’ Depp said. ‘The thing with Quixote is that my dance card is pretty nutty for the next couple of years, so I’d hate to put him in a position to wait for me. That would be wrong.’

Framelight, Uslan pump ‘Trueheart’
To adapt the children’s book trilogy into films
Framelight Prods. and David Uslan are set to adapt the “Tom Trueheart” children’s book trilogy into a series of feature films. An adventure fantasy, the “Trueheart” series follows a young boy and his older brothers in the Land of Stories. The original “Trueheart” was published in 2007, and a second book, “Tom Trueheart and the Land of Dark Stories,” was published last year.

Two cast in ‘Red Dawn’ remake
Josh Peck, Adrianne Palicki join Chris Hemsworth
osh Peck and Adrianne Palicki have been cast in the remake of “Red Dawn,” the story of a group of teenagers who form an impromptu insurgency when their town is invaded by Chinese and Russian soldiers. Peck will play Matt Eckert — the role originated by Charlie Sheen — the hotheaded younger brother of Chris Hemsworth’s Jed Eckert and star quarterback of their Spokane high school football team. Palicki will play Toni, the role first inhabited by Jennifer Grey. She’s a tough fighter the brothers encounter who develops romantic feelings for Jed, a Marine home on leave and the group’s unofficial leader.

Danielle Panabaker checks in to ‘Ward’
Amber Heard also stars in John Carpenter thriller
Danielle Panabaker will star opposite Amber Heard in “The Ward,” a psychological horror thriller that John Carpenter is directing. The story follows a girl (Heard) who is admitted to a psychiatric ward, meets other girls there with distinct personalities and discovers a mysterious girl haunting the halls at night.

Julianne Hough joins ‘Footloose’ remake
‘Dancing With the Stars’ mainstay making her film debut
“Dancing With the Stars” mainstay Julianne Hough will be punching her card for “Footloose.” The dancer, singer and choreographer will join Chace Crawford for her feature film debut in Paramount’s remake of the 1984 film, assuming her scheduling works for the March shoot.

Sony scraps Soderbergh’s ‘Moneyball’
Columbia Pictures drops ball on Brad Pitt pic
Columbia Pictures topper Amy Pascal placed the picture into “limited turnaround,” giving the filmmaker the chance to set it up at another studio. The move came after Pascal read a rewrite that Soderbergh did to the script and found it very different from the earlier scripts she championed. Pascal was uncomfortable enough with how the vision had changed that she applied the brakes. It was just 96 hours before the participants were ready to take the field, following three months of prep and with camera tests completed and cast and budget in place.

Mitchell to make ‘Time’ with MGM
‘Shrek’ director to tackle live-action fantasy
MGM has tapped Mike Mitchell (”Shrek Forever After”) to direct its live-action fantasy “Once Upon a Time”. The story has Cinderella, Snow White and Sleeping Beauty married to their handsome princes, the Charming brothers, and planning to live happily ever after — only to see their spouses go missing. The sisters-in-law set out to save their husbands and the fairy tale kingdom.

Brody, Whitaker, Wood to ‘Experiment’
Scheuring to direct remake of German thriller
Adrien Brody, Forest Whitaker, Elijah Wood and Cam Gigandet will star in “The Experiment,” a remake of the German psychological thriller “Das Experiment”. “Das Experiment,” directed by Oliver Hirschbiegel, centered on a group of ordinary men recruited to take on the roles of guards and prisoners as part of a research study and examined how the effects of assigned roles, power and control affected the participants. Brody will portray the de facto leader of the prisoners while Whitaker will play a guard who’s corrupted by the power he’s given.

First look: What a weird ‘Wonderland’ Burton’s made
Those who have grown curiouser and curiouser about what the offbeat reinventor of Charlie and the Chocolate Factory might conjure up in his version of Alice in Wonderland can feast their eyes on this array of concept art and publicity images, due to hang in movie theaters this week to promote the March 5, 2010, release.

M. Night Shyamalan Still Considering ‘Unbreakable’ Sequel
“I am,” revealed Shyamalan. “I don’t know where all the parties are in the world. Sam [Jackson] is like ‘Mr. Comic Book’ now. And Bruce, I don’t know what he’s up to. I don’t know where Disney’s at in their head and what kind of movies they’re up for making. But yeah, I love that movie.”

Rambo 5 Tones it Down, Expendables Goes PG-13?
Producer Avi Lerner said that they lost at least half the audience for “Rambo” (2008) with such a hard R, so neither The Expendables nor the Rambo sequel will be as brutal. He did, however, say that it is not an “if” but a “when.” Rambo 5 is definiteley coming to theaters near you. Also interesting, there will be both PG-13 and R rated cuts for The Expendables and they will test each to decide which to release.

Teen Wolf Howls Again?
A remake of the classic Michael J. Fox starrer “Teen Wolf” is in early development. Warner Bros (who snagged the rights to the film series about five or six years ago) are currently out to writers, looking for the craftiest reinterpretation of Rod Daniels’ 1985 hit. They’re not quite certain ”which way they’re going to go”…

Don Murphy Takes Option on Cory Doctorow’s Little Brother, Lines Up More Good Stuff
Don Murphy has optioned Cory Doctorow’s semi-sci-fi political activism adventure novel, Little Brother. Thanks to Creative Commons, you can download it for yourself, for free [http://craphound.com/littlebrother/Bruces_Little_Brother.pdf]. The story doubles as a kind of handbook on how to use social networking media, wit and chutzpah to fight back in a dictatorship. Murphy has retained Doctorow as a consultant for the feature adaptation.

Kurtzman and Orci Talk About The Future of Star Trek
“We have had discussions about the debate of the exploration sci-fi plot where the unknown and nature itself is somehow an adversary or the villain model. That’s an active discussion we’re having right now. In terms of thinking about more than one movie, we want the movie to be self-contained in a way, but we’re discussing the idea of having a couple of threads where if the second movie works, you could pick up into a cohesive whole. No thread more exciting and shocking for me when in Star Trek III you realize that Spock grabbed Bones and downloaded his Katra into him. When I saw Star Trek II I was like, ‘What’s going on here?’ and two years later, you’re watching it and you’re like ‘They’re geniuses! They’re geniuses!’” [Video]

The Fine Print

This is by no means meant to be a comprehensive roundup of the entire weeks’ news. All stories are chosen by me for no other reason than that they got my attention and might capture yours. If something you think is more important chime in on the feedback; we’d love to hear comments and have a conversation about it.

• Director: Takashi Miike
• Writer: Hiroshi Takahashi, Shogo Muto
• Year of Release: 2007
• Actors: Shun Oguri, Kyôsuke Yabe, Meisa Kuroki, Takayuki Yamada, Sansei Shiomi, Kenichi Endo, Goro Kishitani
• Genre: Drama, Action
• Country of Origin: Japan

Trailer

[See post to watch Flash video]

The Big O’s main theme throughout the first season centers around memories, and whether or not our memories shape us into who we are, and if it is absolutely necessary for us to have them.  Obviously this theme is a little odd, but considering that the story is set in the city of amnesia, Paradigm City, it is pretty obvious that memories play a pretty key role.  Roger Smith is a negotiator in this city, and he is the protagonist of the show.  He is a man who pilots the Mega Deuce Big O, a giant robot that protects the city.  He also lives in a large mansion with a butler named Norman and an android named R. Dorthy Wainwright.  Above I mentioned that The Big O shares a lot in common with Batman, the reason being, is because the people at Sunrise who created The Big O worked on the Batman animated series, so when they started this project they took a few things from their previous job with them.  This makes the series a lot more American friendly than most animes from Japan.  Even though Roger Smith doesn’t where a costume, he has many cool gadgets and also abhors guns, a lot like Batman.  Also Roger Smith looks a lot like Bruce Wayne, but in an anime style.  The story follows Roger Smith, but it also centers around his friend at the Military Police, Daustin, who shares a close relationship with Roger.  Even though this relationship is similar to that of Batman and the Commissioner, Daustin does play a very large role in the series, although not at first, possibly a much larger role than the commissioner had in Batman’s adventures.  While most series have to have a clear cut villain, The Big O does not really have one in the first season.  Instead Dorthy and Roger investigate various cases and slowly begin to unravel some secrets of Paradigm City.

Of course the story of The Big O is filled with combat between Big O and various other giant robots.  The design of the cockpit and the controls of the Mega Deuce are fascinating, as they are very old and appear almost as if they originated during a time before computers.  Which fits right in with the story, as no one knows where these robots came from.  Anyone who watches the show, will recognize the familiar line displayed on the cockpit’s screen when Roger enters Big O, “Cast In The Name Of God, Ye Not Guilty.” While some may find the fights between Big O and his enemies to be rather simplistic, considering that initially only Big O’s punching ability is shown, it is a slightly different way of doing fights.  Instead of changing the way the main character fights, they keep putting robots against him that have unique abilities, that way it remains fresh.  While Big O’s fights are cool to watch, Roger also has his moments of combat or espionage which help break up the battles and add some depth to the show’s action.

Big O has its positives, its one negative is the theme song, while some may not mind the repetitive nature of it, others may find it rather dumb and an odd choice for such a serious show.  Yet the rest of the sound design is pretty decent, and certainly is not too repetitive.  Time for a rating, if you are looking for an anime that is sort of easy to grasp if you are not into anime, this is definitely a cool or cool+ even.  For those who are pretty die hard anime fans, this probably won’t be that big of a deal for you, but it certainly at least deserves a cool-.  If you absolutely despise mech animes and are not a big fan of Batman, then this show is definitely not for you.  One thing to note about the actual DVDs is that for some reason I could not find an actual season DVD, and instead had to buy them in volumes, this first season is pretty much contained in volume one, season one runs from episode one to episode thirteen, so it should not be too hard to track it down.

Stories Covered

• ARG titled arhrrrr
• dynasty warrior 6 screenies
• wow mounts easier to get
• mapwow
• squid yes, not so octopus
• gameplay footage
• direction dance

Come to Supanova Sydney or Perth 2009 and meet the stars and even see us.

We will be running around like mad hatters over the 2 weekends making sure it all works, but don’t let that stop you from saying hi.

Full details of Supanova over at www.supanova.com.au

Obviously with us running around for 2 weeks, the site isn’t going to be updated as regularly, but don’t panic, we will be back after Supanova with more reviews and view that you guys love.

Feel free to comment on the video, it was done off the cuff after the Underworld: Rise of the Lycans comepetition video. Have you entered the competition yet?

• Director: McG
• Writer: John D. Brancato, Michael Ferris
• Year of Release: 2009
• Actors: Christian Bale, Sam Worthington, Moon Bloodgood, Helena Bonham Carter, Anton Yelchin, Bryce Dallas Howard, Michael Ironside
• Genre: Action, Sci-Fi
• Country of Origin: USA

Trailer

[See post to watch Flash video]