Nifty Nerduary Showdown #19

After taking last week off to eat turkey, the Nerduary showdown is back.

First, let's recap the previous showdown with super spy James Bond versus super assasin Jason Bourne (same initials ... hmmmm). According to the voters here on the Nerduary, Bond scraped out a victory against Jason Bourne utilizing his amazing luck. I think a highlight in the voting for me was Bond's doves swooping down the street to save the day. So Bond lucked away with the win on showdown number 18. http://thenerduary.blogspot.com/2006/11/its-back-nifty-nerduary-showdown-18.html

This week's showdown is something I've wanted to do since we started this site. For some reason, I kept putting it off. Since we took last week off, it's time for a big return. So here it is, Nifty Nerduary Showdown #19.

***

"I am most displeased with your lack of leadership, Lord Vader," the Emperor said from atop his black throne. "I am holding you responsible for the Death Star's destruction."
Vader shifted as he knelt before the Imperial ruler. "I understand, my master."
"Guards, leave us." The Emperor cackled. "Now, Lord Vader, prove yourself worthy of redemption." He lifted a few fingers off the arm rest. A door slid open on the far side of the throne room. A cloaked figure stepped into the room and slide back the hood.
Vader stared. He recognized this face from somewhere ... in his past.
"Yes, master," the tattoed being said.
"Darth Maul," the Emperor said, "you must move against this Jedi."
Vader whirled around. "I am no Jedi. I am Sith."
The Emperor cackled once more, then turned serious. "Prove it, Lord Vader."
Vader clinched his fists and turned to face Maul, who had already slipped off the cloak and drawn his double bladed lightsaber. Vader felt the cool hilt of his own weapon and prepared to fight.

***

Okay, so we have Darth Vader sometime between Episodes four and five. Say Darth Maul is some kind of clone from just before his duel in Episode one.

Vote by simply placing your choice at the top of the post followed by how you think the fight might play out. Votes will be tallied for the next Showdown Thursday.

Evil Dead the musical, a bloody good time

Imagine sitting in a packed theater in New York City. The show is filled with lots of cool lighting cues and sound effects and rock music. The actors perform their parts wonderfully, whether it's singing a love song about falling in love at S-Mart or wielding a chainsaw and a shotgun to kill candarian demons. And then the audience shouts in unison with the lead actor, "This is my boomstick!"

Yes, I’m talking about Evil Dead the Musical, currently gracing the New World Stages. I have seen it twice and loved it both times. In fact, I wouldn’t mind seeing it again. With songs like "What the fuck was that?” and “You Blew That Bitch Away,” how can you not enjoy it?




The musical takes bits and pieces from the entire Evil Dead trilogy and keeps many of the most famous lines. It features blood, decapitations, blood, a talking moose head, blood, and candarian demons. Oh did I mention there is blood? The blood shoots across the stage and into the audience. The first three rows are splatter zone seats, if you sit there you should be prepared to get bloody. The show also plays homage to “Rocky Horror Show” with a poster in the cabin and a nod to the time warp with “Do the Necronomicon.”




The show opened on November first. I saw it during previous and had to go back because I learned that on November second Bruce Campbell would be attending with a Q&A to follow.



Bruce Campbell and his musical counterpart.
Bruce Campbell is quite a fun guy to listen to. He walked out on stage and said “What the fuck was that?” with a smile then picked up one of the three small cups of fake blood next to his chair and slung it on the audience. Then he went on to answer the two most common questions. Evil Dead 4? Sam Rami is making these Spider movies and is quite busy. Freddy vs. Jason vs. Ash? Apparently someone approached Bruce and Sam about this idea, the only problem is who would win? The answer? Everybody. Bruce and Sam decided that if Ash can’t kick those guys butts, what’s the point?

One fan asked Bruce to say “groovy” and Bruce’s response was, “I could do that… if I was your monkey.” Another fan explained that he had recently seen the Love Bug remake featuring Bruce and asked what the fuck was that? Bruce smiled and said that was a hundred thousand dollars in his pocket and acted like he was sliding money into his pocket.

When asked if he was a villain in Spider-Man 3, he explained his roll in all the Spider-Man movies. In the first movie he was the announcer that named Spider-Man, otherwise he would have been called the Human Spider. In the second movie, he was the usher who stopped Peter Parker from going into the theater so he is the only person to stop Spider-Man. In the third film, the lawyers will only allow him to say he teams up with Spider-Man.

Being so close to Broadway, he confessed he wanted to sing a song. “I try to remember” from the musical the Fantasticks. He started singing, “I try to remember… I try to remember…” and he tried very hard to remember the lyrics. A woman in the audience started telling him the lyrics to which Bruce quickly told her he didn’t want to know the lyrics.

He fielded questions about his television shows Jack of All Trades and Brisco County Junior. “Did you have a nelson box in your house? That’s why it was canceled.”

He talked briefly about his next movie “My Name is Bruce” in which a small town kidnaps him to help fight a monster, believing he will be able to help them because of his experience playing Ash in the movies. It doesn’t. Things get worse once Bruce arrives and more people die.

The Evil Dead remake came up and Bruce shook his head no while sliding an imaginary wad of money in his back pocket.

Over all, the evening was a blast. Bruce Campbell is hilarious and fun to listen to. He saved his two remaining cups of blood for particularly annoying questions.

The show is playing through at least Feburary so if you are in the area, I highly recommend it. If you want to see clips of the show, go to the offical fan page on myspace (myspace even got a credit in the playbill) or click
here to go directly to the episode of the Broadway Beat featuring scenes from the musical.

The Word

Wow. This is either going to be the most fucked up TV series ever to run on any channel or they're going to have to tone some things down a little bit. Either way, I'm going to have to get HBO.

Nerd Makes Good

Back in the day there was a comic called Scud: The Disposable Assasin. It was pretty cool and fun and everything else that independent comics were back then. Well, turns out that the guy behind Scud has made good, and has even become a success story for nerds everywhere. Check it out here.

Hobbit Update

Not a lot of time to post today, so here's an interesting article over at Dark Horizons about the possible future of Peter Jackson's involvement in The Hobbit. Could be good news, or it could go no where. You be the judge.

Legendary X-Men Artist Dies

Former Uncanny X-Men and Legion of Super-Heroes artist Dave Cockrum died this morning due to complications from diabetes.

Whether you know it or not, you’ve come into contact with Dave Cockrum’s work. While most people point to the Chris Claremont/John Byrne collaboration as the high point in X-Men history, it was in large part due to Dave Cockrum that people were even remotely interested in the X-Men in the first place.

Most comic fans know the story of the X-Men’s renaissance. The series had suffered dismal sales since it’s inception in the 1960’s, and had even been canceled. Then, in 1975, Giant-Size X-Men was published, featuring an “All New, All Different” team. The comic was a huge success and spurred the revitalization of the X-Men. Dave Cockrum was the artist on Giant-Size X-Men, and set the standard for the high art quality that the book would have for the next 30 years. He would then spend several years as the artist on Uncanny X-Men, before John Byrne and after.

Cockrum co-created Nightcrawler, Colossus, Storm, and a slew of others X-Men. Before that, his run on DC’s Legion of Super-Heroes was seen as a defining moment in the book’s run.

So here’s to Dave Cockrum.

Rocky Balboa

If the movie even remotely lives up to this trailer, then I think Rocky is going to get the great farewell he deserves.

New DVDs

A bunch of new DVDs came out this week, and not all of them are worth owning. The Nerduary takes a look at the ones that are.

A Fish Called Wanda

One of the most brilliant movies ever made, this movie took all the best elements from Monty Python and melded them with American comedic sensibilities. What we got was something truly original and funny.

Seinfeld Season 7

Larry David’s last season, this boxed set has some real gems. The Soup Nazi makes his appearance here and George’s fiancé goes out in one of the series darkest moments.



Alias: The Final Season

While this show suffered some rough patches in later seasons, the final season did manage to tie up most, if not all, loose ends. Not too bad of a season, but I say check out season one for the best in Alias.

Kamahamaha, Baby!

Fans of Dragonball Z will be able to own the series for pretty cheap come February. Funimation, the American distributor of the show, will be putting out the first of many boxed sets beginning with the show’s first 39 episodes on five disks. The best news of all? It’ll retail for about $50.

However, there is some cause for alarm. While we’ll be able to have Dragonball Z for cheap, Funimation is presenting the show in widescreen. Sounds nice, except the show was not animated in widescreen format. That most likely means there’s going to be some cropping of the images going on. So the purist in me thinks that pretty much sucks.

But, the cheap bastard inside me is still excited at the $50 price tag. Here's the official press release.

Robert Altman dies

Can’t believe I missed this, but here it is now.

Legendary director Robert Altman died Monday, November 20 in Los Angeles. No cause has been given.

Altman’s credits include M*A*S*H, Gosford Park, Popeye, A Prairie Home Companion and a host of other films.

No More Nerds

So what am I thankful for this Thanksgiving Morning? Well, for starters, an attempt by Hollywood to remake a perfectly good movie has fallen through.

1984’s Revenge of the Nerds stands as one of the true cult classics of our generation, and to remake barely 20 years after its release just seemed a little, I don’t know, excessive. However, things have fallen a part for the production and it has been officially canceled.

The best part? The reason the flick isn’t getting made is because of Emory University. Turns out that most of the movie was going to be shot on the Atlanta college’s campus, but university officials decided they didn’t want their school associated with the raunchy nature of the script.

You can read the full story here.

Buffy Season 8

Don’t have much time for anything more than a quickie today, but it’s a pretty good one.

Fans of the much loved Buffy the Vampire Slayer will be able to revisit all their favorite characters very soon and best of all, it will all be in continuity. Called Buffy: Season 8, Joss Whedon is hard at work on a series that will show what the series' creator would have done given another season and a couple of TV movies.

While I’ve never been a huge fan of the Buffy or Angel comics, this is one that I know I’ll be picking up. Whedon himself has not only mapped the entire series out, but will write the first arc of four to six issues himself.

Check out the full scoop here.

New Night For Galactica

Sci-Fi has announced that Battlestar Galactica will get a new time slot come 2007. Currently, the show airs 9 p.m. Friday. Starting January 21, however, it will air at 10 p.m. Sundays.

I think this is great news for the show that has seen viewership down during it’s outstanding third season. Friday nights have always been sort of a no man’s land for television, and even the most hard core fans can have a difficult time deciding whether to venture out with friend with the onset of the weekend or stick around the house for a TV show.

Judging from the current Sunday night line-up, Battelstar won’t face that harsh of competition, and I think the new slot may even draw in new viewers. The show is already hailed as the best show on TV, and many people end the weekend by just vegging in front of the TV.

Here’s hoping the new slot will be a boon for Battelstar Galactica.

New Harry Potter trailer online now

The Nerduary posted a pretty ominous looking teaser poster recently regarding the next Harry Potter movie (Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix).

The movie is scheduled to open July 13, 2007.

I have to say the movie looks much darker and the principle actors have really grown since the first movie (I guess time has a funny way of doing that). I know many fans of the series will be interested to see how they cram so much story into a two hour movie. Too bad they'll have to wait until next summer.



Click here to see for yourself:
http://pdl.warnerbros.com/wbmovies/orderofthephoenix/teaser/teaser_500.mov

Jackson goes there but not back again

For any fans of the Lord of the Rings, the following is sad news.

Peter Jackson will not have anything to do with the movie adaptation of The Hobbit or some other planned Lord of the Rings prequel (apparently, there were plans to film two films back to back). As you will always find with any business-including the movies-the decision was all about money.

According to a letter from Peter Jackson to fansite www.theonering.net, New Line gave Jackson a call to tell him his services would no longer be required. In other words, Jackson was given his Middle Earth pink slip. Read the entire letter here. http://www.theonering.net/staticnews/1163993546.html

I don't totally understand all the legal jumbo about the lawsuit between Wingnut Films and New Line. I don't really care.

I am wondering if WETA effects company will be involved with The Hobbit and this other prequel. Will Ian Mckellan return as Gandalf? How about the other actors? What about composer Howard Shore?

This is just some weird news. I didn't even know Jackson was planning on making the movie. I only knew he would do it if they asked him to. Since New Line actually owns the rights to these movies, I guess it doesn't matter now. It just seems some other director will be taking the helm for any return trip to Middle Earth.

Is this a good thing? Time will tell. I've always been from the school that it's good to leave well enough alone sometimes. We'll see.

Penguins edge Bond

Well, it wasn't a Harry Potter or a Star Wars type weekend. But the boxoffice boasted two movies earning $40 million this weekend.

The surprise?

Number one wasn't the new James Bond flick, Casino Royale. 007 landed just barely in second place behind the new animated feature, Happy Feet. Here's a snippet of a story from boxofficemojo.com.

***
Meanwhile, Casino Royale rolled an estimated $40.6 million from 5,100 screens at 3,434 locations, the James Bond franchise still sharp after a four-year hiatus and change in personnel and direction. The $150 million 21st official Bond featured Daniel Craig's "blunt instrument," as Judi Dench refers to him in the trailer, replacing Pierce Brosnan's debonair version. Distributor Sony said that the audience was 55 percent male and 57 percent over 25.

Casino Royale sold roughly as many tickets as Brosnan's first, GoldenEye, did at 2,667 theaters on the same weekend in 1995. GoldenEye, though, had more of an uphill battle, coming six years after the franchise fizzled with License to Kill. Each subsequent Brosnan Bond grossed more than its predecessor, culminating in his final picture, Die Another Day, scoring a franchise high $47.7 million opening, which would equal over $53 million today adjusted for ticket price inflation. Craig's next go at Bond is scheduled for Nov. 7, 2008.

***

Now, Bond coming just barely in second place wasn't that big of a deal. Earning $40 million is still impressive. What I thought interesting was the November 2008 release date for Daniel Craig's next Bond movie. Two years? Pretty fast and that's good news. Looks like they are really getting behind Craig as Bond. I haven't seen the movie, yet, but I always dig seeing a Bond movie so I'm sure it'll be a good time.

Ah, Kevin J. Anderson...

Make your way through any science fiction section at any bookstore, and one of the most prolific authors you’re bound to see is Kevin J. Anderson. This guy is everywhere and tends to have more books out than Tolkien, Clarke and Asimov combined. Why? Because the guy never met a franchise he couldn’t latch onto. His latest project is a book called The Last Days of Krypton which he’s been commissioned by DC Comics to write. As the title suggests, it follows the waning days of Superman’s home planet.

Kevin J. Anderson is not on any list of my favorite authors. I first became aware of him when I was hooked on the Star Wars Expanded Universe stuff. His books were published immediately after the great Heir to the Empire trilogy and were a tremendous letdown, not only in story but in writing as well.

However, the big bummer was still to come. I remember reading one called Darksaber which was about the Hutts trying to build their own Death Star. Okay. Sure. It sounded promising. Yeah, it sucked. The characters were cardboard cutouts or worse, the story was more than predictable, there was a little too much slapstick comedy for a Star Wars book and the ending, something that for 300 pages was hyped up to be an awesome event was pure crap. I looked at the cover to see who the author was and that’s when I first became aware of the name “Kevin J. Anderson.”

Since then, I see his name everywhere, however it was easy to avoid him. After all, he was making a killing writing bad Star Wars books and the Expanded Universe had long ago become too expanded for my taste with a ton of characters I didn’t know and books that referred back to books published years and years ago. Nope. Not for me.

Then he got paid a shit ton of money to play in Frank Herbert’s Dune universe. At first I was able to stay away. His name alone was a deterrent. That is, until he started doing the back-story of The Butlerian Jihad, an event in the history of the Dune universe that was often alluded to, but of which details were scarce. Without boring you with a complete synopsis, the book turned the beautifully written and esoteric Dune story into substandard sci-fi cliché Think Terminator with spaceships and you have a perfect picture of this 900 page book. Hell, there’s even a Sarah Conner character and a Skynet. The latest book even sees the return to life of all of the franchises most beloved characters tens of thousands of years after they died!

But, enough people paid good money for Anderson's books (in his defense, though, Herbert’s own son has been acting as an enabler) and now he’s writing about the end of Krypton. His book will detail what the social mood was like, how the civilians reacted to Jor El being right, the politics that kept the leaders from ordering a mass evacuation, General Zod's rebellion and a bunch of other cool things. Unfortunately, Anderson is at the wheel, a man that can take any origninal science fiction concept and boil it down to something no more unique than the thousands of other science fiction books on the shelf.

In the end, I think one of the big reasons Anderson is so successful is because he writes glorified fan-fiction. Instead of taking characters and concepts into new and different places, he instead panders to any franchises’ lowest common denominator, providing more "neato!" moments than actual depth. It doesn’t have to be this way. Timothy Zahn was playing in someone else’s universe but had the gumption to do new things with the characters while never betraying them and his books are the most beloved in the Star Wars Expanded Universe.

So despite Anderson writing about in another universe I love about a character near and dear to me, I’m not going to be sucked in this time. I’d rather spend my time, energy and money of authors who are not only talented, but original.

Chaotic futuristic battles ring in the Holiday spirit

Many people have painted the figures of Warhammer or seen the game played in dark rooms surrounded by cans of Mountain Dew and tables sprinkled with cheese puffs. The game has a world wide following.

For years, video games about the Warhammer universe have ranged from terrible to okay. A couple years ago, a PC game called "Dawn of War" changed all that to actually make a Warhammer 40K game worth playing. Check out the opening of the game below and you'll see what I mean.

The game was just plain brutal in its depiction of the future battlefields. The sound of the battlefield, like the distant thundering artillery, brought you into the world of Warhammer 40K. The game seemed, well, realistic despite the fact it had Orks, Demons and such. It seemed at first to be a typical RTS (Real Time Strategy) game. But the player soon finds there is a nice level of strategy involved.

An expansion pack came out last year called Winter Assault. But this year, gamers get the chance to check out Dawn of War: Dark Crusade. I am sure there will be more great battles. But what has me psyched about this installment is the addition of a strategic level of play. Rather than go from battle to battle, the player actually gets to decide on a map how to take control of a planet. Instead of just tactical game play, the player now gets to check out how they would fare from a strategic level as well.

If you guys dig Warhammer 40K or are just looking for an interesting RTS, check out any of these Dawn of War games. All can be picked up for relatively cheap prices, sometimes under $30 or as little as $20. Fantastic deal for such a cool game. If you think you'll miss the idea of painting your army, the game includes that option as well to allow you to field your own force of pink Space Marines (hey, if that's your thing, you can do it here).

Regardless, this is a game that will provide hours of arm chair general time without having to spend hours of painting time. As busy as life can get, I think that's a good trade off.

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix poster

For all the Harry Potter fans out there (and I include myself in that group), here’s the first teaser poster for The Order of the Phoenix.

If the movie can live up the promise of just this poster alone it’s going to be pretty kick-ass.

The Action Figure Report

When I was a kid, when it came to playing with toys a lot of imagination had to be employed. Today’s action figures have a minimum of 32 points of articulation and look so realistic that it can seem that your toys are staring at you sometimes.

Not so back in the day. Back then, you were lucky if the arms and legs of your favorite action figures moved, and even if they did, then chances were still pretty good that there was no bending action at the elbows or knees.

Transformers were pretty bad about this in hindsight. Yeah, back then, I was a little freak for them, but every now and again, I’ll stumble across a Transformer from the ‘80s. Granted, in vehicle mode they looked top-notch. But when it came to turning them into the actual robots, well, let’s just say you kind of had to gloss over the fact they bore NO RESEMBLENCE TO THEIR CARTOON COUNTERPARTS!

Fast forward 20+ years. Transformers are still hot and Hasbro is still flooding the market with new toys. While we did get a kick-ass Optimus Prime a few years ago, fans of Generation 1 were left out.

Not anymore they aren’t. Hasbro is in the process of releases Deluxe Editions of the classic Transformers and if you’ve been to any toy department, you’ve probably even seen them. I know I have, and surprise, as soon as I secure steady money, guess what’s going to adorn my toy shelf?


So without further ado, let’s take a look at a few of these badass new toys:

Hot Rod

When I was a kid, I loved Hot Rod. Not that he was all that likeable in the movie, but come on, his car mode was just awesome. I’m 27-years-old and to this day, that is still my dream car. Look at that thing! It screams radness! You know if you had a toy like that you'd have it at your desk at work, getting nothing done because of all the bitchin' maneuvers you'd be making this car perform.


Starscream

Who doesn’t love this guy? Every other episode, Starscream was scheming to some how overthrow Megatron and claim Decepticon leadership for himself. Finally, we get a figure that captures the Benedict Arnold of the Decepticons in all his glory.

Soundwave

Something tells me this fella’s gonna be hard to track down as you can see he’s clearly marked as a Toys R Us exclusive. Jerks. Anyway, when I was a kid, I had a Soundwave action figure and the tape deck mode was so realistic that for the longest time I was convinced that he would actually play tapes. Seriously, I thought I was doing something wrong and even had my dad look it over for me to make sure it wasn’t defective. And even though I was a little bit crushed to learn that it wasn’t meant to actually play mini-cassettes, I still loved my Soundwave toy. Now, he’s back and better than ever. You know, I wonder if this one plays tapes...

So there you have it. There are a couple of other new entries into the Transformers line like a new Bumblebee and Astrotrain, but they're really not as impressive. Chances are, these fine products will be lining my wall at some point, even though the landlord will be wondering just where the Hell his rent check is.

It's Back! Nifty Nerduary Showdown #18

It's been way too long. But after several months, it's the return of the Nerduary Showdown.

We've got a new format this time around. In order to give more fighting time (read: voting time), there will now be one Showdown every Thursday instead of the previous two. Results will be tallied and posted every Wednesday for your enjoyment ... or, if your guy or gal loses the showdown, frustration.

Enough talk! It's time for the return of the showdown.

***


Jason Bourne weaved through the crowd as only he knew how. He was graceful, swift, and invisible.

Or so he hoped.

The New York City crowd thickened. Bourne knew it was quitting time. The mass of humanity would only grow. And that would only help.

Something was wrong. He thought he had taken care of the problems. After fixing the problems in Russia, he had come to New York to tie up some loose ends. On the plane, the feeling was there. Moving through the airport, it remained. Something was definitely wrong.

He passed a hotdog vendor and the smell of relish. The feeling was still there. He didn't know how, but he knew he had a tail. A shadow. A good one. A good one, indeed. But who?

It didn't matter. This shadow meant business.

***

The thrill of the chase excited him. He couldn't deny that.

After a few years of meaningless duties, MI6 had finally decided he was ready for something more. He was a weapon. James Bond now had a license to kill.

A little excitement in the far east had attracted their attention. Bond arrived in Russia a day after a brutal car chase. He had followed the rogue assasin to New York. After all the intercepted transmissions about the assasin's talents, MI6 wanted this man eliminated.

Bond stayed in the shadows the best he could. But this assasin knew how to work a crowd, how to disappear. Several times he thought he'd lost the target.

He spotted him again while passing a food vendor. Bond knew the time was now. He might not get another chance.

***

So there you have it. This is the new James Bond that recently received his "00" tracking assasin Jason Bourne with orders to kill. They are in downtown New York on a crowded workday afternoon.

May the best man win.

How do you vote? Easy. Place your choice at the top of the post. If you wish, tell your story of how this showdown will end after you post you choice. Results will be tallied Wednesday.

The Official Nerduary Bond List (or, Nobody Does it Better)!

This weekend, James Bond hits the big screen for the 21st time with a new actor in the title role. Lots of folks are wondering how newbie Daniel Craig will do and The Nerduary is no different.

With that, we now look at past James Bonds, from least favorite to favorite to see what made them great… or not so much.

George Lazenby

Who knows why this guy didn’t work out? Me? I think he just suffered the fate of having to be the guy to follow up Sean Connery’s legenday stay as Bond, a task I would wish on no man. While a lot of people will tell you he sucked as Bond, I say he did just fine. Go back and check out his flick and give it an open mind. See? That wasn't too terrible was it?

Timothy Dalton

Dalton holds an odd place in the Bond world. Like Lazenby, he came in on the heels of a guy who owned the part of Bond. A lot of folks look at Dalton’s tenure as a failure, but come on, he wasn’t that bad. Sure, Living Daylights was an odd little movie, but License to Kill was pretty bad-ass. Dalton played Bond like an man on possessed. He was crazy and hardcore. In License to Kill, you really believed that Bond had finally broken down, and Dalton was the guy who made it work.


Roger Moore

The gentleman’s Bond, Roger Moore played Bond like a socialite out to just have a good time. Nothing seemed to phase his Bond, be it running over a pond filled with alligators, or dressing up like a Gypsy for a fight. While there were some pretty week entries during Moore’s tenure, you can’t deny that he was Bond every bit as much as Sean Connery.

Pierce Brosnan

When it comes to the total Bond package, Pierce Brosnan is it. Dashing good looks? Check. Extreme excess of charm? Check. Intensity? Check. Brosnan’s Bond outings started out strong as Hell with Goldeneye, to my mind one of the best Bond movies ever. However, he had the misfortune of playing Bond during a time when producers thought bigger was better. While the quality of his films were never as good as Goldeneye, he remained a damn good Bond in spite of it all.

Sean Connery

The man who made it all possible. Sure, Ian Flemming’s James Bond novels were popular enough, but Sean Connery made flesh and blood the beloved character, so much so that the novels became an afterthought (nowadays, most people don’t even know Bond started in books). So, besides being the first, what makes Connery the best Bond? He set the tone for what was to come for the next 40 years. You can’t play the character without being measured by Connery. While his Bond was a little too thuggish for my tastes (dude slapped women around almost as much as bad guys), he was also extremely believable. While the idea of a Pierce Brosnan-type running around is my favorite, I think Connery’s portrayal of an international spy is the most accurate to date (in the Bond franchise at least). Not only did Connery look good beating-up bad guys, but he took a beating pretty good, too. Sean Connery: The first. The Best. The one all others will always be measured by.

Daniel Craig?

So how will the new guy rate? Some critics are already saying Craig is the best since Sean Connery. Will audiences feel the same way? Will Daniel Craig follow in the footsteps of Sean Connery, Roger Moore and Pierce Brosnan and have a pretty prolific career as Bond? Or will he follow George Lazenby and Timothy Dalton to become a living tale of caution to other actors about what a bad outing as Bond could do to you? Only time will tell.

Casino Royale opens this Friday.

Star Wars wish list

A while back, we here at The Nerduary were trying to keep you informed on the future of Star Wars after the movies about the Skywalker family. We've heard of two television possibilities. First was the animated series about the Clone Wars (yes, another one). The second was the far more intriguing avenue of a live action television show spanning 100 episodes. The plan was to have the entire story arc created before one scene was shot.

But that was it. There were only a few tidbits of information revealed in the coming weeks. The most obvious info revolved around the show being set between episode three and four. Very cool. Another nuggett of info stated there would be no main characters (i.e. Han Solo, Darth Vader, etc) involved in the story other than some minor cameos. There was even a rumor the show would not have any Jedi involved.

So what would this show be about?

As a fellow Star Wars geek, I thought I would come up with a short wish list--staying true to the aforementioned rules--of potential story arcs for this show.

1. Star Destroyer and crew--How cool would it be to see a show based around a new Star Destroyer and crew during the birth and rise of the Empire? The story could feature TIE fighter pilots, AT-AT and ground troops, and the bridge officers. This could be done on a TV show's budget by reusing the sets and such. The cameos mentioned could easily be done. Imagine an episode when Darth Vader toured the ship or something along those lines. Around season two or three, the ship could start to learn of the coming Rebellion and how it is growing in strength. The ship could even make a pit stop at the construction of the Death Star.

2. A freighter crew--This could obviously be based on Han Solo and Chewie, but could also lean more towards Firefly with a Star Wars kick. The crew could be struggling to survive under the new Empire. Better yet, they could love the Empire at first (yea! No more high and mighty Jedi!) and just be trying to make money. Then, they could be contacted by the Rebellion, which would pay more.

3. Stormtrooper platoon--Imagine Troops, but on a serious scale. The storyline would revolve around the officers and there inexperience in leading troops and such. I think this could be an awesome idea.

4. The academy--At some point, the Emperor obviously decided to build some military academies, mainly for the officers, and not rely solely on clones. The Emperor himself could appear in the pilot episode when he constructs the academies and then follow the first class through. Then, the show could move into their respective assignments.

These are just a few ideas. I really could go on and on. I would love to hear some other ideas. After we compile the answers, we will send the best to George Lucas himself. We all know how he concerns himself with the feelings of the fans.

To be honest, I just hope they make something and this doesn't go the route Indy 4 seems to have gone (In production, not really, definitely a go, maybe not, filming in 2002, nope, filming in 05, better things to do, filming in 06, fools!, filming sometime this decade, Lucas doesn't like the script. Current status: No f-ing likely)

Star Trek: The Next Generation is back… sort of.

Who can believe that Star Trek: The Next Generation is about to turn 20-years-old? It seems like just yesterday Capt. Picard and his crew were just arriving at Farpoint Station. To celebrate the show’s big birthday, IDW will be publishing a new comic book series based on TNG.

You can check out five preview pages here. While the first issue takes place in the first season (my least favorite), each subsequent issue will be set in a different period of the show’s history. Issues will be stand-alone, though certain elements will form larger arcs.

To be honest, I’m still not certain whether I’ll pick this up or not. I feel like fans have been burned when it comes to franchises branching off into other media with most works not really being worth the price of admission. Sure, there are exceptions to the rule. Over in the Star Wars universe, Timothy Zahn’s Heir to the Empire trilogy was awesome, as was Steve Perry’s Shadows of the Empire. Peter David has written some pretty solid Star Trek novels, but beyond that, everything else seems to be a waste of time. You always have that feeling that none of it matters, that what you’re reading is filler at best, and a way to make a quick buck at worst.

That said, IDW seems to be a pretty good publisher. Not only is the company’s head honcho Chris Ryall a good business man, but he’s also a geek just like us. If anyone can make TNG work in comic book form, I trust he can do it.

Weekend Spidey Fix (And Other Stuff)

While I’m a fan of commentary and the like, I also think some things just speak for themselves. So, without further ado, here’s the latest trailer for Spider-Man 3.

Enjoy.




Okay, so I lied about the commentary. But I’ll keep it short.

Sam Raimi continues to show that he not only gets Spider-Man, but he respects the rich mythology that the character has accumulated over the last 40 plus years. While none of the movies so far have been 100 percent faithful to the source material, the tone has been pitch-perfect. Anyone who has read any of the old school Spidey comics, especially the Stan Lee/John Romita stuff and to some extent the Gerry Conway run has felt right at home with these movie. Spider-Man 3 looks to carry on that tradition, and I couldn’t be happier.

Just a couple other things before I sign off:

Reno 911! Miami

Saw the trailer last night and I laughed nonstop for 2 1⁄2 minutes. Anyone who has seen the show on Comedy Central already knows what to expect, but something tells me the big screen version is just going to blow the series away. Plus, it was great (yet awkward) seeing Dangle’s shorts on the movie screen.

Alan Moore to Visit Springfield

Legendary comic book writer Alan Moore will get animated to make an appearance as himself on The Simpsons next year. For the non-comic literate, trust me when I saw you know Moore’s stuff. V For Vendetta, John Constantine, From Hell, and The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen are just some of the more mainstream, although he is the guy that gave the Joker an origin. Moore will be in Springfield to sign comics books at a new, better comic book store that opens in town to give the Comic Book Guy some competition.

Frank Miller's 300 in '07

One of the best military stories in history has always been the 300 Spartans fending off a narrow space against countless Persians. Everyone one of them died in what is known to historians as the Battle of Thermopylae in 480 B.C. I read a great book called "Gates of Fire" based on this particular battle. I was fascinated. The men fought in such a tight space for so long that blood had turned the sand into mud, swords were dulled, and the bodies stacked up on the ground.

Some great lines come from this battle as well, my favorite being (paraphrased):

"We will shoot so many arrows at you, it will block out the sun."

"Then we will fight in the shade."

The esteemed Frank Miller published his graphic novel called "300" on this event in history. I have never read this entire work, unless you would consider flipping through pages in the bookstore "reading." But I've always wanted to buy this one. It's apparently a fantastic work.

Well, looks like movie goers are going to see this on the screen in 2007. I know many already probably knew about this, but I must have been sleeping on my job because seeing the trailer was the first I had heard of it. The movie stars Gerard Butler as Spartan King Leonidas.

Butler has been really good in the movies I have seen him in. He played Atilla the Hun in a TV movie a few years back. David Wenham is also in the movie. Wenham played Faramir in the Lord of the Rings series.

The movie itself has a quality that reminds me of Sin City. You'll see what I'm talking about in the trailer below. Anyway, I'll be there for this one next year. I've always thought this would make a great movie. Now, we all get the chance to see if it is actually any good.

Indiana Jones and other Odds and Ends

Frank Darabont had some interesting things to say about the future of everyone’s favorite archeologist, Indiana Jones. Folks that have been following the development of the new Indy movie know that to say things are moving slowly is an understatement and that George Lucas is being a little… picky about the script.

A while back, Darabont turned in a screenplay for the fourth venture of Dr. Jones that was widely praised by most parties involved. I fact, Steven Spielberg loved it so much that he said it was the best Indy movie since Raiders of the Lost Ark. Unfortunately, the only person who didn’t like it was Lucas.

Now, Darabont is saying that he doesn’t see an Indiana Jones 4 ever being made. You can see the details here.

To be honest, while I feel bad that Darabont got the shaft, I’m not too displeased that a new Indiana Jones may not be made after all. So much time has passed that Harrison Ford, as fit as he may claim to be, is just a tad too old to believably go around beating up bad guys and defying death every other scene. And let’s be honest, George Lucas isn’t exactly the name of quality these days. In fact, George Lucas liking something is reason to be afraid.

I say let sleeping dogs lie. We got two great Indiana Jones movies and one that, despite its faults, was pretty fun. Why try to up a good run with a giant gamble that could leave franchise tarnished? I would love to have seen another good Indy movie, but I can live with Last Crusade being the end. Hell, It even ended with Indiana Jones riding off into the sunset like the hero is was. That’s how I want to remember my Indiana Jones.

All that said though, Lucas, Spielberg and Ford are still pretty big shots in Hollywood and if they put their minds to a new Indiana Jones, then there will be a new Indiana Jones. But that may not be a good thing.

What else does Hollywood got going on?

Studio 60 Gets a Full Season
To me this is the best news of the week. Studio 60 is a smart show that never seems condescending and offers up what feels like an in-depth view of how Hollywood works. Great cast with actors playing against type. Amanda Peet, D.L. Hugley and Stephen Weber are finally getting a chance to show off their chops. Add Aaron Sorkin’s awesome writing into the mix and this is easily one of the top shows (as far as quality goes) on TV.

Battlestar Galactica On Wednesday?
Sci-Fi’s flagship show saw a big dip in the ratings this season. For some reason, it’s not the draw it has been in the past. I don’t know why, as after hearing about two stellar seasons, I finally broke down and gave the show a try. Now I’m hooked. With Lost going on hiatus until February 7, Sci-Fi executives are thinking about moving this series to Wednesday nights at 8 p.m. I’m all for that and can only hope new viewers will get sucked in just like I was.

Shaun of the Dead does Antman
Marvel comics is producing its own movies now and the team that did Shaun of the Dead is said to be writing this flick. I have no idea what they have planned for it, suffice it to say that I trust these guys implicitly, and will be there on opening night based on their name-value alone.

The Avengers in 2011… maybe.
Speaking of Marvel doing their own movies, one of the big announcements of the year was that fans would finally get an Avengers movie. However, it looks like that won’t happen until at least 2011. That’s a long time to wait for a movie featuring the premier super hero team of the Marvel universe, but hey, we haven’t had one for the last 40 years, what’s an extra five year wait?

The Sarah Conner Chronicles
Fox has started casting for the TV show that will show what Sarah Conner was up to leading up to the war with machines. It’ll be about her and John, here 15-years-old, going around learning how to be hard-asses. Not only do I think this is more than a decade too late, but this is sure to be a continuity cluster-fuck (after all, Terminator 3 got John Conner’s age wrong). Unless the previews wow me, I can’t say that I’m too interested anymore.

More Spiderman today

Greetings Nerduary folks.

I'm sure most of you have heard we have a new Spiderman trailer on the way. I thought we would have to wait. Looks like I was wrong. According to Aint it Cool news, the trailer will be released tonight. Here's part of the release:

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SPIDER-MAN 3 TRAILER TO DEBUT EXCLUSIVELY ACROSS MULTIPLE VIACOM PLATFORMS AND ON CBS
Unprecedented Trailer Road Block to Premiere Thursday, Nov. 9, at approximately 10 p.m. (ET/PT), on BET, CBS, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Spike TV and VH1
Following Television Premiere, High-Definition Version of Trailer to be Posted Exclusively on MTV Networks' IFILM.com
LOS ANGELES, CA, AND NEW YORK, NY—Nov. 8, 2006—"Spider-Man" fans will get a long-awaited sneak peek at Columbia Pictures' highly anticipated motion picture Spider-Man 3 when a new, full-length, two-and-a-half minute trailer debuts in a special unprecedented "road block" across Viacom Inc.'s (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B) brands and on the CBS Television Network on Thursday, November 9, at approximately 10:00 pm. Spider-Man 3, starring Tobey Maguire and directed by Sam Raimi, kicks off next summer's moviegoing season on May 4, 2007._The television networks airing the new trailer include BET, CBS, Comedy Central, Logo, MTV, MTV2, Spike TV and VH1, with each supporting the event with custom promotions both on-air and online. A total of 14 online destinations from Viacom's networks are supporting the airing of the trailer, including AddictingGames.com, AddictingClips.com, BET.com, MTV.com, IFILM.com, Nick.com, ComedyCentral.com, GameTrailers.com, LOGOonline.com, Neopets.com, SpikeTV.com, The-N.com, VH1.com, and Xfire.com.
Immediately following the television premiere, a high-definition version of the trailer will be available exclusively on MTV Networks' IFILM.com.
"The Spider-Man franchise appeals to audiences of all ages and we wanted to find a special partner that would reach Spidey fans everywhere," said Valerie Van Galder, President of Domestic Marketing for the Columbia TriStar Motion Picture Group. "This is not only event television, but it's event online programming and Viacom and CBS have an umbrella of world renowned brands that were a perfect match for our movie online, on cable and on network television. We couldn't be more excited to launch this new Spider-Man 3 trailer in this innovative way."

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Blogger is not allowing me to link. Here is the address if you want to read the entire release:
http://www.aintitcool.com/node/30632?new_spiderman_3_trailer_is_coming__real_soon

Sounds like we'll have plenty of chances to glimpse some more Spidey as the trailer will be all over the place. Looks like it's never too early to start a massive media campaign. Regardless of the quality of the final product, this movie's going to be huge.

Ready or not, holiday movie season is coming

The last couple years have seen the big, tentpole event pictures coming out during the holiday season. 2001 saw Lord of the Rings come on to the scene and that lasted until 2003 with the Return of the King. Then there was King Kong. Sprinkled in the past few years have been the Harry Potter movies as well.

But this year?

There isn't really the one movie everyone is dying to see. Sure, there is a handful of movies people will be going to see but not the media blitz movies we've seen since this century began.

The Nerduary is here to provide a VERY brief holiday movie guide to let you know what is coming out. Because let's face it, I cannot think of any huge movies coming out until Spider Man 3 and that's still more than six months away.

This weekend: Babel
I don't know much about this movie except it's already got Oscar buzz. It stars Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett in the starring roles. Critics are already saying Brad Pitt gives a career high performance. The movie tells the story from several different points of view ala Traffic. This should at the very least give a serious type movie for the adults out there not digging the whole Santa Clause Three thing.

Nov. 17: Casino Royale
007 returns to action with a new actor, Daniel Craig. Now, everyone freaked out when they announced a blonde Bond was taking over for the first time. I don't really care about all that. If the movie is fun, which Bond films are supposed to be, this will be one to look forward to. Those in charge of the Bond franchise allegedly took a page from the Jason Bourne book to give this film an edgier feel. How? I don't really know much. I do know Bond is younger and has just received his "00" and the license to kill. Will all of this work? We'll there still be gadgets? We'll find out in a few weeks.

Dec. 1: The Nativity Story.
I know nothing about this story. Wait! Yes I do! I've heard this story a thousand times since I first went to Sunday school! Building off the momentum from The Passion a few years ago when executives realized how much money could be made with a movie about Jesus dying, these film makers take us back to the beginning. I just can't wait to see the wise men.

Dec. 8: Apocalypto
Speaking of The Passion, Mel Gibson will give his take on drunken rants in his new movie. No, not really. This is a weird looking film about the Mayan civilization, a topic I don't think I've ever seen a movie based on, at least, not one that wasn't on the History Channel. Expect dramatic shots and gruesome violence that Mel is known for. I don't know how many will actually see this movie, but we'll find out soon.

Blood Diamond
Leonardo DiCaprio returns in this film by director Edward Zwick (Glory, The Last Samurai). It stars Jennifer Connelly and Djimon Hounsou (Gladiator). Trailer for this looks pretty good. As the title suggests, characters will be fighting over a priceless diamond.



Dec. 15: Eragon
In his homeland of Alagaesia, a farm boy happens upon a dragon's egg -- a discovery that leads him on a predestined journey where he realized he's the one person who can defend his home against an evil king. At least, that's what the summary says. Christopher Paonlini, a teenage author, published this book a few years ago in the wake of another Harry Potter movie. As the only fantasy type movie gracing screens, expect this movie to do well. It stars Djimon Hounsou, John Malkovich, Robert Carlyle, and Jeremy Irons.

Dec. 22: Rocky Balboa
Yes, another round with the Italian Stallion. And, yes, I will probably see this. Didn't like five, maybe this will be better. Rocky returns for some reason to fight some big bad ass. Seems ESPN stated Rocky in his prime could beat this chump and that leads to a fight between old (Stallone is getting up there) and young. If it has that music in it, I'll be seeing it opening weekend. Honestly, the trailer for this one looks pretty good. I'm just a sucker for sequels, I guess.

So there you have it. I know I probably omitted some movies. But this are the few I noticed on the horizon. I miss those holiday seasons with Middle Earth.

Borat and the Number Crunchers

You know someone’s head is rolling in Hollywood after the opening weekend Borat had.

Hollywood insiders figured that there wasn’t enough buzz on the Sacha Baron Cohen flick to merit opening on the close to 2,000 screens it was originally slated to open on, so they scaled it down to just over 800. Low and behold, not only was it the winner of the weekend, but it beat out the “sure thing” Santa Clause III.

No one likes to be burned, I suppose and after Snakes on a Plane, the supposed “it” movie of the season, bombed spectacularly, I guess someone out west wanted to play things safe. But Borat had a couple of things Snakes didn’t.

An Original Idea
People say they don’t like change but when a movie like Borat comes along and has you busting a gut just over the previews, you’ve got to figure something is being done right.

A Built-in Audience
Yeah, there are some diehard Samuel L. Jackson fans, but everyone can pretty much agree that if you’ve seen one Sam Jackson role, you’ve seen them all. On the other hand, Ali G is a proven success and the Borat character is easily the best thing about the show. People knew it and were ready and willing to shell out good money to see it on the big screen.

If Borat taught Hollywood anything, it should be to stop trying to treat audience tastes too much like a science. Quality will often times find it’s audience, and, sometimes, people will respond to something original. You just have to be bold enough to put it out there.

Rollercoaster Halo

The life of the upcoming Halo movie seems to be going through its own battlefield Hollywood execs would call "preproduction." Rumors have been circulated the web about the director, the preconception drawings, and the script for about a year. As many already know, Peter Jackson (Lord the Rings, King Kong if you didn't already know) is slated to produce and his great effects company, WETA, is primed to create more eye candy for audiences.

The past week has seen a resurgence in the Halo movie news. The film has been on again off again in regards to production. At the beginning of the week, it was reported on "Ain't it Cool News" that the movie had been canceled or postponed. A vague press release stated that for undisclosed reasons the film was being shelved.

Later in the week that rumor was debunked ... sort of. It seems that Fox and Universal were wanting to leave the project. Why would they want to leave a potential new franchise? The same reasons most fallouts happen in movie land: money. Seems the company wanted to renegotiate their profit for the movie or something like that.

What does that mean for movie goers and The Nerduary?

In my opinion, nothing but good things, man. Good things. What's going on in preproduction must be impressive enough to warrant Fox and Universal to desire a larger slice of the pie. Which would mean the movie's ramping up to be something more than just a stupid popcorn flick. It might actually be one of the best sci-fi war pictures since Aliens by James Cameron in 1986. Officials with Bungie, the company making the Halo video games, said they were more interested in making the best movie than in crunching numbers.

Of course, no one will know until the movie opens. As someone who has never played the game and only seen the demo at the mall, I find myself looking forward to it. For those Halo fanatics, I think it gives them a little room to start getting less concerned with the material and a little more excited with the final product.

Now, if we could only get Michael Bay to start staying true to his little movie called "Transformers" that is coming out in July 2007 ...

Check out the brief article here
www.aintitcool.com/node/30487?semperex-search

Tom Servo will explode

Damn. They're getting paid to do what we've been doing for free all along...

MST3K To Skewer Phantom Menace

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