New Star Trek Into Darkness Trailer

As we creep ever so closely to the May 17th release date- more and more images of the new Star Trek movie are coming out- and it is looking better and better each time. This may take the franchise where no Star Trek movie has gone before!

I Liked The Hobbit And I Am Not Ashamed Of It

Alright, I have been meaning to write this for a while since most critics (including one Babbler) hated The Hobbit. Look, I know it reeks of Hollywood milking a franchise to stretch it into three movies to make money (and I do hate that). I know there was too much CGI.  I know the Goblin King looked like a boil that was about to burst. I know the rock giants fighting had no place in the movie and I know the dwarves fell down a ridiculous amount of stuff, and yet after all of that, I still liked it.

To me it was just fun. Maybe it is because I am such a fan of Tolkien that anything involving his works I will watch. Maybe it is because as a kid I was dying for LoTR/Hobbit movies and now I finally got them and maybe it was just because it made me feel like a kid again. I will say they did a brilliant job with the Riddles in the Dark sequence between Bible and Gollum. So as a whole I liked it and thought it was fun and maybe sometimes that is all a movie needs to be. Then again I am not approaching this as a critic.

I don’t like that the sequel is called The Decimation of Smaug. Smaug and the ensuing battle should more or less be the last movie. I have no idea what they will do with movie three other than the rise of the Witch King, which was not in the books. Will it be good as part one or more contrived who knows? But for now, I liked the first part.

Star Trek Into Darkness #2

Another AMAZING trailer has been released for the new JJ Abrams highly anticipated Trek adventure. This one takes more of a humorous and personal approach which was missing from the first awesomely action packed trailer. It’s great to see Kirk up to his rebellious shenanigans with his failthful crew following their Captain’s lead. I can’t decide which movie I am more excited for- this one or Man of Steel. Each new trailer puts either movie in the lead in my conflicted mind. Either way, I will be their for opening night of both eagerly hoping for my world to be rocked. What do you think of this new trailer?

One Of My Favorite SDCC Panels

While I love the panels with all the famous celebrities, sometimes they can be a bit of a letdown.  Don’t get me wrong, some are epic, but for some reason it seems like the actors/actresses bring a lot to the table. The panels I have found the most interesting are the ones where you hear from the creative types behind it all such as the writers and directors. In my six years of Comic-Con one of the best panels I have ever been to was a Neil Gaiman panel.  So I was naturally thrilled to hear that he is returning to Comic-Con in 2013!

Neil could pack out Hall H or Ballroom 20 but it wasn’t one of those, it was the large room across the other half of the convention center.  Officially I think he was there for Beowolf, but he really didn’t talk that much about it. Instead he just spent an hour talking about writing, the industry, creativity and fielding all sorts of questions from the audience. It was a really fascinating panel.  Just listening to these guys experiences and how they think about things is pretty fascinating, especially if you are a creative type. Needless to say, I will be there as close to front and center as I can. He is one of those types that if you can invite any five people over to dinner he would be on that list. I am sure he will be talking about his new novel, The Ocean At the End of the Lane, but I can’t help but think he will mention the new Sandman he is working on as well.

Comic-con tickets on sale tomorrow!

Just a friendly neighborhood Babble reminding you to buy your SDCC tomorrow! And good luck, may the force be with you.

Pacific Rim Trailer #1

For those of you who weren’t able to attend San Diego Comic Con this past summer, the trailer for ‘Pacific Rim’ is finally here! Get excited people!

A movie fan poll:

When it was first announced that JJ Abrams Star Trek sequel would hit the theaters in 2013, I was elated. Then when it was announced that a special 9-minute preview would be released in front of The Hobbit IMAX, I was going plain bananas- and immediately started making plans to seeing it there. However, upon further thought, I started to reconsider this decision. Even though I loved seeing both the Dark Knight and DKR previews, I do think it took away from the impact when seeing their respective films. I love Star Trek more than anything so I am in a dilemma if I should see this preview since it’s my highest anticipated film for next year. What do you think? Do you like to see these extended previews or do you avoid them? Thanks for your vote!

50 years of James Bond

In honor of 50 years of Bond, James Bond- here is a great video highlighting the 50 most memorable moments for 007.

Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome

The nerd universe is in desperate need of a new space saga series- let’s hope this can be the beginning of the next. Battlestar Galactica: Blood and Chrome will FINALLY be released THIS FRIDAY on Machinima Prime. Follow young pilot William Adama in the First Cylon War and his first adventure aboard the Battlestar Galactica.

It will be awesome- SO SAY WE ALL!

LeBron Gets Graphic

Just when you thought LeBron James couldn’t get more annoying we bring you this. LeBron, ESPN Mag and Marvel comics have partnered to bring us one powerful obnoxious series entitled LeBron: King of the Rings. It follows are intrepid adventurer as he battles zombies, clones, holograms and presumably his own narcissism in effort to win his predicted seven NBA rings. I am wonder if seven issues will be all this will make. The irony of course is that this is a nerd venue and most nerds aren’t into sports. The flip side is that jocks are into LeBron but not necessarily comics. I know I am stereotyping but I appreciate the irony. I for one LOVE football.

All things considered it is a pretty brilliant move. For one, it may serve to get a whole new group of people into comics. It will also hopefully get more jocks to start reading more.  Michael Jordan had Space Jam so why not?  I remember when I was a kid I had a one shot comic that featured Spiderman and the Dallas Cowboys fighting the Green Goblin.  I think he was trying to blow up Texas Stadium or something like that. If you are into collecting then issue 1 might be a good investment. I just want to know if he has to power up his championship ring and use it like the Green Lantern.

Top 10 reasons why The Walking Dead opener was a success

The long anticipated season 3 opener for The Walking Dead finally aired Sunday night. Overall I loved the comic book series but unfortunately, I don’t think it has translated very consistently on the small screen. season 1 was strong but I found season 2 to be a bore and frankly, I was glad when it was over. Much to my chagrin, the season 3 opener came out of the gates not walking, but running. Here are my top 10 reasons why the episode kicked zombie booty:

1. Mega zombie killing action: After a leisurely death here and there from last season, we finally see some serious hand to decrepit hand combat. I think more zombies were killed in this first episode than all of last season.
2. Team kills: Everyone is getting better at combat. They aren’t sissies anymore- and it’s about time.
3. More Daryl: Everyone’s favorite redneck is doing what he does best- killing. Every motley crew needs a gunner and he is as good as they get.
4. Michonne: I think she became a fan favorite in about 30 seconds. She’s fierce, strong, and best of all, wields a samurai sword. May the cosplay begin.
5. The Prison will set you free: Herschel’s farm storyline was a brief encounter in the original comic book but somehow turned out feeling like a prison. Unfortunately, they dragged it out for an entire season and it turned the series into The Crawling Dead. The Prison storyline promises to be much more interesting and is possibly the best arc in the source material. It is a rich environment with endless amount of dark corridors which makes it especially creepy. Plus, the sense that a Prison leading them to more freedom is perfect irony.
6. Rick steps up: Finally some leadership from our central character. I liked Shane but he was making Rick look like a whimpering, indecisive fool. Leadership means doing what you have to do for the sake of the group regardless if you lose popularity points. It’s good to see Rick grow a pair.
7. Non-stupidity: At least in this episode, people aren’t doing dumb things- like crashing cars, cutting themselves, getting lost, etc. Sure crazy things happen, but season 2 felt like the writers were just running out of good ideas. Let’s hope they don’t revert back to being idiots.
8. The Herschel upgrade: Not to be an age-ist but we have one in every demographic but an extra in the 60+ category- so Dale had to go. Dale turned out to be pretty whiny so Herschel is a nice upgrade. He brings wisdom and steadiness to the group but has a certain toughness. Plus he has medical skills. Dale skill: fixing an RV.
9. Gore: it’s always nice to remind us why The Walking Dead is on a cable channel. Zombies getting their faces ripped off and peeps getting limbs amputated is good, solid family fun for all. Keep it coming.
10. Finally, Carl grows up: Finally, Carl is doing something instead of getting lost. Put a gun in his hand (with a cool silencer) and get him into the action.

I was really pleased with this season opener. If it follows the comics, this is just the beginning of the roller coaster ride. Let’s hope the writers learned their lessons from season 2 and keep this show running not walking.

You Only Loop Once

*Spoiler Free*

I’m a little late but here is my non-spoiler, mini-review of time-bending sci-fi thriller Looper starring those obscure actors- the Third Rock from the Sun kid and that balding detective from the Moonlighting series. How to describe this movie? Imagine if Back to the Future had a kid with The Terminator and it was raised by 12 Monkeys- viol-a, you’d have Looper. Oh, and Looper’s annoying cousin was The Butterfly Effect. First thing I have to ask is, how did this movie get made?! Created by several small production companies on a measily budget of $30 mil, it’s like Looper stood up against the movie gods and did their best John McClane- “yippee kai yay mother trucker!”. It’s original, thought-provoking, and daring, a refreshing change after recently watching the reboot of Total Recall. Looper is definitely this year’s Inception. Stealing a page from Nolan’s playbook, Rian Johnson tells a intricate, multi-layered story that challenges the viewer to keep pace. However, it’s far from a perfect. The SlashFilm reviewers said it best that Looper is like a ‘house of cards’ that is about to fall at any moment. Let’s face it, we are expected to accept a world where it’s easier to send someone back in time then to just eliminate a body…yea right. But to my surprise, Johnson pulls off this mind-bending and time-bending adventure in a way that is fresh and fun but also thematic and weighty. The biggest revelation is that Looper is not really about time travel so much as it’s more about breaking the cycle of violence and fighting the demons of selfishness. Looper also makes you unsure of who to root for as desperate characters take desperate actions. On top of all that, Looper goes from gritty, futuristic dystopia to a slow paced western and ends somewhere in the Anime genre- simply crazy. Conventionally, this shouldn’t work, but somehow it does. Oh about the actors, Joseph Gordon-Levitt can do pretty much anything and Bruce Willis is the new Chuck Norris..blah, blah, blah. I definitely give his high recommendations and like a Looper paradox, I encourage you to see it multiple times.

Now excuse me, I KNOW I have seen my older version of myself recently. I need to go kill him.
I give Looper a 4.5 Babbles out of 5.