Superheroines and their Alter Egos, Illustrated [Images]
Artist Danny Haas has created some very cool prints of superheroines and
their alter egos. Not only are they very art deco and stylish, but they
als...
The Most Amazing 'Transformers' Blu-Rays Ever, 2-Headed Sharks And More DVDs This Week [Stuff]
This week we have a couple of sought after disks in Transformers and Star
Trek: The Next Generation and a few schlocky movies which may be fun. Plus,...
Apparently, TRON Was All About Butts [News]
A new book called The Making of Tron: How Tron Changed Visual Effects and
Disney Forever goes in-depth into the production of the original TRON.
T...
Darth Vader Portrait Made From The Original Star Wars Script [Image]
An enterprising geek, named David Johns, took the fourth draft of the Star
Wars: Episode IV A New Hope script and colored the words to make a black
...
Welcome back to our continuing series of profiles of men and women that geeks love. This week, we're profiling the guy who put Doctor Who in glasses: David Tennant.
David Tennant (real name David John McDonald) was born in West Lothian, Scotland. Ever since he was three years old, he wanted to be Doctor Who. His acting career started when he was sixteen, and thrived with roles on stage with the Royal Shakespeare Company, and television in dramas such as Blackpool and Casanova. In 2005, his dream came true as he took on the role of the Doctor. He starred in Doctor Who for five years until 2010, when he left the show, but has continued to garner acclaim for his acting in movies and theater.
What do new Dark Knight Rises Batman and Bane costumes show? What miniseries took you behind the world of H.G. Wells? What's the stupid pineapple contest? Battlestar Galactica trivia, a Doctor Who word find and a brand new award! All in this week's links.
Trivia Question
Motivational Geek Quote
Award
Links
Games
Trivia Answer
1. Trivia Question:
In the 1970s Battlestar Galactica series about the last surviving colonists of a planet seeking a new home, the evil enemy Cylons were originally supposed to be:
A) Aliens
B) Cyborgs
C) Robots
D) Ronald Reagan
(Answer at the end of the post)
2.Motivational Geek Quote
"Hey, hey, hey — don't be mean. We don't have to be mean. 'Cause, remember: No matter where you go... there you are." - Buckaroo Bonzai The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984)
3. Award
Winner: M. Pax
This week we have a brand new award. We're calling it the "Weird Science" Excellence In Science Award. We're giving it to a blog that consistently makes science and scientific topics accessible and interesting. I couldn't think of a better recipient than Mary Pax (M. Pax). I find astronomy mildly interesting, but her stories and amazing pictures make it fascinating.
Here are the rules of the award. On your blog, you have to list three men and women of science that inspire you. Then, pass this on to three blogs that you find makes science interesting.
Let's Get Out Of Here! has a post featuring an old movie poster for the Mel Brooks Young Frankenstein take-off called Old Dracula starring David Niven. I love the tagline on that poster.
SQT showed us the trailer for Guy Pearce's action movie Lockout. See Guy Pearce in action in the new full length trailer for LOCKOUT, the sci-fi action thriller from the producers of TAKEN. The film follows a falsely convicted ex- government agent (Pearce), whose one chance at obtaining freedom lies in the dangerous mission of rescuing the President’s daughter (Maggie Grace) from rioting convicts at an outer space maximum security prison.
Thanks to Grumpy Bulldog I heard about the "Stupid pineapple" blogfest to win a free book and a $10 Amazon gift card! Read the rules here at Thinking The Lions.
Comics Alliance has an article about the new Entertainment Weekly photos of the Batman and Bane costumes. Frankly, I don't see anything new here, but head over there if you want another peek.
The article does have a quote from Christopher Nolan about Bane's muffled voice. "I think when people see the film, things will come into focus," says the director. "Bane is very complex and very interesting and when people see the finished film people will be very entertained by him."
M. Pax has a review of the mini-series I never heard of called The Infinite Worlds of H.G. Wells which is a fictional retelling of some of his short stories. You can pick it up at Amazon here.
5. Games
I'm trying something new this week. I'm going to try building a sci-fi themed game for you to play. Let me know if you find it fun. It's a wordsearch for Doctor Who. You can download it here or just use the image below.
Here's the word list: Time Lord , Rose Tyler , Martha Jones , Mickey Smith , Jackie Tyler , Pete Tyler , TARDIS , Sonic screwdrivers , Slitheen , Abzorbaloff , Davros , Satellite 5 , Captain Jack Harkness , Nanogenes , Sycorax , New Earth , Human farm , Werewolf , Sarah Jane Smith , Krillitanes , K9 , SS Madame De Pompadour , Cybermen , Cybus Industries , John Lumic , Sanctuary Base , Genesis Ark , Parallel Worlds , Cult of Skaro , Plasmavores , Judoon , Ood , Matt Smith , William Hartnel , Patrick Troughton , Jon Pertwee , Tom Baker , Gallifrey , Peter Davison , Colin Baker , Sylvester McCoy , Paul McGann , Christopher Eccleston , David Tennant , Cybermen , Face of Boe
6. Trivia Answer:
The answer is A. Glen Larsen originally planned the Cylons to be reptilian aliens covered in armor. ABC vetoed the idea due to its non-violence standards. They felt it would be too violent to have the Colonists killing living creatures, so the Cylons were changed to machines built by reptilian masters. Interestingly, Ron Moore's version of the show had biological Cylons as well as machines.
Source: http://galactica1981.tripod.com/Facts.htm
The "Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation" is a great cause and "Legendary Women" is giving you the chance to contribute and win some great prizes! Read on to find out how to participate. Hurry, the drive ends on February 12th, so enter today!
They sent a press release and the full release follows. Smallville Fans Unite to Raise Money for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation
January 10, 2012 –
Fans of the television show Smallville have banded together to
raise money for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation and to honor
two of their favorite characters, Lana Lang (played by Kristin Kreuk)
and Chloe Sullivan (played by Allison Mack). The fundraiser,
sponsored by Legendary Women, Inc. and Sweet, will run from January
12 to February 12, 2012. All monies raised will be donated to
the Reeve Foundation on February 20, 2012.
“There’s a tradition
of Smallville fans raising money for the Reeve Foundation,”
says Carolyn West of Legendary Women, Inc. “It started
in 2003 when Christopher Reeve first appeared on Smallville and
it’s estimated fans have raised $7,600.00 over the years. In
2010 Legendary Women, Inc. turned it into an annual event and last year
we were able to personally present actress Allison Mack with a certificate
showing how much had been donated.”
“It made sense that this
year Smallville fandom would unite to honor Lana and Chloe,”
adds Katie Silverman of Sweet. “On the show both characters
cared deeply about the world and went to extraordinary measures to help
others. Even though Smallville is now off the air, we can
keep their spirits alive by supporting the Reeve Foundation in its efforts
to cure spinal cord injuries and help those living with paralysis.”
Those interested in contributing
to the fundraisers can donate through Pay Pal at fundraising@legendarywomen.org
or by going directly to the donation page of The Reeve Foundation’s
website (www.christopherreeve.org) and taking the time to add a note
indicating that they’re donating as part of the Smallville
fundraiser.
There are also two raffles,
one with prizes featuring Lana Lang/Kristin Kreuk and the other with
prizes featuring Chloe Sullivan/Allison Mack. Tickets for the
raffle can be purchased at www.legendarywomen.org
* * * * *
Legendary Women, Inc.
is an organization dedicated to the promotion of positive images of
women in the media and to fundraise for charities that help women.
Founded in 2010, it has raised money for The Christopher and Dana Reeve
Foundation, SA-YES and Moving Creations, Inc. In January 2012,
it launched the website www.legendarywomen.org as a way to celebrate
positive female characters, highlight real world women role models and
discuss feminist issues in the media. In February 2012 it will
highlight and celebrate Smallville’s Chloe Sullivan
Sweet is an on-line
forum for fans of the pairing of Clark Kent and Lana Lang from the television
show Smallville. Created in 2002, it has over 40,000 members
and has held two different campaigns that have raised over $3,000 for
The Reeve Foundation in the past. The forum’s archives can be
found at http://lanaclark.suddenlaunch2.com/index.cgi and its current,
active incarnation is located at http://z13.invisionfree.com/lanaclark/index.php?act=idx
The Christopher and Dana
Reeve Foundation – was founded in 1982 as the American Paralysis
Foundation. After his accident in 1995 Christopher and his wife Dana
Reeve dedicated their names and energies to curing spinal cord injury.
The Foundation funds innovative research and improves the quality of
life for people living with paralysis through grants, information and
advocacy. More about the Reeve Foundation can be found at www.christopherreeve.org
Back in 2010, we reported on Tony Alleyne, a man in the UK who remodeled his 500-foot apartment (or "flat" as they say across the pond...pip-pip, cheerio) to mimic the look and feel of the USS Voyager from Star Trek: Voyager. To say it was incredible is an understatement. Among other things, Alleyne put in a voice-activated lighting system, a command console, a transporter room, It took ten years, cost over $150,000, put him into bankruptcy, and gained worldwide attention. You can take a virtual tour at his website...and enjoy it while it lasts, because it's all coming down.
Turns out Alleyne has an ex-wife who actually owns the apartment, and she wants to make her money back on it by selling it someone else. The catch is that (oddly enough) she doesn't think there'll be much of a market for a Star Trek-themed apartment, especially since it doesn't have a kitchen or a place to sleep. So she's tearing it down. Can't we find someone to buy this place and preserve it? Anyone reading this who might want to buy it or knows someone who might want to buy it should contact Alleyne at 24th Century Interior Design ASAP. Seriously. I wish we could start a collection fund to buy this place. It's practically a national treasure. You could turn it into a museum or sell tickets for tours or maybe rent it out for the night.
Needless to say, Alleyne is devastated by the demolition of his life's work, but more so are all the geeks who lived vicariously through him. Then again, the destruction of the Voyager apartment can't be as bad as the series finale of Star Trek: Enterprise. Hey-ohhhhhhh.
Would you pay to spend the night or tour the Star Trek: Voyager Apartment? Would you pitch in a few bucks to save it?
[Via The Register via TrekToday]
The war over whether Star Wars or Star Trek is the better franchise still rages on. This time it's drawn in Liam Neeson and Patrick Stewart. They were on The Graham Norton Show, and Norton took the opportunity to compare their action figures. The results are thought-provoking and hilarious.
Imagine if Batman and Robin had been cool. Bat-girl is edgy. Poison Ivy is seductive and Batman and Robin still wear the goofy costumes, but everything else is so cool we can ignore it.
Joel Schumaker almost ruined the franchise, but in the fan film Death Wish (2012) directed by Matthew Hiscox and
written by Jennifer Zhang they add a much needed dose of cool to the film.
Synopsis: Armed with a lethal neurotoxin, a mysterious assailant is
targeting the kingpins of Gotham’s criminal underground. As Batman and
Robin are drawn deeper into an investigation that ensnares more and more
of the rogues gallery, a disturbing revelation about the identity of
the attacker begins to take shape.
Michael Hiscox described the video this way, "As mixed as the opinions are on Joel Schumacher’s Batman movies, those were the Batman films our generation grew up with, and to an extent we look back on them with fondness. Yes, we love Christopher Nolan’s gritty re-imaging of the Batman world, but we also know no one can successfully recreate something like that in a fan film. 'Batman: Death Wish' was inspired by something that was more reminiscent of the Batman from our childhoods – less gritty, less grim, a little more hyper-realistic, but still dark and heroic. Stylistically, we wanted to blend Schumacher’s Batman films with 'Batman: The Animated Series' and the 'No Man’s Land' world of Batman from the comics – utilizing the Bat-Family when they were at their strongest. It’s something we didn’t see any other fan filmmakers attempting."
The list of guest stars include Harley Quinn, Riddler, Oracle and more.
Artist Danny Haas has created some very cool prints of superheroines and their alter egos. Not only are they art deco and stylish, but they also capture how iconic some female heroes are in the comics. While male superheroes like Batman and Superman are easily recognized, these ladies have their own look as well, both in costume and their personal life. Only complaint is that I wish he hadn't gone so overboard with the distressed look. Check out the pics below...
Can you identify all the heroines and their alter egos?
[Via Artofdanny via Herochan]
This week we have a couple of sought after disks in Transformers 3 and Star Trek: The Next Generation and a few schlocky movies which may be fun. Plus, a series narrated by Stephen Hawkings!
The Break-Down 1. If you bought the Transformers: Dark of the Moon DVD, you may have noticed that there are zero extras. Just the movie and nothing else. Director Michael Bay said he was holding out for the 3-D version of the disk and it wasn't ready yet. Now at last you can pick up the three-disk combo of Transformers: Dark of the Moon. It's loaded with extras and looks great. I'll definitely be picking it up. Since I don't know anyone that has a 3-D TV, I'll just hold onto it in the unlikely event I get one. If you have a 3-D TV, please call me. I'll bring pizza.
Product Details
Format: AC-3, Box set, Color, Dolby, Subtitled, 3D, Widescreen
Language: English
Subtitles: English, French, Portuguese, Spanish
Number of discs: 4
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount Studios
DVD Release Date: January 31, 2012
Run Time: 154 minutes
Disc 1: Feature Film -- Blu-Ray 3D
Disc 2: Feature Film -- Blu-Ray
Disc 3: Special Features -- Blu-Ray
Above and Beyond: Exploring Dark of the Moon
- Rising from the Fallen: Development and Design
- Ready for Prime Time: Filming Across America
- Battle in the Heartland: Shooting in Chicago
- Attack of the Birdmen: Aerial Stunts
- Shadow of the Sentinel: Post-Production and Release
- Uncharted Territory: NASA's Future Then and Now
Deconstructing Chicago: Multi-Angle Sequences
- Previsualizations with optional commentary by director Michael Bay and previsualization supervisor Steve Yamamoto
- Previsualizations/Final Shot Comparison with optional commentary by director Michael Bay and previsualization supervisor Steve Yamamoto
- Visual Effects with optional commentary by visual effects supervisors Scott Farrar and Matthew Butler
- Visual Effects/Final Shot Comparison with optional commentary by visual effects supervisors Scott Farrar and Matthew Butler
The Art of Cybertron
- Autobots
- Decepticons
- Environments
- Weapons and Gear
- Ships
The Dark of the Moon Archive
- 3D: A Transforming Visual Art
- Moscow World Premiere
- Birdmen Featurette
- Cody's iPad
- The Sound of Transformers: Dark of the Moon
The Matrix of Marketing
- Trailers
- Marketing Gallery
Disc 4: Feature Film -- DVD
2. Here's the most amazing Transformers Trilogy you'll ever see. It's the seven disk Transformers Limited Edition Collector's Trilogy Set. According to Bay it's the greatest disk you'll ever own with a box that unfolds to display all seven disks and a hand-signed plaque by Michael Bay. Originally listed at $150, it's at Amazon for just under a $90. That's a pretty good price. Plus, they're only making 5000 of these. Which means, by the time you read this, they've probably all been sold. You can check Amazon, but this is going to be one of those rare over-priced items eBay loves to auction off. Check out the unboxing video by Bay himself.
Product Details
Actors: Shia LaBeouf, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley, Tyrese Gibson, Josh Duhamel, Megan Fox
Directors: Michael Bay
Writers: Alex Kurtzman, Ehren Kruger, John Rogers, Roberto Orci
Producers: Allegra Clegg, Brian Goldner, Don Murphy
Format: Widescreen
Language: English, French, Spanish
Subtitles: English, French, Spanish, Portuguese
Number of discs: 7
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: Paramount Studios
DVD Release Date: January 31, 2012
Product Description
- Includes all three Transformers movies on DVD and Blu-ray and Transformers: Dark of the Moon on Blu-ray 3D
- Loaded with over 10 hours of bonus features and packaged in exclusive trophy display packaging
- Features a movie plaque signed by director Michael Bay with images from all three films
- Limited quantity
3. For Star Trek fans, we've got the Blu-Ray disk Star Trek: The Next Generation - Next Level. The reason they call it the next level is because there have been disks before. The big difference in this one is image quality. They created a process to take the original film negatives and create "1080p HD masters with true HD visual effects". It's a pretty sweet transfer too. The image quality looks great, especially if you watch the trailer. I added a picture below, but it doesn't really do it justice.
The only down-side for this disk is it's called a "sampler". So, it only has three episodes. The feature-length version of the two-part series pilot, "Encounter at Farpoint," and fan-favorite episodes "Sins of the Father" and "The Inner Light." If you're only going to watch three episodes from the series I couldn't have picked a better choice. Season one is coming out later on.
Product Details
Format: Color, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled
Language: English
Subtitles: Danish, Dutch, English, French, German, Japanese, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, Castillian, Finnish
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.33:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: Paramount
DVD Release Date: January 31, 2012
Run Time: 182 minutes
Special Features
- Star Trek: The Next Generation - Next Level Promo
- Star Trek Padd - iPad App Promo spot
- Star Trek - The Next Generation teaser promo
3. I would never recommend going to the theater for In Time (2011), the Justin Timberlake film about a world where people use life as currency, but it's a definite rental. The movie got 3 out of 5 stars from me in my review. I'm planning to watch it again and see of my opinion changes.
Product Details
Actors: Justin Timberlake, Amanda Seyfried
Directors: Andrew Niccol
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, DTS Surround Sound, Dubbed, Subtitled, Widescreen
Language: English
Subtitles: English, Spanish
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1
Number of discs: 2
Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Release Date: January 31, 2012
Run Time: 109 minutes
4. This one sounds surprisingly good, but I'm pretty sure I'll never see it. Originally called
Dr. Jekylly el
Hombre Lobo, it's the Spanish film Dr. Jekyll Vs. The Werewolf (1972). Here's the synopsis, "Paul Naschy returns as El Hombre Lobo for the sixth time as he searches for a
cure to his lycanthropy by visiting the grandson of the infamous Dr. Jekyll. He
is given a serum that transforms him into a Hyde-like personality in the hope
that it will sublimate his werewolf-self, but it results unfortunately in an
even more savage monster."
Doesn't that sound cool? Unfortunately, it doesn't say if it's subtitled or dubbed or anything. I don't know enough Spanish to watch it. It's a limited edition which means there are only 500 units and each hand numbered. Kind of cool.
Product Details
Actors: Paul Naschy, Shirley Corrigan, Jack Taylor
Directors: León Klimovsky
Format: Full Screen, NTSC
Region: All Regions
Number of discs: 1
Studio: Apprehensive Films
DVD Release Date: January 31, 2012
Run Time: 73 minutes
5. If you've ever wondered if Carmen Electra and Charlie O'Donnell stopped acting and if Brooke Hogan ever started, the film 2 Headed Shark Attackmay or may not answer the question. Directed by Christopher Olen Ray it's another D-Movie horror movie based on the idea that nothing is scary than sharks with bizarre deformities. The synopsis is great: "When a college educational ship is sunk by
a mutated two-headed shark, the survivors escape to a deserted atoll.
But when it starts flooding, the coeds are no longer safe from the
double jaws of the monster." Checking out the Asylum website, it looks like they decided to skip using CGI and made horrible life-size rubber sharks. This could be hilariously bad, so I hope it comes to Syfy.
Product Details
Actors: Carmen Electra, Brooke Hogan, Charlie O'Connell
Directors: Christopher Olen Ray
Format: AC-3, NTSC, Surround Sound, Widescreen
Language: English
Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
Aspect Ratio: 1.77:1
Number of discs: 1
Rated: Unrated
Studio: The Asylum Home Entertainment
DVD Release Date: January 31, 2012
Run Time: 90 minutes
6. Finally, for the science fans comes the Blu-Ray disk Into The Universe With Stephen Hawking. A Discovery channel series original it's described this way: "Into The Universe with Stephen Hawking is an epic new kind of cosmology series, a Planet Earth of the heavens. It takes the world's most famous scientific mind and sets it free, powered by the limitless possibilities of computer animation. Hawking gives us the ultimate guide to the universe, a ripping yarn based on real science, spanning the whole of space and time -- from the nature of the universe itself, to the chances of alien life, and the real possibility of time travel." I hope this doesn't sound mean, but it's narrated by Stephen Hawkings and it doesn't sound anything like him. I don't know if that's because he has a better voice synthesizer or they have someone reading his text, but he sounds normal. Here's a clip if you're interested.
What disks are you buying this week? Any stuff you'd recommend buying?
Nigel G. Mitchell
Welcome back to our continuing series of profiles of men and women that geeks love. This week, we're profiling the guy who put Doctor Who
in glasses: David Tennant.
and Casanova
. In 2005, his dream came true as he took on the role of the Doctor. He starred in Doctor Who for five years until 2010, when he left the show, but has continued to garner acclaim for his acting in movies and theater.
, this scene where Dr. Octavius is demonstrating his fusion reaction bothers me. Here's how it should have gone...
. To say it was incredible is an understatement. Among other things, Alleyne put in a voice-activated lighting system, a command console, a transporter room, It took ten years, cost over $150,000, put him into bankruptcy, and gained worldwide attention. You can take a 
or 
is the better franchise still rages on. This time it's drawn in Liam Neeson and Patrick Stewart. They were on The Graham Norton Show, and Norton took the opportunity to compare their action figures. The results are thought-provoking and hilarious.
. But it doesn't shoot phasers. Touché, Star Wars.
