Wonder Con has brought us quite a collection of geek tidbits this year. None of them quite stack up to the spectacular four-minute preview of the forthcoming Green Lantern movie. After watch the preview I was awestruck. It seemed as if they got everything right or at least looking comparable to the comics. Abin Sur and Sinestro looked like their comic counterparts, while Oa and it’s inhabitants were simply beautiful in their scale and variety.
We finally were able to get a good look at Tomar Re and plenty of other Green Lanterns including Kilowog! Before reading on you should just watch the footage already!
Not only do we get to see Tomar Re, we get to hear him speak with the voice talent of Geoffery Rush after it was announced several days ago. We still didn’t get to hear Kilowog speak but I was just satisfied to get another glimpse of him. Mark Strong seems to be doing a stellar performance as Sinestro giving an inspirational speech to a group of gathered Lanterns and it looks as if Parallax will play a large part in the movie.
If I was skeptical at all about this movie before, then it has all been wiped away by this preview. Even my skepticism of Ryan Reynold’s playing Hal Jordan has abated after seeing him in the preview. His costume looked a lot better when Jordan is in action and his humor wasn’t over the top. My favorite part was when his ring had created a replica of a mini-gun that Hal was unleashing on something.
Being a big fan of the Green Lantern comics and Sci-Fi movies, this movie has jumped past Thor and Captain America as my must see comic movie this year. It will be released on June 17th, 2011.
It’s almost here. A Game of Thrones will premiere on HBO this April on the 17th! But in the meantime HBO was kind enough to let us see a sneak at some of the landscapes:
Winterfell
I’ll admit when I read the first book that this season is based on, the beginning with the White Walkers was a bit eerie but nothing that would unnerve even the most imaginative of readers. However, after watching the first few minutes with the men of the Night’s Watch encountering the White Walkers I was actually a bit creeped out. It was different being able to see and hear them and I looked over my shoulder at least once after the scene was over (you know, to check for boogeymen). The series looks to be perfect, especially to an avid reader of the book series. I can already tell Sean Bean was the perfect selection to play Eddard Stark, who came off as super bad-ass in this preview when wielding his great sword “Ice”. I didn’t imagine it being that big in the books!
The Wall
I sincerely urge those who read fantasy and even those who do not to give the series a try. I guarantee it will keep you interested throughout. But I do have to warn you, just from reading the books, that you will be become attached to several of the characters and Westeros is not always the prettiest of places. Good things that make you smile will happen to the characters but many bad things will also occur. You’ll hate certain characters and wish certain doom upon them as the story goes on. It will be a very emotional ride but one you will be glad you took as it progresses.
Wrestlemania officially came and went tonight. It sometimes sizzled, but most times fizzled. I watched it with my brother tonight, getting that nostalgic feeling watching it at times. And yes… we both know and have known for a very long time that wrestling is indeed fake. However, this is a tradition we do try to keep every year and it was for the most part very entertaining. Certain wrestlers we thought would emerge victorious did not in several matches, especially in the first match that we will start with.
Championship Match: Alberto Del Rio V.S. Edge
Surprisingly the first match of the night was for the World Heavyweight Championship belt that is usually retained by the champion on Smackdown, which is currently held by the Rated R Superstar Edge. His challenger… this year’s Royal Rumble winner Alberto Del Rrrrrrrriiiioooooo! And yes, he is a rich Mexican themed wrestler who drives out to every match in a Rolls-Royce. But down to business…
I thought for sure Del Rio was going to come out on top for this one. This guy has been built up on Smackdown for months now and it all culminated with a shocking win in the Royal Rumble. I knew for sure he wasn’t going to challenge the WWE Champion from Raw, so it was a given it would be a Del Rio/Edge matchup at Wrestlemania. What I didn’t bank on was Del Rio losing to Edge. I’m not so sure this will be the end of their feud nor the end of Del Rio as a contender, but one thing is for sure – Del Rio looked like a whiny little bitch after the match while Edge beat the crap out of his Rolls-Royce with a crowbar. I don’t know about you guys but I’d be intervening ASAP on someone smashing a car that nice.
Overall this was a pretty entertaining match, with little interference by those outside the ring by Del Rio’s ring announcer Ricardo and the rotund Brodus Clay. Plenty of spears and arm breakers to go around. Winner: Edge
Cody Rhodes v.s. Rey Mysterio
In this match we were able to see the Rhodes/Mysterio feud come to a head. You see, the once Dashing Cody Rhodes has recently had to wear a face mask to protect his face from further damage after reconstructive surgery. He needed the surgery, he claims, due to the devastating 619 Mysterio gave to him months ago. Apparently Rey Mysterio’s knee brace added a little more power to the infamous move.
One interesting moment was before the match began as Mysterio entered the arena wearing a Captain America styled outfit. I can only say at least he took off the ridiculous red gloves before the match started. A valiant effort Rey, but maybe you should lay off the superhero them.
The match itself wasn’t overly long, but filled with all the high-flying maneuvers that Rey Mysterio is famous for. The match took a ridiculous turn when Cody’s mask was removed (Interestingly I didn’t see any sign of facial reconstruction.) and used by Rey to headbutt him several times. Then to top it off, Cody used Rey’s own knee brace to pummel him and then finish the match with the Crossroads. Sorry little Rey, but maybe you can get some revenge on Raw tonight. Winner: Cody Rhodes
The Corre V.S. Kane, Big Show, Santino and Kofi
This match was a bit useless and thankfully short. Though it had plenty of superstars I normally enjoy, any match where the walking joke Santino leads them to a win is enough to make me puke. After starting the match, it instantly gets out of control once Big Show gets in to start destroying Heath Slater. After Ezekiel gets in to take out Big Show there is a flurry of specialty moves occurring left and right. Santino then does his patented Cobra strike to Heath Slater and Big Show finishes him off with a ham sized fist to the face, winning the match with a pinfall. I think the match lasted all of six minutes, so thanks for the throwaway match WWE. And also please fire Santino. Winners: Kane, Big Show, Santino and Kofi Kingston.
Losers x4
Randy Orton V.S. CM Punk
Straight Edge Scumbag
Another match with no title hanging in the balance, only a possible end to another long running feud between two fan favorite superstars. After all the skull kicking CM Punk and his Nexus minions have received from Randy’s foot, tonight was the night to end it all hopefully. The match was nothing special, but well paced and ending in true Randy Orton style…. with a mid-air RKO to end the match. Again, I am very pleased with the absence of all the outside interference that ruins the pay per view matches. Now maybe Randy Orton can get back into the race for the WWE Championship that has eluded him these past months. I can’t tell anymore if people want to see Randy as a hero or villain (Face or Heel). Personally I want to see him back at his twisted sadistic self, but against someone other than John Cena. Winner: Randy Orton
Orton loves kicking skulls…
Jerry Lawler V.S. Michael Cole
“Uhhh Derrrr…”
I couldn’t wait for this match because I’ve been aching to see Michael Cole get a real good beating because quite frankly I can’t freakin’ stand him. Hearing him drone on with obvious bias to the villains in each match was bad enough but then before the match we had to hear him even more on his trek to the ring. At least Stone Cold Steve Austin busted out on a four-wheeler to shut the little weasel up for a bit.
After Lawler comes out and some prodding to get Cole in the ring the match finally starts with Jack Swagger in Cole’s corner and Steve Austin as the special referee. Cole gets a cheap shot in on Lawler and beats on him for a bit until Lawler finally gets ahold of him. Swagger actually tries to throw in the towel to call the match off which Stone Cold promptly uses to wipe off the sweat from his bald head before giving Mr. Swagger a Stone Cold Stunner. Lawler proceeds to whoop on Cole until he taps out from an ankle lock submission hold. Cue applause and Austin and Lawler enjoy a few beers together in the ring before the general manager sends and e-mail announcement that commentator Josh Matthews reads to the audience.
It turns out the still “anonymous” general manager of Raw thought that Austin interfered too much on Lawler’s behalf and disqualifies him making Cole the actual winner. This must have been hard to announce given the fact that Michael Cole recently called Matthews a “faggot” over twitter. To make matters even worse in a stunning move (pun intended) Lawler throws Matthews in the ring to get a Stunner from Austin. Talk about killing the messenger. Inexplicably, Austin’s Tough Enough partner in crime Booker T leaves the commentators table to join Austin and Lawler in celebrating by doing his famous break dancing in the middle of the ring. Then, in what I thought was the funniest part of the night, Booker T begins to drink a beer offered to him by Austin before he is also given a Stone Cold Stunner. A huge geyser of spit out beer and Booker T on the ground follows with Austin smiling and saying something to the effect of – “I had to do it.” Vintage Austin. Official Winner: Michael Cole
Undertaker V.S. Triple H
“Nice hammer….”
This was the match that I think everyone including myself were waiting for and it was by far the best match of the night. Sure there weren’t any titles on the line or even a career long feud between the two. Triple H was just the next obvious choice to attempt breaking the Undertaker’s unbeaten Wrestlemania streak which at this point stood at 18-0. To make it even better this was a no holds barred, no disqualifications or count out match and these two superstars definitely took it to the limit.
They broke the spanish commentators’ table of course. They used the steel steps and a nice folding chair. They both executed their specialty moves, with Triple H using at least two Pedigrees on the Taker. But pin after pin neither of these wrestling behemoths would yield. In the coolest moment of the match, Triple H gave the Undertaker his own move: the tombstone piledriver. To add insult to injury, Triple H even pinned the Undertaker as he himself would but shockingly the phenom kicked out of the pin. Triple H finally resorted to going beneath the ring for his patented tool the trusty sledgehammer to finish things but was surprised by being locked into the Taker’s submission move the Hell’s Gate. After what seemed like an eternity Triple H finally gave several weakened taps of the hand to signal his surrender and now the record still stands…. 19-0. I have to admit I thought that Triple H might win the match and end the Undertaker’s streak but now I think the WWE will let him retire with the record intact, maybe after win number 20. Winner: The Undertaker
Snooki, Trish Stratus and John Morrison V.S. Laycool and Dolph Zigler
“I can haz cheezburger?”
This is actually a match that I couldn’t give a dead moose’s last crap about, because I hate Jersey Shore and everyone involved in it. Especially Snooki. But I will definitely let you know who won so we can stop wasting time with it. Snooki, Stratus and John Morrison won the match after we had to see the horrendous Snooki do a front flip and expose her jelly rolls to all. Thank you for that WWE. Winners: Who cares.
Main Event: Cena V.S. Miz (Champion)
This match was very much like the Jericho/Triple H follow up to the Hulk Hogan/Rock match-up at Wrestlemania 18; it’s a tough act to follow up. Try as this match might, it could not live up to the Undertaker-Triple H match that took place earlier in the night. It came down to the same stuff we see Cena and Miz doing nearly every Monday night and it just bored me. I fully expected Cena to win and when he didn’t I suppose that was the only surprise to come of it. I hate Cena but I definitely hate the Miz more so I was actually pulling for Cena to come out on top. The short match actually had a couple of surprising twists. Cena destroys Miz outside of the ring, at one point hurting himself too resulting in their joint count out. The title then stays in Miz’s hands. But wait, the Rock who is the host of this Wrestlemania comes out and begins to read a new e-mail from the general manager before stopping and smashing the computer. Rock then declares that the match will restart with no disqualifications or count outs. The match commences and in annoying fashion the Rock interferes with a Rock Bottom for Cena. The Miz pins him and wins. But the Rock isn’t finished, because he proceeds to attack the Miz also and gives him the most electrifying move in sports! (The People’s Elbow.) So a very lackluster ending to Wrestlemania which left a sour taste in my mouth. I was glad to have The Rock back but what a stupid way to end the biggest wrestling event of the year. Boo! Winner: The Miz
That, I imagine is the thought going through people’s heads when they read the 4th and final part of the most recent Walking Dead story arc – ‘No way Out’.
I know it’s what was going through my head. This arc, which starts out like so many others through-out the course of the book’s history finishes strong, and Kirkman once again proves, in this world, no one is ever safe.
After the jump I’m going to review of the entire 4 Part arc. If you’re a regular reader and don’t want it spoiled, here is my short review: It’s awesome. Go read it.
*MAJOR SPOILERS TO FOLLOW*
Before our story arc begins, there are a couple of key developments that happened in the issues leading up to it. Rick has been put in charge of the town by the founder, and former leader Douglas. He wife just died and he feels he no longer has what it takes to lead. Also, Andrea has been sent to the sniper tower for the day to keep watch through her scope. With the appearance of the herd between her and the town, she is now stuck in her tower.
Walking Dead #80: Chapter 1 – Following the emergence of an entire herd of zombies, Abraham and his group scramble to get the gates closed, but not everyone makes it. The first, but certainly not the last death of the story arc is Bruce. Upon being bitten, and the obvious conclusion he can’t be saved, Abraham smashes Bruce’s head open and puts him out of his misery.
Rick then holds a town hall type meeting to ensure everyone they will be ok, and then he calmly explains the plan moving forward. Extra night watchmen, reinforce weak spots in the perimeter fence, share housing to conserve heat, and ration food. Sounds all good.
The former leader of the town Douglas seems to be cracking however. For some time now he’s been getting worse, and seems relieved that Rick has shown up to take on his responsibilities. After the town meeting, Rick opens up the armory for those who want personal firearm protection. It’s at this time that Rick gives Carl his gun and belt back.
Just then there is a knock at the door. It’s Jessie and her son Ron. Rick had suggested that people start sharing houses, but this is an odd arrangement as Rick killed Jessie’s husband just a few issues back. It’s then just a few pages till Jessie climbs into Rick’s bed to end the issue.
Overall, not the best read of all time when I got it, but it does lay some important groundwork for the issues to come…
Walking Dead #81: Chapter 2 – The first major crisis since the herd showed up (you know, not counting Bruce’s death because really, who cared) has to be a few pages into this issue.
Rick exits his house just as Abraham runs up. There’s a problem, the wall is giving. A section of the fence is leaning inward and the zombies are all over it. They back a truck up to the fence to help secure it and then go check for other weak spots.
Glenn, Spencer, and Heath set out to rope their way over the zombies to deliver supplies to Andrea. In their attempt to help her, she once again proves more self-sufficient than most and actually has to help save Spencer when the rope breaks. That’s about when the shit hits the fan.
The truck proves to be not enough to secure the wall and a whole section comes down. Holly goes to find help, while Tobin attempts to hold them off. By the time Rick gets there however, Tobin is zombie-chow and the flood gates are starting to open. Morgan arrives to help out Rick, but in the last panel, he gets chomped.
This issue was a better read than chapter 1, but did feel short. I guess the more action there is, the faster it goes.
Walking Dead #82: Chapter 3 – Issue 82 starts off in the shit. Morgan has just been bit and Michonne flies into the fray, sword in hand and starts decapitating roamers left and right. When she sees Morgan, without hesitation, she severs his arm in hopes of stopping the spread of the disease.
Abraham then marches in like a total badass, complete with posse and flaming torches. They start kicking some serious ass as Rick and Michonne try to get Morgan to safety.
When the assault appears hopeless, the survivors of the town flee into houses for cover. This is the point where we really see how human these book are. Each home housing scared people, scared for themselves and their loved ones.
Andrea and company are still in the tower and they can only watch as the walking dead stumble into the streets of their town. It’s around this time that Andrea’s suggestions of how to help the people below are met by Spencer’s desire for the 2 of them to run off together. To leave Glenn and Heath and all the rest to fend for themselves. Andrea’s Response – a right hook to Spencer’s jaw that lays him out flat, followed by the line: “So that’s about the end of ‘You and Me’.”
Just before the end of the issue, Rick surprisingly suggests to Jessie, just what Spencer has to Andrea. They grab the kids and take off. Of course for Rick this would be a temporary thing until they could figure out how to help the others.
Walking Dead #83: Chapter 4 – The big payoff. This issue starts with Rick convincing Jessie they have to take the kids and make a run for it. Maggie and Sophia are present as well and determine they’d only slow Rick down, so they stay.
We then cut to Douglas’ house where our once noble leader holds a gun to his head. The death of his wife and the falling of the wall are too much for him. Upon seeing the roamers in the road outside his window, he tries to end it all. But it turns out he just can’t go through with it.
Back to Rick’s house we see our protagonist pull a zombie inside and proceed to gut it. They will then wear the zombie innards to disguise the smell, and try to wade though the herd outside unnoticed. As Rick, Jessie, Carl, and Ron prepare to make a run for it, Michonne comes downstairs to inform everyone that Morgan has died. Denise is also present, and Michonne agrees to escort her back to the infirmary.
Once outside Ron panics and starts to cry. This of course draws the attention of the zombies and he is grabbed immediately. Rick insists they keep moving, but Jessie won’t leave her son…she also won’t let go of Carl’s hand. She starts screaming for Rick not to leave her and with tears in his eyes, he takes a hatchet to her wrist, separating her from his son. She is devoured by the hoard and Rick and Carl must move on.
This has all drawn attention obviously, and as the herd moves in on them, Michonne instructs Denise to run while she holds them back. This happens as Douglas emerges from his house, with gun in hand and starts firing to draw attention to himself; suicide by zombie. This distraction should create the room needed to get though for Michonne, Rick, and Carl.
There is a problem however. Douglas’ wild firing is not without consequence. As Rick yells for Douglas to stop shooting, he turns to find one of the stray bullets has removed an entire section of Carl’s face and head.
Holy Crap.
The last page of the book shows Rick scooping Carl up and sprinting to the infirmary in time to beg Denise she save his boy’s life.
Wow. Awesome. How much does Kirkman hate Rick Grimes?
Yes, ‘Charlie Sheen’s Violent Torpedo of Truth Tour’ has landed. Well, crash landed anyways.
Of all the places to start off, why do it in Detroit Charlie? I don’t live directly in Detroit, but I’ve lived in the greater metro area my whole life, and know just as well as anyone else how unforgiving the people there can be. And unforgiving they were according to Yahoo!:
The former “Two and a Half Men” star showed that comedic success on the screen doesn’t necessarily translate to the stage, and the capacity crowd at the 5,100-seat Fox Theatre rebelled before he left the stage, chanting “refund!” and walking out in droves.
The Clone Wars finale is finally here with the episodes “Padawan Lost” and “Wookie Hunt”. And be forewarned, Chewbacca doesn’t show up until the second episode, so keep your lightsaber holstered for a minute. I’m about to cover both episodes in a single review – prepare to have your mind blown!
*Warning: Spoilers Ahead. Turn back while you can!*
The best way to describe this episode is: Star Wars meets a blend of Surviving the Game, Running Manand Hard Target. We start off the planet Felucia again, and this is the third time unless I’m mistaken. I really wish they would change-up planets instead of revisiting all of the same ones. That aside, Felucia looked awesome down to the last detail of tiny bugs crawling over the plant life.
Felucia…again.Owned!
As Anakin, Plo Koon and Ahsoka are leading an attack on the Separatist base, Ahsoka gets stunned and taken captive by a Trandoshan who leaves the planet for parts unknown. If you’re wondering what a Trandoshan is, it’s the same species as Bossk from The Empire Strikes Back and season 2 of Clone Wars. They are also the mortal enemies of the Wookies, their popular pass-times being: Hunting the walking carpets and using them for slave labor.
Ahoska awakes aboard a transport, another prisoner aboard telling her that these Trandoshans capture people, and then release them in order to hunt them for sport. After being dropped off weaponless on a moon called Wasskah in the Trandosh System, Ahsoka is scattered from the other prisoners by blaster fire from the Trandoshans. It’s not long before Ahsoka is found by three others who have been there for a long time. They reveal themselves to be Jedi younglings, stating that the Trandoshans hunt them because they are far less dangerous than a Jedi Knight. Kalifa, seems to be the group leader, with the grumpy Twi-LekJinx and the more calm CereanO-Mer as her companions. They explain to Ahsoka the situation they are in and try explaining that it is best to run and hide to survive instead of fighting the Trandoshans. As one might predict, Ahsoka isn’t too keen on that advice.
The Padawans from left to right: O-Mer, Jinx, Kalifa and Ahsoka
After finding one of the Trandoshans and giving him a good old-fashioned group beat down, the padawans flee into the jungle once more. That night, inspired by Ahsoka’s defiance, they decide to search for the Trandoshan base and make a stand. This doesn’t go very well as the padawans become seperated, resulting in the death of the Trandoshan leader Garnac’s son at the hand of Ahsoka. Kalifa is in turn killed by the papa lizard in a very emotional scene. This is where Ahsoka promises to look after O-mer and Jinx as her newly found friend slowly passes on.
“Excuse me, you have a laser bolt coming out of your chest.”
If there was ever a time that this was not considered a kid friendly show, these two episodes would be it. Especially in the first episode. To start off, the bloodthirsty Trandoshans are hunting freakin’ kids for sport with all intentions of displaying their bodies in a trophy room. They shoot and kill three of the hunted on-screen, and one of the hunter’s falls onto a spike and gets impaled before our very eyes. It’s all well and good for me as an adult, but for kids watching the show they may have some nightmares. Personally I wish all of the episodes were adult themed as this one was. Now, let’s get to Chewbacca.
These guys need to be returned to the Jerk Store
In ‘Wookie Hunt’, Ahsoka narrowly escapes from the Trandoshans, but finally meets up with O-Mer and Jinx who are about to give up upon hearing of Kalifa’s death. Ahsoka has other ideas and inspires the remaining two Padawans to join her in attacking the next transport that will drop prisoners. The scene with the Padawans attacking the transport was very cool, one of the Trandoshans was even using a shotgun that Trandoshan slavers used in the Republic Commando video game. After the ship crashes spectacularly, the younglings stumble upon Chewbacca who was the only prisoner aboard. Ahsoka can conveniently understand the Wookie and he shows some of his technological prowess by putting together a communication device to contact his fellow fuzzballs. I won’t spoil anymore of the episode by telling you who lives and dies by the end of the episode, but I can say to expect some Wookie rage, a couple familiar characters, and some Trando-bashing by the end of it all.
“I SAID GOOD DAY SIR!”
This finale was about as good as I expected from the previews and even went in a different direction than I thought with the whole hunting aspect. Chewbacca could easily have been any random Wookie, but I liked that they gave the fans a familiar face for the end of the season. It definitely beats out the Boba Fett finale from last year, which I was a bit let down by.
The Trandoshans were a very nice addition to the Clone Wars series. The sounds they made kind of reminded me of the raptors from Jurassic Park 3(but in a good way) by the way they called for help with high-pitched screeching, and the way they growled in attack mode. They sure were a sadistic lot of scumbags. Garnac, their leader, had quite an extensive trophy room consisting of many notable species from the Star Wars universe, and a couple of cool ones for the fans including a Mandalorian Neo-Crusader helmet from the Old Republic and what appeared to be a crystal skull from Indiana Jones.
The voice acting was a bit hit and miss with the Trando voices themselves being a bit over the top. But the padawans Kalifa, Jinx and O-Mer were very nicely done. And I give Clone Wars veteran voice actress Gwendoline Yeo extra props, because in real life she is smoking hot!
Gwendoline Yeo – voice of Kalifa in The Clone Wars
We were also treated to a quick preview of season 4 of the Clone Wars coming out this Fall. Shots included underwater battles involving the Mon Calamari species (Ackbar!), another Anakin/Dooku fight, and what looks to be a bad-ass Gungan fighting General Grievous, if you can believe that. There was also plenty of shootings and a couple explosions so you can’t go wrong there!
Grizzly Bomb 