I’d hazard a guess that any nerd/geek/what have you worth their salt has seen at least one episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000. If not, that’s ok too. It certainly isn’t a pre-requisite to have seen the show to know that making fun of awful movies makes them bearable. That said, MST3k/Rifftrax/Cinematic Titanic are the undisputed kings of “riffing” on movies. The episode of MST3K featuring “Manos: The Hands of Fate” (yes, technically it means Hands: The Hands of Fate) is widely considered one of the best, if not the best episode of the series. So when the Rifftrax crew, consisting of venerable MST alums Michael J. Nelson, Bill Corbett and Kevin Murphy decided to re-riff this “classic” I was a bit skeptical. Sure, the MST Manos had different riffers, but Mike was still the head writer, so was this going to be a rehash? Based on that, I almost didn’t go to the one-night-only showing. That would have been a huge mistake.

As soon as I entered the theater, I knew I was in for a treat. The cosplayers in Gizmonics Institute jumpsuits and Torgo hats gave off an incredibly geeky Rocky Horror style vibe. In all honesty, I could see myself going to see this movie on weekends with these people and enjoying the hell out of the experience. When the lights went down, we were treated to what we thought were the usual movie-going slides with trivia and such. Instead, we got a very snarky version of same with movie facts like: There is only one result if you Google “Gordy is a better movie than Babe” (we checked. not true, but still funny).

When the show itself started, the three riffers came up (live via film) to podiums by the big screen to introduce themselves and the movie. Since Manos isn’t a very long movie (although it sure feels longer), a couple of shorts were shown first. Welcome Back, Norman was the first, and dealt with a bumbling 70’s guy arriving home from the airport and all of the trials and tribulation that befall him there. At the end of the short, the audience was encouraged to all say Norman’s catchphrase (a low-pitched wail of despair) in unison. I love audience participation in the movie theater, and this was one of my highlights of the night. The second short was At Your Fingertips: Cylinders. It was even more inane and nonsensical than it sounds, but Mike, Kevin, and Bill’s dulcet tones made it bearable. In one last segment before the movie proper started (it was pretty obvious they were trying to delay the inevitable for as long as possible), the crew gave a bit of history about this turdburger of a movie. I actually learned a few things about the movie I wasn’t aware of before, and this knowledge served me well when the movie proper started, as the Rifftrax crew used those factual callbacks to poke fun at the flick itself.

Speaking of the movie and riff therof, I shouldn’t have been worried at all. No riffs were re-used from the MST3K version, and to be honest, I think the new riff is better. With more general and topical references, a wider audience can enjoy the humor as opposed to the sometimes very obscure riffs in the original. One thing I very much enjoyed was how the big screen was utilized. Since Manos is a full frame feature, you got cutaways on the side of the screen showing the three riff-meisters emoting while they did their thing. It showed how much fun they were having, which in turn increased the fun I was having. I will say I think my fellow audience members and I did enjoy a lot of the film’s earlier moments with all of the Texas-centric jokes (Manos was filmed in El Paso), but everyone was floored with such gems as the “Redneck Twilight” sketch. Here’s a small taste of the humor contained within:

httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MckN7UGFINE

Even when the movie was over, the fun wasn’t, as we were treated to a music video/exclusive footage from the cast of the upcoming sequel Manos: The Search for Valley Lodge. All in all, this was an incredibly fun diversion, and I know I’m going to be buying the inevitable DVD release. If you want to get in on the fun, you can get your tickets now for the next Rifftrax: Live! event in October which will feature the movie Birdemic. If you are a fan of MST3k, Manos, or just making fun in movies in general, head on over to the Rifftrax website where they don’t make movies, but they do make them funny!

Listen, pally:

I’ve spent the last year rewatching every episode of Deep Space Nine from the beginning and I truly believe it’s the best Star Trek show ever made.

One thing I’d almost forgotten since the last time I watched it was Vic Fontaine. He was one of the biggest reasons, to be honest, I started getting into Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin music and, for that, I’m eternally grateful.

Since watching the show, I’ve even bought a CD James Darren put out with most of the Vic Fontaine music on it. Darren is a fantastic actor (seriously, he was a bad ass in The Guns of Navarone, holding himself up against Anthony Quayle, David Niven, and Gregory Peck) and a wonderful vocalist, taking standard lounge tunes and making them his own without seeming stale. Buy a CD here. You won’t regret it.

In any case, I just wanted to share some of the best of his moments and numbers with you guys…

Late in Season 6 (with the episode “His Way”) Vic helped Odo come to terms with his feelings with then-Major Kira. Here, Vic does a fantastic rendition of “Come Fly With Me”:

When Nog is dealing with a personal problem and takes to living with Vic in the holosuite, Vic’s version of “It’s Only a Paper Moon” isn’t quite as good as Ella Fitzgerald, but fun nonetheless…

Later in that episode, Vic belts out a truly joyous version of “I’ve Got the World on a String”:

And here’s Vic consoling Quark and Dr. Bashir with “Here’s to the Losers”:

One of my favorite moments came when Captain Sisko finally made it into the holo-suite and joined Vic for a duet of “The Best is Yet To Come” in the episode Bada-bing-bada-bang.

And the one that capped off the series:

Thanks to THQ for the review copy

Game Play

Darksiders II, can be roughly summarized as an amalgamate of every game mechanic I’ve ever loved. Combining that with a backbone of gorgeous and intriguing landscapes, unique leveling systems, piles of side quests, and the ability to modify the way Death plays, and you truthfully get a great game. I’m guilty of judging many things, and thinking that this would be a simple 8-10 hour run was my first mistake. My first play through on normal clocked in at 23 hours without focusing on finding hidden items, or completing the multiple side quests given to me by other in game characters.

I found the story in this sequel to be much more compelling than that of the first. I enjoyed finding out what was happening to Wart, but Death’s quest to save his brother hit home much more for me. It was also a lot easier to love Death he is a bitter, sarcastic, bad-ass. War was a touch drier, okay, much drier, a lot drier really. I also enjoyed interacting with the characters much more. Death asked questions in an insulting way, no matter who he spoke to. I had as much fun wondering what he’d say next as I did finding out important story elements.

Generally when trying to kill a game on a scheduled time limit I find that I become irritated with additional story elements, or puzzles that keep me from finishing the project at hand. With Darksiders II, it simply wasn’t the case, although many puzzle types were re-used in the same realms, each realm had its own unique systems you had to discover that kept the solving fresh. Instead of wishing I didn’t have to run across the map to find another key, or open another box, I was more intrigued that they had utilized several components from earlier levels to tie into an even bigger conundrum.

I’m trying to avoid giving too much intimate detail so as not to spoil the story. But I will comment on the boss fights being a touch predictable. They weren’t predictable in the sense of who, but in the how. Generally (barring the fights against Samael and the Archon) the solution to beating the enemy was handed to you on a silver platter. The weakness was always made glaringly obvious and if they didn’t have a weakness showing, it simply meant to attack full-bore. I wouldn’t call it a major negative but it did take away the sense of accomplishment. Many levels felt like a huge excursion, followed by a quick boss kill.

Sound

The soundtrack to Darksiders is phenomenal. I would expect nothing less from a title of this calibre. The sound effects while being crisp, didn’t always fit when it came to volume. Finishing a boss as the reaper was often quieter than the attacks during the battle. The huge dichotomy created by this felt confusing at many finishes. After a heated and loud battle filled with sword slams, shield clanks and even explosions. Death would finish them quietly with his giant Scythe. The finish didn’t match the battle in almost every fight. The only portion of the game this didn’t apply to is the end. The final kill was heavy, intense, and had my heart pounding for the entire ending sequence.

Story/Content

It’s hard to knock a game for story when the main character is so interesting, and the plot is one of such emotion. Who can’t connect with someone heading to the end of the world to save their brother? I won’t say the ending is anti-climactic; it served the purpose that was intended. The game series is building up to a quadrology, and simply ending the problems would make it impossible to tie in the other Horsemen. I have to give credit to the writers and creative team on story as a whole though. Once again expecting a pretty dry and straight run through Death’s adventure the amount of extra content makes the game worth it’s $59.99 price tag twice over. Once you have finished the game you can choose to play new game plus (keep your level and equipment, everything gets harder, and give it another shot. ) You can take your character into the Crucible mode to battle waves of monsters for rewards, or you can return to your game and finish wrapping up every loose end you left behind.

The story on normal may last 23 hours, but on higher difficulties, and with 100% completion I’d venture to say that 60 hours would be the bare minimum you’ll spend.

SPOILER ALERT
I’m going to discuss the ending after this warning paragraph. If you don’t want to know, skip to controls/combat. Otherwise read on, and feel free to discuss.




The ending left me with 2 wants and 1 major question,: My first want would be a more epic purpose to Death’s sacrifice. He reaches the end of his quest and is laughing over his confusion on the next step. Why not have Lilith try to convince him to resurrect the Nephilim? Could he not struggle more with his decision to fling himself into the well of souls? I was happy with the ending, I don’t want to be a naysayer, but after dragging yourself across the entire known universe and every plane in existence. Death simply throwing himself over the edge after handing his mask to the Crowfather seemed a touch light-hearted.

Spoiler over

Controls/Combat

This is one of the best parts of the game, and the series truthfully. The amount of weapons you collect throughout the story gives you ample time to adjust your combat style to any scenario. I stuck to using Achidna’s Fangs, and whichever set of blades did the most damage from the underworld on. But you can easily become a master of hammers, maces, swords, blades, or fist blades before the story is finished. The timing based attacks also added more depth for those wanting a technical set up. Dodging at the correct time left the enemy punished by a shadow of the reaper, stuns gave you opportunity to siphon life with critical attacks, and the different set of attacks available let you juggle and mix up combinations during every combat piece. There have been few games that bring a combat system forward that I enjoy quite as much as this. I won’t say the combat is better than Bayonetta, but Darksiders leaves little to be desired.

The Long and Short

This game is worth it’s price tag. If you haven’t played any in the Darksiders series I recommend running down a used copy of the first game. Last I checked they were a scant $17.99. The amount of content and the story alone make the game worth anybodies time. You don’t have to be an RPG junky to snag this game and start grinding. It truthfully has something for everybody. It is at times mildly anti-climactic, like I said during the story section it feels like occasionally the developers don’t want you to get too excited at moments that really should have your heart pounding. The pacing may be a tad strange, but the game delivers it’s point and keeps you interested.

If you’re looking for something to fill time and make you happy it did, this is where I’d go.

Score:

• Controls: 9
• Sound: 7
• Story: 9
• Replay: 8.5
• Overall: 8.5

As a film, Jaws is a force of nature, breathtaking in the perfection of craft on display. There’s a maturity to the filmmaking that seems beyond Spielberg’s years if you take into account where in his career he made such a film.

The acting in the film is pitch perfect: right for the movie, right for the era, right for the characters. There can be no arguments that the USS Indianapolis monologue is one of the finest ever given in the history of film. Seeing anyone else even attempt it is cringe-worthy. Robert Shaw is a force of nature himself in this film as Quint, the salty sea captain who is hired to kill the shark.

Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss fill out the cast, giving perhaps the finest performances of their lives.

This new Blu-ray restoration of the film adds back in a new character to the film: flawless sound and picture quality. I’ve seen this film about a dozen times on the big screen on 35mm. I don’t miss an opportunity to see it when it’s being played in revival houses. And comparing those viewings, and the viewings of my well worn DVDs, to the Blu-ray experience is a little disappointing, only because the Blu-ray looks so fantastic and this is the way the film should be viewed. The colors are crisp, the sound is so well-orchestrated, and the transitions look better than they ever have. The colors didn’t seem as though they were off, which is something you get with some Blu-ray transfers, but these felt just right.

Here’s a piece about the restoration:

As for bonus material, this Blu-ray is packed to the gills with every sort of thing you could want.

As for me, the new documentary (and the old one) are the perfect way to spend an afternoon recharging my creative batteries. The documentaries give you that feeling that you were there and all parties involved seem so enthusiastic about the work they did and the film they made, even 40 years out, that their enthusiasm is infectious.

After watching the film, I never wanted to get in a boat and go out on the water again. I’m not drunk enough for that. After watching the making of the film, I never wanted to get in a boat and make a film on the water more in my life.

This movie stands up so well that it’s hard to imagine why they don’t try making films this great anymore. I mean, some people do, but this film is just… It’s a pinnacle of cinematic achievement. It really hasn’t dated at all. What made it feel contemporary still feels contemporary, but it’s also something of a period piece as you look back on it. Can you imagine a film like this capturing the cultural zeitgeist again in this day and age for a summer blockbuster? It might just be too sophisticated… I don’t know.

What I do know is that this is a Blu-ray you should be picking up today. Or ordering from Amazon. It’s only $17.99 for the Blu-ray and DVD combo pack. Well worth the money.

I might be biased, though. I’ve picked up every version of Jaws they’ve ever released and kept coming back for more. There aren’t many films I do that with. Star Wars and Indiana Jones mainly. And Citizen Kane. And Seven Samurai. That’s a pretty small list of fine films that I have like 40 copies of.

Jaws is in good company.

Let’s face it, for every God particle and Mars Rover we as a society celebrate, there are a ton of unjust things and outright “wrongness” in the world. In a lot of ways, people have compared the world today with the Great Depression of the 1930’s. I don’t think we’re there just yet, but that doesn’t mean that we can’t take lessons learned from that dire time and apply them to today. Case in point: Superman.

Now, when most people think of Superman, they think “Strange Visitor from Another Planet”. Of course this is true, but of all the monikers given to him over the years, the one that seems to have disappeared is perhaps the most important: “Champion of the Oppressed”! That is to say, before he took on the likes of Brainiac and Mr. Mxyzptlk, The Man of Steel was more concerned with looking out for the little guy.

In his first appearance, Superman forces a Governor to pardon an innocent  woman from the electric chair, stops a serious case of spousal abuse, and ends two countries’ needless war-for-profit scheme. In the middle of all that, as Clark Kent, he becomes a reporter so he can fight injustice on two levels. It was inspiring then, and it’s inspiring now, and we desperately need a character like this now. Not only did Superman reflect society, society reflected back. While there is no real proof that Superman help usher in social change, I’d be loathe to live in a world without his example to live by.

The worst part is that we almost had Superman back to his roots there for a while, in the New 52’s Action Comics. From the first panel there, we’re shown that Superman/Clark Kent is there to help the people and expose corruption in all its forms. Sadly, all too soon the book became more about alien suits, and otherworldly threats. No, I prefer Superman as the workingman’s hero. And we could sure use him now.

It’s always sad to see the greats go, especially when they’re still producing great work.

Joe Kubert, most famous for his work on books like Sgt. Rock and Hawkman, spent most of his career at DC Comics and has dedicated much of his later years in teaching the next generation of artists working in the comics field.

His sons, arts Adam and Andy Kubert, obviously took after their father.

Kubert was born in Poland in 1926 and his career spanned from near the beginning of the comics medium. He passed away over the weekend.

His distinctive style was easily recognizable from a mile away and his loss will certainly be felt in the industry.

I quite loved his recent foray back into Sgt. Rock for DC’s Wednesday Comics series. It’s worth checking out. But just about anything Kubert did is.

DC Comics released this statement:

“We are saddened to learn of the death of our colleague and friend Joe Kubert. An absolute legend in the industry, his legacy will live on through his remarkable talent, with his sons and with the many artists who have passed through the storied halls of his celebrated school. An important member of the DC Comics family, Joe made an indelible mark on the entire DC Comics universe including his renowned and award-winning work on iconic characters such as Sgt. Rock, Enemy Ace, Hawkman and most recently Nite Owl. We are so honored to have worked side-by-side with such an unforgettable force in both comics and in life.” – DC Entertainment Executive Team.

What was your favorite Kubert work? I really do love his war stories and Sgt. Rock stuff…

This originally appeared on The Huffington Post…

The usual gang of idiots over at MAD Magazine decided to throw their hat in the ring of politics once more and for reasons still beyond me they asked me to bring you the cover of the new issue (hitting later in the week). I told them no one would care, but they were insistent. And sent a pair of very persuasive…gentlemen…to speak to me about it and we came to an understanding.

MAD has a long and storied history of covering elections with their own brand of humour. (Can you call what MAD does humour? Does the “u” I put it in there make it seem too sophisticated for them?) We’ve unveiled quite a bit of their political coverage over the years for you in this very space. Remember when they named the dumbest person of 2008? I never thought the 2012 election would bring us people that are actually dumber than those from ’08… But we’re getting sidetracked…

Without further ado, here’s the cover of the newest MAD Magazine:

Alfred E. Neuman is faced with a dire choice, the same choice we’re all afflicted by. And check back next week, when we’ll have an exclusive look at some of the actual political coverage of the magazine.

Bryan Young is the editor of the geek news site Big Shiny Robot! and the author of Operation: Montauk.

This Month’s Podcast Features:

Zombietron (Tom), Kill-tacular-tron (Lucas), Arse-Bot (Tyson), Mexicus Prime (Jimmy), and Vagatron (Kiley)

Get your ear holes ready because the August Edition of the Big Shiny Podcast is ready for consumption!

The Dark Knight has risen and the robots of the BSPC are here to share their thoughts on Nolan’s grand finale in the Bat-Universe. They break down what they liked about the film and Arse-bot has a few questions/gripes about the film – like why are a bunch of prisoners down in a pit allowed to have so much damn rope?! Sticking with DC movies, The Man of Steel trailer is discussed and the guys share their hopes and dreams of what Snyder and Nolan may have up their sleeve for Supes. Moving on to Marvel, the aspect of an Avengers-linked TV series is discussed, along with Marvel’s upcoming “Phase 2” movie slate, and whether or not Marc Webb will/should return to The Amazing Spider-Man.

On the agenda for comics, Marvel NOW is at the forefront, everyone still loves the TMNT, and everyone shares what comic series makes it to the top of their stack each month. It’s a light month for video games, but Zombietron talks about the OUYA and convinces himself he needs one and Arse-bot brings up Call of Duty: Black Ops II, but promptly remembers that he hates the series.

To wrap things up, it’s another round of “Open the LEGO Mini-Figs” and Kill-tacular-tron talks about some new figures from Hot Toys. The guys also take some listener questions from Facebook and Twitter and Mexicus Prime tells us about his first . . . “kiss” – which also ties in to why he hates mustard.

Thanks for listening and watch for a new episode every month! Also be sure to check out the Big Shiny Girlcast, chock full of geeky girl goodness! If you like what you hear, rate the Big Shiny Robot Podcast Family on iTunes!

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Welcome to The History Geek. This is a new generally regular column I’ll be tackling here at Big Shiny Robot! I think a lot of us that are geeks are fascinated by history, too. I’ll be trying to tackle the most interesting bits I find and bringing them to you.

I hope you enjoy and come back for more!

The Empire State Building has had a place in popular culture since its inception. It was a point of pride to have the tallest building in the world, an engineering feat worthy of awe. Soon it forever became a piece of geek culture, with the climax of King Kong (1933) playing out on the Art Deco spire of the Empire State Building that was originally designed for docking zeppelins. It’s featured prominently in everything from Doctor Who to An Affair to Remember, but none of the movies featured a zeppelin.

Through the late 1920s and early 1930s, travel by Zeppelin was becoming more and more popular. The Graf Zeppelin and the ill-fated Hindenburg made regular trips across the Atlantic with passengers and mail. It could travel between 70 and 80 miles per hour, making it by far the fastest way across the Atlantic at the time. During the 1936 season, the Hindenburg flew almost 200,000 miles in the air, carried almost 3,000 passengers, and transported 160 tons of freight and mail back and forth from Europe. The Graf Zeppelin, from the same company, was the first airship to ever clock more than 2,000,000 miles travelled in the air.

Zeppelins seemed, by all accounts, to be the future of mass, long distance travel. To get across the Atlantic, some blimps could make it in only a day or two. The average steam freighter took at least 5 or 6 days.

Since the best place near New York City to drop passengers off by Zeppelin was in Lakehurst, New Jersey, the owners of the soon-to-be-erected Empire State Building decided they could steal away that business and foot traffic.

Alfred E. Smith, the man in charge of the collective of investors building the new high-rise, announced in 1929 that the building would be 200-feet higher than the original plans and it would serve as a mooring mast for zeppelins so people wouldn’t have to come into the city from New Jersey when arriving by dirigible.

The now-iconic Art Deco spire would serve as a welcome to trans-Atlantic passengers.

From a piece in the New York Times:

Mr. Smith said that at the Empire State Building, airships like the Graf, almost 800 feet long, would “swing in the breeze and the passengers go down a gangplank”; seven minutes later they would be on the street…

…The original docking level is one floor above the 102nd-floor observatory, up some steep stairs behind an unmarked door. The stairs lead to a circular room perhaps 25 feet across. A door leads out to the circular terrace where passengers fresh from Europe or South America — and their steamer trunks — were to have set foot on American ground.

The terrace is perhaps two and a half feet wide, and the parapet could not be any higher than that; it’s like standing on the raised lip of a Campbell’s soup can, a quarter-mile up.

It was a great dream, but the Germans (who were the leaders in zeppelin technology and travel) dismissed the idea as impractical. To moor a zeppelin required lots and lots of ground crew and ropes and lines at the front and back of the ship. Mooring to the Empire State Building at just one end would be shaky at best.

The docking port remained at the top of the building while designers and engineers waited for technology that would make the mooring practical. The building opened to much fanfare in 1931 as the tallest in the world, but no zeppelin had yet attempted to dock.

In December of 1931, the US Navy flew an airship to the Empire State Building at the request of a company looking to obtain newsreel footage of the event. The Navy found the winds, clocking in well over 30 miles per hour, treacherous.

Later, the Goodyear blimp Columbia delivered a stack of newspapers to the top of the building, but they were only able to accomplish the feat by lowering the bundle of papers by rope more than 100 feet. The Columbia tried again the next day to dock with the building but failed in its attempt, which was the last time a zeppelin attempted such a feat.

Soon, a broadcast antenna was put on the top of the building and dreams of a dirigible docking station were left behind. It wasn’t three years later until the dream of zeppelins entirely were left behind as a popular means of transportation, with the tragedy of the Hindenburg in New Jersey.

The entire tragedy of the Hindenburg was caught dramatically on film:

After that, no one felt safe. 35 people on board died in the explosion and so did one member of the ground crew. This marked the end of the airship era.

The photograph that accompanies this piece is actually a composite. The dirigible Los Angeles passed by the Empire State Building in 1931, but it happened after dark and no photograph could be taken.

If you want to keep up with Bryan, follow him on twitter or visit his writing website.

Comic Book Movie is reporting that during a Walt Disney investors conference call it was announced that Joss Whedon would be returning to write and direct “The Avengers 2.” The chairman and chief executive of the Walt Disney Company, Bob Iger, also said that Whedon is involved in a live action TV show that will be on ABC set in the Marvel movie universe!

It seems as though we are building towards Thanos in the Avengers 2, here is the mid credits sequence from the Avengers that gave us our first look at the big purple baddie!