I quite liked Part 1 of the Dark Knight Returns adaptation, and I don’t see why Part 2 would be any less great. I can’t wait to see Batman take Superman down on film. And Ollie. Damn, I really can’t wait to see Ollie… This is going to be great.
This might be the high point of Frank Miller’s career. And it’ll help me forget that The Spirit film adaptation even exists.
This is a trailer for an Argentinian Robotech Fan Film.
As a certified Robotech Nerd, I can’t begin to explain how good this looks. It makes me wish Hollywood had picked this up and ran with it, especially when they had Lawrence Kasdan working on the script.
Aside from the video, you can like these guys on Facebook and keep up with their film. I hope they add English subtitles.
Here’s the plot outline on their facebook page, as run through Google translate:
In 1999 an alien spacecraft fell on a South Pacific island and humanity was struck by the sign of a truly advanced technology, with an unimaginable firepower
The whole planet arms collaborated with a project based on what they had discovered. When they called “Technology Robotech”, should understand, manipulate and develop what was found on that ship.
In a remote town in South America, a group of scientists working against collaborating with the construction of the first multipurpose variable fighter plane called: Veritech VF1X.
In 2005, they are about to discover something very powerful … Human ambition to reach beyond any price would bring catastrophic consequences.
An event that would forever change the reality, a secret that would remain in the strictest of silence for years and only now released.
I’ve been out of Roleplaying Games for a long time. In fact, I hadn’t really played much at all since high school. I’d never really been a game master for any games, either. I was simply a player.
Late in 2011 (just slightly over a year ago) I decided I was going to get my kids HeroQuest to play as a Christmas Eve activity. That’s a thing in my family, to open and play a board game on Christmas Eve. You can read about my quest to find it here. Over the course of 2012, with the help of my kids and siblings, I fell back in love with board gaming.
My sister tried edging me closer and closer to good old-fashioned pen and paper roleplaying. She got me a copy of the Pathfinder Beginner’s Box. I found I liked the d20 mechanics of the game and was buying books left and right and they’d somehow convinced me to run a game. Since I’d been the dungeon master for HeroQuest (and later Descent) I was the natural choice to be the game master for our games.
Wanting to do it right, I spent about a month developing a world and a story for us to play in. And, let’s be honest, I’m going to be writing stories about our adventures (and, if there’s demand, the game details in case anyone else wants to run my game). Finally, on Thanksgiving I ran my first game as a gamemaster and I couldn’t be happier with how things went.
We’re playing a mix between Pathfinder and Dungeons and Dragons 3.5, mixing and matching the rules into a system that makes the most sense. Mostly Pathfinder, though, since I find the Dungeons and Dragons way of doing and saying things a bit pedantic and needlessly complicated, though there is still some great stuff in there.
Since I’m coming at things from such a different angle, as a writer and a storyteller, I’ve been convinced to pass on the little things I’m doing in my game here, to you guys, in hopes that it might improve your games. And my hope is that we can have discussions about this sort of thing as well.
I’m not going to just be playing Pathfinder and passing on my tips about that, either. By popular demand, I’m going to be running a Star Wars roleplaying game as well.
So, for the first column, I want to talk about my version of what I think a game master is and isn’t.
What I don’t think the gamemaster should be is the opponent of the players. Sure, the gamemaster has to challenge them and take on the role of their opponents, but the chief concern of the gamemaster is to facilitate a fun, strategic, environment in which to tell a collaborative story.
The gamemaster is a referee and a guide. Not the adversary.
If players aren’t having fun, it’s your job to engage them. It’s never your aim to antagonize them (unless you’re playing a non-player character whose aim is antagonism), it’s your aim to have fun with them.
Why do friends get around a table and play a game? It’s not so they can sit around and brood depressively and sulk because they’re not deriving any enjoyment. They’re there to have fun. Since you’re the gamemaster you have to provide the stage presence to set the tone of the night, ratcheting up the fun. That doesn’t mean the story can’t be dramatic. In fact, I think it should be.
The story needs to be strong enough to grip the characters, but you need to be flexible enough in that story to allow the players a say in what happens. Every game I’ve run so far (a grand total of 3) goes drastically different than I planned.
Giving the players a say in what happens makes them feel like their decisions matter in the world you created. The first game I played, I contrived a story that the characters needed to steal a wand from a castle armoury in a daring Ocean’s 11 style heist. I built everything they would need to do it and a thousand different details for them to build plans. I even gave them an NPC to help who knew the inner-workings of the castle.
But they came up with a better plan. And convinced the lord of that castle of a completely different course of action I was’t prepared for. I asked them to take a 5 minute bathroom break and reorganized everything so I looked far more prepared than I was for the change in direction.
They all had fun and their decisions meant something. I didn’t force my story on them, merely the setting. That’s the job of the gamemaster. You’re in charge of the setting and dangle story lures in front of them. The players decide which hooks they bite, you just need to be prepared to reel them in when they choose.
Perhaps this seemed remedial, or RPG 101 to many of you, but I’m just getting my sea legs on this in a serious way for the first time and I hope you’ll bear with me. I’ve got some interesting things coming up and I hope you stick around.
Scoundrels is Timothy Zahn’s return to the Star Wars universe and he delivers us a send up of Ocean’s Eleven, starring Han Solo, Chewbacca, Lando, and a number of other characters those of us who have read any of the Expanded Universe would know (and a pile of new characters, too.)
Set just after the events of A New Hope, Han Solo is in debt to Jabba, just like always, and is looking for a score that will settle his debts when one that is too good to be true falls into his lap (almost by coincidence.) It’s a daring heist and he’ll need a team to pull it off. He brings in a whole host of criminals, rogues, and scoundrels and they get set to work.
The story is generally straightforward for the long-con structure Zahn goes after. That’s not to say there aren’t any twists and turns, there are MANY twists and turns, but they’re almost to be expected for the sort of story that’s being told. Though you expect there to be those twists and turns, Zahn manages to find ways to twist them one step further than you’d expect. There truly is nothing predictable about this book. And every time our scoundrels get a bead on how to do things, a new hydrospanner is thrown into the sublight drive.
The book is highly entertaining and enjoyable. I had a smile on my face the whole time. Tim’s writing just does that. It’s sure of itself and knows what it’s doing. To my mind, there aren’t enough Star Wars books that maintain that light-hearted sense of adventure that permeates Star Wars. Too often they’re brooding affairs, which is fine. I love Shatterpoint and Darth Plagueis as much as the next man. But sometimes you just want a fun Star Wars book, and this is among the best.
I loved the assortment of characters, from the con-men employed to Han and Lando’s delicate relationship. It all rang so true that it made me happy. I also really loved the way Winter was used in the book, and how they actually played on the recent destruction of Alderaan. I really don’t think enough attention is paid to the fact that billions of people were killed on Alderaan and there are people in the galaxy who felt it. Zahn gives us that window through Winter and utilizes her better than I can ever remember her being used.
Perhaps in a couple of weeks I’ll write a new review to discuss the ending. Because the book ends in a way that forces you to want to immediately start it over again, and I wouldn’t blame anyone who does. It’s a totally different experience reading it over from the beginning knowing what you learned through the first read through. But I don’t want to leave any spoilers. Just know that there are revelations you learn by the end of the book that almost require a second reading.
My only complaint about the book was the length. I really feel like it could have been a tight 50 or 60,000 words and felt more like a movie. The book was long and perhaps it could have been tightened down, streamlined for a better movie-like pace. But I’ll take what I can get.
I would give this book 5 stars. It’s excellent Star Wars, and I don’t often say that about the books in the EU.
You can pick it up on Amazon in hardcover or on Kindle.
The Clone Wars has been going strong for a lot longer than many of us realize. Especially given that Saturday’s episode brings us the 100th episode of the show.
I know some have complained about our current arc, but I think critics might be missing the forest for the trees. The last episode was entertaining, this next one appears doubly so.
From the press release:
Star Wars: The Clone Wars celebrates 100 episodes with a new installment that uncovers an elite Republic clone commando who has gone “Missing in Action,” airing Saturday, January 5th at 9:30am ET/PT on Cartoon Network.
Given the series’ title and its backdrop of galactic warfare, Star Wars: The Clone Wars often focuses on the valiant and tireless clone troopers tasked to defend the Republic from darkness. The vivid personalities of these soldiers often challenge many assumptions about the nature of clones, and has created a roster of individual heroes. This tradition continues in the 100th broadcast episode, “Missing in Action,” with the intriguing addition of Gregor, a Republic clone commando suffering from amnesia who has seemingly forgotten his true nature.
Since its debut in 2008, Star Wars: The Clone Wars has pushed the boundaries of the epic Star Wars saga with high adventure, explosive action, and incredibly detailed animation usually reserved for the big screen. Created and executive produced by George Lucas, the series has continued the story of classic characters like Anakin Skywalker and Obi-Wan Kenobi, while adding new heroes, villains, rogues and sidekicks to the Star Wars mythos.
“Thanks to our partnership with Cartoon Network, we have been able to bring The Clone Wars into millions of homes not only in the United States, but around the world,” said Tom Quinn, Lucasfilm’s Head of Worldwide Distribution. “We appreciate the support they have given the series and their enthusiasm for the brand.”
Over the course of five seasons, Star Wars: The Clone Wars has featured elaborate and thrilling action sequences across exotic alien worlds, added to the lore of the Jedi and Sith while plumbing the deepest mysteries of the Force, revealed new surprises about classic movie icons like Obi-Wan, Boba Fett, Darth Maul and Chewbacca, and introduced new characters like Ahsoka Tano, Savage Opress, Cad Bane, and Clone Captain Rex that have grown into fan favorites. It has welcomed guest stars like Liam Neeson, Jon Favreau, Simon Pegg, Seth Green, Clancy Brown and David Tennant, while also making its core cast of talented actors fan-cherished additions to the Star Wars saga’s huge galaxy of stars.
In looking back upon the first 100 episodes of Star Wars: the Clone Wars, here’s what the team behind the series had to share:
· “From the start, the idea was to show that there were many more Star Wars stories left to tell after the six movies. We all love the Star Wars universe, and we wanted to keep it alive on-screen in a way that had never been done before. We looked at everything that had been created before us, going back to the original film in 1977, and we mined concept art, behind-the-scenes footage, comics, games, novels and brought it together with George’s guidance to make a series that jumps to every corner of his galaxy. I’m very proud of my crew, and all of Lucasfilm for being part of this series. I’m looking forward to what comes next. Seven years after Revenge of the Sith was in theaters, it’s never been a better time to be a Star Wars fan, as the best is yet to come! – Dave Filoni, Supervising Director, Star Wars: The Clone Wars
· “To produce 100 episodes of an animated series is a major milestone. But to produce them at the high level of quality of Star Wars: The Clone Wars is an incredible achievement. And it’s a testament to our amazing crew. They are some of the most talented, dedicated, hard-working and passionate people I’ve ever had the pleasure to work with and know. Being a part of making Star Wars and working closely with George Lucas has been an incredible experience and blessing. I truly feel this work will live on forever. Here’s to another 100 episodes! – Cary Silver, Producer, Star Wars: The Clone Wars
· “Star Wars – the movie I saw twelve times as a 17-year-old. The movie that began a cultural and creative universe that now spans generations. For me to be a part of this in The Clone Wars is a dream come true.” – Clancy Brown, Highlander, The Shawshank Redemption and voice of Savage Opress in Star Wars: The Clone Wars
· “The Clone Wars looks amazing and has incredibly dramatic performances from all of the characters. It’s really incredible to have this seamless expansion of the Star Wars universe.”
– Seth Green, Actor/Creator/Executive Producer· “It is an honor being a part of the phenomenon that is The Star Wars universe. A series that has changed so many people’s lives all across the globe. The Clone Wars has brought me great joy, playing female roles with great strength and creativity. I am so proud knowing that every week families have an action packed and inspiring show to enjoy together. May the Force be with us, always.” – Jaime King, Sin City, Heart of Dixie and voice of Aurra Sing in Star Wars: The Clone Wars
· “It’s a high honor to be a part of the Star Wars universe and such a long running show. Our talented writers, animators and cast of voice actors have made The Clone Wars truly unique. And of course we wouldn’t have hit 100 episodes had it not been for our incredibly dedicated fans that make this possible!” – Matt Lanter, 90210 and the voice of Anakin Skywalker in Star Wars: The Clone Wars
· Having grown up with Star Wars, I cannot describe the thrill of working with Dave and George in pushing this beloved modern myth into challenging and often risky areas. It’s an opportunity I wanted, but surely never thought I’d have. And more than that? Everyone is doing such great work! A barn full of wildly talented maniacs! – Sam Witwer, Being Human, Battlestar Galactica and the voice of Darth Maul in Star Wars: The Clone Wars
· “The Clone Wars is Star Wars for a whole new generation. To be a part of it, let alone to be Obi-Wan Kenobi, is beyond awesome.” – James Arnold Taylor, Johnny Test and voice of Obi-Wan Kenobi in Star Wars: The Clone Wars
· “The milestone of 100 episodes is a reflection of the amazing work and dedication of the entire Clone Wars cast and crew. Being a part of this production has been an honor and privilege that has changed my life forever.” – Ashley Eckstein, Founder of Her Universe and voice of Ahsoka Tano in Star Wars: The Clone Wars
· “Star Wars: The Clone Wars is like nothing else on television. It makes me remember how much I loved Star Wars as a boy, and inspires me to love Star Wars all the more for the thrill, the fun, the heart and sheer inventive awesomeness. The Clone Wars is Star Wars, better than ever. – Dee Bradley Baker, American Dad and voice of the clones in Star Wars: The Clone Wars
· “Back in 2005, when David Acord and I met Dave Filoni, he showed us a hand drawn video storyboard sequence of Anakin and his new apprentice leapfrogging battle droids and scaling a cliff with an AT-TE walker. Even from that humble sequence we could tell that this show was special. In between our geeking out over our love of Star Wars that day, Filoni asked, ‘I wonder if you guys wouldn’t mind adding some sound effects.’ Well, 100 episodes later we still share that bond, and we have all been able to put that love back into the show. We proudly hold this series in our hearts like we do the film saga.” – Matthew Wood, Supervising Sound Editor and voice of General Grievous in Star Wars: The Clone Wars
· “From the beginning, I think we all felt there was something truly special about The Clone Wars. I will be forever proud and grateful to have had the chance to be a part of this show. It has been an obscene amount of fun, I have met the most amazing fans and made friends for life in my Clone Wars family. Congratulations to the whole Clone Wars team on 100 beautiful episodes!” – Catherine Taber, Star Wars: The Old Republic and voice of Padmé Amidala in Star Wars: The Clone Wars
· “I was a Star Wars fan long before I was a Star Wars actor, and to now be part of something that has completely re-energized the franchise, and to be entrusted to voice a character as beloved as Yoda… well, the word ‘humbled’ doesn’t do what I feel justice. Thank you to George, Dave, our stellar cast, everyone at Lucasfilm and the fans, for making this show matter.” – Tom Kane, Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes voice of Yoda in Star Wars: The Clone Wars
Nope. No new revelations or reveals.
We’ll just have to wait to see what news of Star Wars 2013 brings us. It’s going to be a flood soon. This movies being released in two years.
It feels the same way it did right before Captain America was made. They hadn’t cast Cap, Joe Johnston had barely taken the job, we were all scratching our heads trying to figure out how they’d make a good movie that fast… And then they did.
I don’t think there’s much to worry about.
We will be patient.
I would like to thank Brett over at Graphic Policy for bringing this to our attention. It’s so bizarre and you can’t help but keep watching to see how they do it.
Gollum looks bizarre as hell.
It reminds me of the BBC versions of The Chronicles of Narnia from that era, especially compared to what it looks like now. But they tried, bless their little Soviet hearts, they tried.
And he doesn’t look a day over 75. Seriously though, unless you’re a hermit who has been cut off from society (and if so, how do you know how to use the web?) you should know who Stan Lee is. Regardless of how you feel about the man personally, you can’t deny the world of comics and pop culture would not be the same without his contributions. Of course his frequent collaborators in the early Marvel days cannot be ignored, today is Stan’s day, so give him his due.
Now, we all know that Stan is an accomplished creator. The list of his characters is simply enormous. Spider-Man, The Fantastic Four, Iron Man, Thor, The Avengers, The X-Men, Ravage 2099… In fact, when you name iconic Marvel characters, one of the only ones he wasn’t directly involved with creating was Captain America. Still, Cap was Stan’s first big break, as his first Marvel work was a prose piece in Captain America Comics #3 back in the 40’s!
Stan through the years, courtesy of artist Marcos Martin
It wasn’t until the early 60’s however that Stan struck gold. When publisher Martin Goodman enlisted Stan to recreate the success of the Justice League of America, Stan was actually thinking of leaving the comics field altogether. When his wife convinced him to give the old college try, but to write the book his own way, Fantastic Four #1 hit stands and the rest is history. That’s all well and good, but I’d like to point out a few of Stan’s other big accomplishments. For instance, he’s the only non-superhero to get his own trading card in the Marvel Universe set.
Also, not since Elvis has anyone had such devotees as to impersonation him to such a degree! And never was a man so OK with a guy poking good-natured fun at him in such a way!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RYmAbp7_bNs
Best of all though, Stan is quite the accomplished movie and TV actor. I can think of no better way to end this tribute to “The Man” than to showcase his various celluloid adventures. To see what antics the still very active Stan Lee is up to, check out his twitter. Until then, Excelsior!
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iYSvIAF_NrQ
Wow.
I’m a big nerd for the Aliens universe and this game looks to be the pinnacle of what I’d want in an Aliens game. It appears to be set between Aliens and Alien3, and follows the marines as they try to figure out what the hell happened on LV-426. It seems as wonky about the continuity and obscure details in the films I latch on to, so this looks like it’ll be right up my alley.
And I’ll be honest: this is half the reason I bought my WiiU. Seriously. Half.
You can preorder it on Amazon for PS3, PC, and XBox and it’s set to release February 12, 2013. There’s no release date for the WiiU yet, or even the ability to preorder it, which makes me sad.
109 times.
According to Variety magazine, that’s the number of times the N-word is spoken in Tarantino’s “Django Unchained,” starring Jamie Foxx. The title is a wink to the the 1966 violent, spaghetti Western “Django.”
Not exactly a typical Christmas movie to share with your white husband, brother-in-law and black family in Alabama, but boy, oh boy, was it worth it. Given my very recent and not so favorable viewing of “Pulp Fiction,” I dare say this is Tarantino’s masterpiece of this decade.
Why You Should (And Maybe Shouldn’t) Watch This Flick
The writing and acting that created the unlikely friendship between Django and Dr. Schultz and Django’s undying devotion to rescuing his wife is the underlying theme and what makes this movie so memorable and great. Of course it has the typical Tarantino elements of odd camera shots, grandiose music and gratuitous violence. So much so, it even made me queasy and a few folks, including my Mom, walked out.
In case you’re like me and have been avoiding any trailers or previews, be forewarned: while it’s one thing to see a lot of folks get crazily shot up repeatedly in great, gory cowboy shoot-outs, it’s another thing to watch what happens to the slaves depicted in this movie. The violent realities of U.S. slavery that Tarantino infuses in to the movie is truly, truly horrifying and stomach-churning.
Thankfully, Mom came back and the gory elements of the story were overshadowed by the awesomeness of pretty much everything else. Here are a few spoiler-free reasons why you should stop what you’re doing and go watch this right now:
Acting
Above everything else, the acting in this movie is strangely stellar. I say that because most of the characters tended to be very complicated, yet still very cartoonish people. What makes this movie stand out is that despite the unusual setting, you really begin to develop a deep and meaningful relationship as the viewer with Django and Dr. Schultz in particular. You have a vested interest in their well-being, even though you know their job as bounty hunters is less than pleasant. You want them to succeed even more so than you want the evildoers to get their bloodied comeuppance.
Top acting nods in my book go to Christoph Waltz as Dr. Schultz and Leonardo DiCaprio as Calvin Candie. They get top honors, because a mere change in facial expressions or a body tic emanated their characters. Watching DiCaprio play a vitriolic racist is completely unusual given his previous roles as the reluctant hero. But you believed every scary word coming out of his mouth. Their Golden Globe nominations are incredibly deserved.
Plot
It really is about time we saw some original stuff coming out of Hollywood. I know this year we had a lot of really super epic sequels, but to see something so completely different and new was really what is making this one of the top movies of 2012. A slave turned gun-slinging hero is simply genius. What is even more brilliant is how layered all of the characters were. The movie forces repeat viewings because there is something a little different that you more than likely missed because you were either laughing hysterically, in awe or completely horrified.
It was also relatively simple to understand and follow, which was important, because the movie’s other elements are extremely overpowering at times. However, this is intentional and done very well. Hence, the overuse of the N-word and the over-the-top battles.
My only issue other than the violent scenes is that (yes, as a chick) I wished there was more opportunities to see Django and Broomhilda as a couple. Kerry Washington’s acting talents are only hinted at in this movie.
Writing
This is another element of the movie that shines. Any failings this movie has are completely overshadowed by the quality of the writing. The screenplay makes it clear that these are extremely complex characters, even when done in a caricature-like way. For instance, Leonardo DiCaprio’s character is clever, evil and naive at the same time. Sometimes his lines make it very clear he isn’t really that bright either. The same goes for Django. While he has difficulty reading a wanted poster early on, his more evolved character is conniving and brilliant.
The comedic elements of the writing are key to this movie. There’s dialogue that is so blunt and so witty, it was difficult to keep a straight face, even when the movie has moved on to something much more serious. There is one particular scene involving hooded bandits that was so funny, I was in tears and nearly had to leave the theater to compose myself.
This movie is about slavery. Every gruesome detail. Whether or not you agree with the number of times the N-word is spoken or not, the overall gratification of watching, in my opinion, completely outweighs its minor faults.
What are your thoughts on the movie? Did you think it was too violent or racist? Sound off in the comments below!