• Trailer released for Doctor Who – A Christmas Carol, same day US premiere announced, Rumors of Captain Jack’s return
• Jorge Garcia cast in JJ Abrams’ Alcatraz pilot, plot details emerge
• Guillermo Del Toro and David Eick producing ABC’s Hulk series

• Mark Romanek will direct the pilot for Locke and Key
• Fox moves Fringe to Friday Night death slot
• Community’s Christmas episode will be stop-motion animated (Dec. 9)
• RUMOR: Warner developing TV series sequel to Nolan’s Batman trilogy, to star Karl Urban
• Gore Verbinski developing “Magical Law” for Fox
• Trailers for Showtime’s “Episodes” and MTV’s “Teen Wolf” released

• Warner actively developing Buffy reboot from writer/actress Whit Anderson
• Warner interested in remake Wizard of Oz using original script
• Superman reboot
  • Matthew Goode is frontrunner to play Clark
  • Anne Hathaway is frontrunner to play Lois
  • Snyder may use CGI for Superman
  • Plot may follow closely to Birthright comic
• Aronofsky-directed Wolverine sequel to be called “The Wolverine”, will have stand-alone plot
• Pixar revitalizes plans for a video game movie once titled “Joe Jump”, now retitled “Reboot Ralph”

• Christian Bale says The Dark Knight Rises will be his final Batman film
• Chris Zylka cast as Flash Thompson in Spider-Man
• Denis Leary cast as Captain George Stacey
• First image of Karl Urban as Judge Dredd emerges
• Paranormal Activity 3 set for October 2011

• Netflix debuts streaming only service for $7.99, raises prices of other plans
• Hulu Plus drops price to $7.99
• SDCC 2011 site overloaded… AGAIN
• Amazon opens Amazon Studios, first look deal with Warner Bros

Email the show – Geekin(at)geekshow.us

Sponsors: InStockTrades, DCBService, and Geek Boy Press

• Heroes is being given a 13 episode pickup for season 5 to “go out with a bang”?
• Young Justice on the way from Greg Weisman
• Matt Smith guest starring in a Sarah Jane Adventures serial to be written by RTD
• Legend of the Seeker is now very likely cancelled
• Chuck returns this week

• Marvel Studio plans series of low budget films
• High School Musical star (Vanessa Hudgens) in talks to play Spider Woman?
• Columbia must enter production on Ghost Rider 2 by November 14th, or they lose the rights. Likely moving forward without Nicolas Cage as a result.
• Edgar Wright’s Ant Man finally gearing up for production in December
• Newest Last Airbender trailer is kind of awesome, also 3D conversion

• Batman Arkham Asylum 2 confirms Talia Al Ghul, Two Face, and Mister Freeze
• Starcraft II beta codes available at Gamestop and Amazon by pre-ordering

• Batman Live Action Arena show from creators of Walking With Dinosaurs
• iPhone may have been sold rather than “found”. As a result, criminal charges may be forthcoming.

Geek Jerk Reaction: Furry Vengeance, A Nightmare on Elm Street

Gone are the down on the streets chasing the bad guys as in Batman Begins and Rise of Sin Tzu. Gone are the frustrating controls of Dark Tomorrow. Instead Rocksteady has created a stealthy action game out of Arkham Asylum.

The story is simple: Batman is escorting The Joker into Arkham for what seems to be the last time. As they descend into the gloomy atmosphere, there is an explosion. The Joker breaks free and begins to release all of Batman’s previously captured foes. With no exit and countless enemies against him, Batman must enter the belly of Arkham to capture once and for all those who would destroy him.

The following is the gameplay footage of Arkham that shows off the new Splinter Cell-like gameplay.

The game is slated for release in June.

Source: Gamespot.com

United States President Lex Luthor uses the oncoming trajectory of a
kryptonite asteroid to frame Superman and declare a $1 billion bounty
on the heads of the Man of Steel and his “partner in crime” Batman.
Super heroes and super villains alike launch a relentless pursuit of
Superman and Batman, who must unite – and recruit super help – to
stave off the action-packed onslaught, stop the asteroid, and uncover
Luthor’s devious plot to take command of far more than North America.

Am I the only one who thought “Supergirl” as soon as I read “super help?”

Usually the feminine feline foil to Batman’s heroics, the Catwoman of the 2004 film is something quite different to the previously established character with a cult following. Instead, this is a unique story far removed from Selina Kyle, the cat burglar gone bad and the Batman who wants desperately to save her. 

Catwoman brings us the story of Patience Phillips, a dowdy, lonely, mousy little artist who works for the biggest cosmetics company around. One morning she spies a cat out on her window ledge and thinking it stuck, risks her life to climb out and rescue it. A cop who is happening by at the time mistakes her for a jumper and rushes up to her apartment to rescue her. 

After the misunderstanding is cleared up, Patience discovers she is late for work and rushes off, leaving her wallet behind. The police officer, Tom Lone, endeavours to retrieve the wallet and return it to Patience later in the day. The two also arrange a coffee date for the next morning. 

After being blasted by her boss over her work he orders her to redo the entire campaign she is working on. She then misses the courier cut off and has to deliver the work herself by midnight. Trekking to the factory, she stumbles over information she should not have heard – the news that the company’s latest product has some dangerous side effects and should not be put into public circulation! 

Unfortunately, her accidental eavesdropping is discovered and the bad guys decide to eliminate her. After some chasing thru science labs and manufacturing areas, Patience escapes into the water tunnels where she is forcibly flushed thru to the ocean and drowns. Washing up ashore Patience is brought back to life by the breath of the very cat she tried to rescue from her window ledge. 

Following a little searching Patience discovers that she has been reborn as Catwoman and has some extraordinary powers. No longer the dowdy pushover she snaps and quits her job, verbally blasting her unreasonable boss in the process. She spend some time with Tom and then decides to reinvent her imagine in line with her new identity as Catwoman. 

When her best friend is admitted to hospital from a mystery illness, Patience links it to the cosmetics company’s new product and devotes herself to making sure those responsible for killing her and bringing the product out are stopped and made to pay. There’s action, mayhem and double-crossing as well as friction with the bewildered Tom who doesn’t know what to believe about Patience. There’s also lots of Halle Berry pouncing around like a cat, cracking a whip and scratching at people with her claw-like nails. 

The rest of the story isn’t really important because honestly it isn’t all that interesting. As a movie, it’s pretty average as these things go. But given that Catwoman is such an iconic character and a favourite of so many, this movie falls woefully short of the hype that it was first released with. It’s not inherently bad…it’s just not particularly good either. 

Of course there is often little point in rehashing tired old material so the movie should definitely be given its props for trying something new. Catwoman in 2004 doesn’t need the Batman to survive. Indeed as we find out at the end of the movie she doesn’t even need Tom Lone or anyone else to make her whole and bring together her fractured identity. Catwoman gets her own story and isn’t just a lesser character in someone else’s tale. 

Patience herself is a bit of a cliché as are her two friends we are introduced to at the office and their whole friendship dynamic. There isn’t a lot of substance to her, nothing raw enough to make her seem real. I just can’t get past the fact that it’s someone as confident and compelling as Halle Berry sitting there trying to play this downtrodden girl-next-door character. You can’t water down such a vibrant person as Halle and do it convincingly, at least not in this movie. There’s very little there for her to work with as an actor and to proverbially sink her claws into. Personally I would have preferred to see her play Selina Kyle over Patience Phillips. 

The casting of Sharon Stone was brilliant in my opinion. She just fits well into that character, no disrespect indented, but you can imagine that someone as beautiful as her and let’s face it, a little advanced in age now, could easily turn bitter and angry over being pushed over for a younger version. Not to mention the awesome action she gets to exhibit, fighting hand to hand with Catwoman towards the conclusion of the film. 

The cat suit is an interesting take to say the least. Possibly the most flesh the feline femme fatale has ever sported before. I have to be honest, and maybe I’m a little bit prudish but I just don’t like it. It seems the filmmakers were trying to highlight the sinewiness of the physical form of a cat and the way it arches its back and how the limbs shift as it moves around but I just feel that more than a bra and pants would have been better. But I understand that if you are gonna cast someone as hot as Halle in the role then you want to play up the sex appeal as much as possible. Not to say that she doesn’t look good – she does – but I think it was a little bit tacky. Plus maybe I’m biased because I really loved Michelle Pfeiffer’s cat suit from Batman Returns. 

In terms of watchability Catwoman isn’t so bad. But it isn’t so good either. Honestly my first impression was really positive, but then after several viewings the flaws and faults are just painfully apparent. It’s not going to send you screaming for the hills. You can sit and watch the movie from start to finish. I mean the movie was done well; it wasn’t lacking in professionalism at all, but in my opinion it just doesn’t have that lasting spark that will bring viewers back to it time and time again. 

Once in a blue moon, sure. Whack it into the DVD player and lose yourself in some average entertainment for 90 minutes. But this is definitely not a film that is so good you want to watch it over and over again in close proximity.

All I can say is thank goodness they didn’t decide to go ahead with the initially planned sequel. Too bad for Halle. Catwoman is a bit of a blemish on her acting record, which could otherwise have been an enormous triumph and success for her. Still, cats do have nine lives don’t they? Maybe she should have saved one for next Christmas instead of making this flop of a movie. 

Chronicles of Riddick: Assault on Dark Athena (360/PS3)
Release Date: April 7, 2009
I am a big fan of Pitch Black and its sequel, due in large part to the title character himself. Vin Diesel’s Riddick is a mysterious character who always seems to be several steps ahead of those around him. Assault on Dark Athena is partly a remake of the critically acclaimed Riddick game from the original XBox, Escape From Butcher Bay, but it also adds a completely new adventure, updated graphics, and online multiplayer. I can’t wait for another chance to step into Riddick’s sneaky shoes.

The Conduit (Wii)
Release Date: June 2009
The Wii doesn’t have very many first-person shooters in its game library, and the ones that it does have don’t control very well. High Voltage Software is trying to change all that with The Conduit. The game’s story looks to be a little generic (aliens invade Washington, D.C.), but the gameplay and graphics look fantastic. The game features a completely customizable HUD and remappable control setups, putting a ton of control over how to play into the player’s hands. The Conduit’s graphics are also looking much more polished than the typical third-party software the Wii normally sees. Here’s hoping that High Voltage can deliver the type of FPS experience we all wished for when the Wii controller was first revealed.

Dark Void (360/PS3)
Release Date: May 2009
Dark Void looks to be what you get when you combine The Rocketeer with Gears of War. The cover system from the latter is literally turned on its head as you can scale vertical structures while shooting at your enemies above you. You can also take to the skies and hijack flying saucers, and did I mention that you have guns mounted on your jetpack? Dark Void looks like a fun mix of aerial dogfights and ground-based gunplay.

Prototype (360/PS3)
Release Date: Summer 2009
In this upcoming sandbox game from Sierra, you play as a character who has gone through several of genetic mutations. These mutations manifest as several different super powers including shape-shifting and flight. Prototype has the potential to combine the sprawling world of GTA, the addictiveness of Crackdown, and the pure fun of messing around in Saints Row 2 into a single game, and I hope they are able to pull it off.

Puzzle Quest Galactrix (DS)
Release Date: February 24, 2009
I spent a lot of time playing the original Puzzle Quest. While Galactrix will be offered on many different platforms (including XBox Live), I believe the game is perfectly suited for portable systems. Galactrix forgoes the fantasy setting of its predecessor in favor of a sci-fi aesthetic. This time you’ll be swapping gems on a hexagonal grid in order to power up the weapons on your spaceship as you fight to save the galaxy. If Galactrix is anywhere near as addicting as the first Puzzle Quest, then it will be spending a lot of time in my DS Lite….unless my wife steals it for herself like she did with the first game.

Batman Arkham Asylum (360/PS3)
Release Date: Summer 2009
This is the first Batman game in a long time that looks like it could actually be good. It has a lot going for it, not the least of which is getting Kevin Conroy and Mark Hamill to lend their voices to the game. It gives the game an immediate familiarity right off the bat (cue Joker laughter). Arkham Asylum is an interesting setting, allowing Batman villains other than the Joker to make an appearance if needed. The trailers for the game have looked fantastic. Hopefully the final product will live up to its potential.

Little King’s Story (Wii)
Release Date: May 2009
Little King’s Story is a simulation/adventure game with some similarities to Harvest Moon. You play as a small boy who finds a magical crown that allows him to influence people. Your job is to grow your village into a large kingdom. The art style for the game is colorfully charming, and the trailers for the game are rather amusing. There isn’t another game that looks quite like it, and I think it has the potential to be something special.

Resident Evil 5 (360/PS3)
Release Date: March 13, 2009
Resident Evil 4 is arguably the best game from the last generation of consoles. It was a perfect mix of action and tension with some really well designed boss fights. Resident Evil 5 seems to follow the “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” philosophy, and that’s just fine by me. However, the addition of a co-op partner does mix things up a little bit, and the slick graphics will help to keep things from becoming stale. Resident Evil 5 has a lot to live up to, but so far it appears to be up to the task.

TMNT: Smash Up (Wii)
Release Date: Fall 2009
Little is known about this game so far, but the tidbits of information that have been released so far is enough to get this game onto my list. Putting the Ninja Turtles into a fighting game that is in the same vein as Super Smash Bros is a stroke of genius. In fact, this game is being created by many of the team members who worked on Super Smash Bros Brawl. Even if they can only cram half the content that was in Brawl into this game, it will still be a must-play title.

Damnation (360/PS3)
Release Date: March 2, 2009
Damnation is set in an alternate universe in which the American Civil War is still happening. The setting is very reminiscent of a Western, with the addition of steampunk technology to spice things up. This game combines third-person shooter mechanics with the acrobatic gameplay from something like Prince of Persia. Traversing large environments by climbing walls and jumping between ledges while using cool guns to take down my enemies sounds like an awful lot of fun to me.

Ghostbusters (360/PS3/Wii)
Release Date: June 16, 2009
Like Batman, it is easy to see the geeky appeal to a Ghostbusters game. Strapping on a proton pack to fight all those strange things in the neighborhood has the potential to be a lot of fun. Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis wrote the story, and their likenesses and voices will appear in the game, along with those of Bill Murray and Ernie Hudson. William Atherton and Annie Potts are also supposed to make an appearance. With most of the original talent involved in the creation of the game, it’s hard to say no to saving the world from those pesky ghosts.

Bioshock 2: Sea of Dreams
Release Date: Fall 2009
The combination of immersive gameplay with a distinctive art style and setting became a recipe for success with the original Bioshock. Little is known about the sequel at this point, despite being slated for release later this year. However, the quality of the first game is enough to make me want to go back to Rapture (or wherever the sequel ends up taking place).

What games are you anticipating this year?

Discuss this on the forums - (10) Posts

As many of you now well know, Warner Bros. has put a halt to the production of their comic book superhero movie Shazam: The Legend of Billy Batson. After Wonder Woman, this is now their second superhero movie that the Warner Bros. execs have cancelled which I was looking forward to immensely. Hot off the heels of the (overrated in my opinion) Dark Knight, Warner Bros. execs have decided to take their whole super hero line in a new direction and make them more dark and dreary like last summer’s box office smash. Never mind that The Dark Knight mainly worked for audiences because the character was supposed to be dark and dreary. Since it made the big money, everything else they make must now be exactly like it. Stop me if you can already see the major problem I have with this line of thinking.

Yes, it seems that a group of spineless morons plague the executive offices that inhabit the studio at the Warner Bros. lot. They see the major success of The Dark Knight and learn the exact wrong thing about it that they should have. They think that because the movie was darker, more realistic, and more gritty, they think that that is now what the mainstream movie going audiences are interested in seeing today. So by their thinking, they must now quickly cash in on it’s success and make their other super hero movies in development just as dark, just as realistic, and just as gritty. How in the hell could they get it so wrong?!

First off, the only reason why dark, realistic, and gritty worked for Batman was because that was how the character should have been portrayed. The movie stayed true to the source material, the feeling that a Batman movie should give off, and the characters motivations, and that was what the audience responded to. What WB should have done was take all of their developing super hero movies, and then make them just as true to the source material and characters as possible. From what I read of the development of the Captain Marvel movie, the people involved with making the movie were doing exactly just that! They even got the fanboys involved in letting them help pick who should be cast as the villain, Black Adam, in the movie. That was Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson by the way. A perfect choice in my opinion. But now, it appears as though I’ll never get to see the former wrestler wearing spandex again because the studio all of a sudden wants to make everything more like Batman. “We want everything to be more like the majorly successful Batman! We want more Batman! BATMAN! BATMAN!! BATMAN!!!”

God, I’m so sick of that superhero noob!

Needless to say, I’ve never been that much of a Batman fan. Or should I say, Batman-Worshipping Fanboy? I mean I like the character, but there are so many more worthy characters that the DC Universe holds that I would kill to see them realized on the big screen. In the modern era of movies, Batman has been done six times. SIX!!! And as for characters such as Wonder Woman, the Green Lantern, The Flash, Zatanna (my favorite), and the aforementioned Captain Marvel; Their total comes to zero. That’s a big fat 0! Say what you want about the quality of the Marvel superhero movies, but at least they got them made! It’s seems that DC can’t make a superhero movie unless it has the name Batman or Superman in the title. And since they screwed up with the last Superman movie by not making it a full on reboot from the previous films, it seems as though as the only thing we’ll be getting from DC out of the next few years or more is just more Batman.

I only really loved the Burton films anyway. Now those were real comic book films come to life!

It seems as though there might be some hope for WB’s superheroes in the future though. Watchmen will be coming out in a little more than a month, and the ill-fated Justice League movie got that mercy killing in development that it deserved. I can only hope that the failure to get the Joss Whedon’s written and directed Wonder Woman off the ground doesn’t put that movie on hold for too long at the studio. It still amazes me that the final member of the DC Big Three hasn’t had a real movie yet. Unbelievable. Me thinks that Warner Bros. must be run by Bizarro or something because everything they do seems to be ass backwards.

At least we still have the DCAU created by Bruce Timm. If not for that, then it would be a hard thing for anyone to stay a fan of DC superheroes without any form of entertainment outside of just the comics themselves. We can only hope and pray that the WB execs get the message and make their superhero movies right, and make them memorable.

SpikeBad – Ravings of a Big Bad Geek!!!

Don’t get me wrong, I loved these two movies, especially The Dark Knight and the compelling performances of all the cast. But going back to the previous offering of Batman feature films, its my belief that the third one is where things started to get shaky and ultimately led to the downfall of what was a very strong beginning to the film franchise.

Perhaps it was the fact that the role of Batman was recast for Batman Forever that made it dampen in appeal for me. While his performance was relatively decent, I just didn’t feel that Val Kilmer got the balance of Batman’s character right. He was too broody in some moments and then comically weird the next. I mean that smile right after when Chase tells Batman she’s met someone else is just ridiculous. Or maybe it was his just a touch too blonde, just an inch too long hair that was slicked down and made him look like a grease ball that did it.

But while Kilmer was bearable as Batman, George Clooney in Batman and Robin was just absurd. A dedicated Hollywood bachelor such as he was a terrible choice for Batman. He may have the rugged handsomeness that Bruce Wayne needs but come on? Who would really believe he had any sort of exemplary fighting ability by which he could capably battle crime while wearing a cape and caul?

It seems that given the admirable performances of Danny Devito, Michelle Pfieffer and Christopher Walken in the second film, the plan for the third was simply to cram the film with as many big name stars as possible. And while each of these actors gave valiant portrayals in their own rights (with the pathetic exception of Nicole Kidman who was so annoying from beginning to end) it was all just too much. Tommy Lee Jones and Jim Carrey really would have sufficed without the need of adding Drew Barrymore, Chris O’Donnell and the woefully misguided Kidman.

Speaking of O’Donnell, the addition of his character Robin to the features franchise was another thing that really sank the last two films for me. The whole storyline was just so lame and cheesy. I was too aware that this was a pretty boy actor playing a role instead of being able to lose myself in the plot and form solid attachments to the character. And given that there have been rumours recently that Robin may resurface in the next Batman instalment, I am more than a little worried. Even if they do decide to cast someone cool like Shia LaBeouf in the role (although I’m not entirely convinced that he could do the role justice, and yes, I know that his possible involvement was quashed as mere conjecture).

But I think the thing about Batman and Batman Returns, and then now about Batman Begins and The Dark Knight is the heightened sense of realism that is present in each of them. Both Michael Keaton and Christian Bale know how to strike the right duality of the character in their interpretations. They have enough brood and purpose driving them on, as well as knowing how to turn up their charm when the situation requires it.

I also think these four films blend the action, drama, and thrillingly disturbing violence in remarkably proficient ways. Especially in Nolan’s films. The villains are so twisted and deranged in their purposes yet so compelling and completely watchable.

So if they are to make or remake yet another Batman movie at some point in the future then I hope that the utmost care is taken. Perhaps it was the lack of involvement of director Tim Burton after Batman Returns that lead to the downfall of the series. This is why I feel that it would be imperative to keep Batman squarely in Nolan’s capable hands. He has such a reverence and insight into the characters and the world of Batman that is really remarkable. I think his desire to remain as true as possible to the source material of the comics while still staying contemporary in his retellings has been a major source of his success with the films.

Another thing that I hope remains of utmost importance for any future Batman movies is the casting of capable and compelling actors. So listen up Hollywood casting types, don’t go knee-jerk for the big name star but go for that interesting left of field option who may not be as prolific but will certainly give the audience one hell of a spectacular performance to watch. Heath Ledger is pretty big name now given his tragic end in this world, but at the time he was cast as the Joker, I honestly couldn’t have thought of another actor that I thought was a more unusual choice for the part. And look how awesome that turned out!

With the joy of many wild rumours throughout the geek community at the moment I still can’t help but flinch at most of the things that are flying around out there. Like any dedicated fan I will be amongst those waiting patiently in line should such a movie be released, but I hope against hope that if they do decide to go ahead with another Batman film project that they take the time to do it right, even if it means waiting an additional year or two for it to come out.

Better that than a rushed job of poorer quality released simply to garner box office sales. I say bring on another Nolan film that courageously attempts to capture the rampant imaginations of fans of this classic cultural icon and to perhaps possibly even create new ones.

These are just some of the topics that we talk about in this episode…

Marvel
•    Secret Invasion
•    Dark Reign
•    New Avengers
•    Ultimatum
•    Iron Man

DC
•    Final Crisis
•    New Krypton
•    Batman
•    Green Arrow Black Canary
•    Wonder Woman

• Time for the Holidays
• New Writers
• Delgo sets low point record
• Iron Man 2 Talk picks up
• Crazy rumors about third Batman film
• Fable 2 DLC delayed until “Late Jan ‘09″
• X-men Origins: Wolverine
• Majel Roddenberry Dead at 76
  

Box Office Report (Dec 12-14):

Geek Jerk Reaction (December 25):

Bedtime Stories
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
Marley & Me
The Spirit
Valkyrie

I’ve always looked at the Golden Globes as a kind of precursor for the Oscars, and I am only mildly interested in the Oscars. I always end up watching the Oscars, however except for the years for the Lord of the Rings, I haven’t been all that excited about any of them. I always care about one maybe two of the awards, and the rest is just filler. Obviously this year there is a lot of buzz around the Oscars and The Dark Knight, but if the Golden Globes are any indication we may not see as much Batman on Oscar night.

So let’s take a look at the one category most people will care about:

Best Performance by an Actor In A Supporting Role in a Motion Picture

• George R R Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire is getting it’s pilot television episode made by HBO. The result of that will determine whether or not the first season gets the greenlight. We discuss the “If We Ran HBO” article from the website.
  
• Tron 2, Originally titled Tr2n was renamed TRZ and the confusion begins
• Bruce Wayne killed off in the comics by Simon Hurt, claiming to be Bruce’s not so dead father. Will we see similarities with the next Batman movie?
• Bolt has fantastic Pixar-like quality. Wayne thinks it may share too much in common with Pixar movies.
• Xbox 360 Jasper Motherboard includes 256mb onboard storage, less heat, less power consumption.

Box Office Standings Nov 28-30

GeekJerk Reactions

The Day the Earth Stood Still
Delgo
Nothing Like the Holidays

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Once again it seems that Warner Bros. and DC Comics, cannot seem to get their act together with any other franchises, excluding Batman.

UPDATE: Apparently this wasn’t true at all. Get the real story here.

“Well … let me think how to put this. There are two things to be said. One is the emphasis on story. What’s the story? Is there a story that’s going to keep me emotionally invested for the couple of years that it will take to make another one? That’s the overriding question. On a more superficial level, I have to ask the question: How many good third movies in a franchise can people name? [Laughs.] At the same time, in taking on the second one, we had the challenge of trying to make a great second movie, and there haven’t been too many of those either. It’s all about the story really. If the story is there, everything is possible. I hope that was a suitably slippery answer.”

If Nolan does in fact return for another Batman sequel, it seems that he’s interested in doing another film first. Here, he’s asked what kind of movie he’s interested in making:

“On one hand, yeah, there is a certain feeling to do [something smaller]. After “Batman Begins,” I certainly felt like taking on something smaller, but one of the things I got such a thrill from on “The Dark Knight” was shooting on Imax and creating that massive scale and achieving that larger-than-life quality. So that’s a lot of fun. I’m drawn in both directions now. So maybe what I need to do next is a very intimate, small story that happens to be photographed on a ridiculously large scale. Or vice versa [laughs].”

Will Nolan return to Gotham City? We can only hope…

GOTHAM CENTRAL BOOK ONE – IN THE LINE OF DUTY

Written by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka

Artwork by Michael Lark

Published by DC Comics

A Review by Scott Carelli

I’ve been an avid comic reader for quite a while. Not as long as others, mind you, but long enough that I’ve had the chance to read a lot of the usual suspects on the thousands of “must read” lists, and I consider myself to be pretty well-versed. Before I started reading, I loved comic book movies and always looked forward to them coming out even if I gathered most of my knowledge from their respective animated series. Before the superhero movie renaissance, I had the toys, I watched the cartoons, and I regularly ran around my house with a towel attached to my back. I’ve always been a comic fan, even before I really knew what that meant, and there’s always been one question that I’ve thought about time and time again:

What would it be like to live in Gotham City?

Now, maybe it wasn’t always Gotham specifically, but just the idea of living in a city that larger than life heroes protect and call home. Whether it’s Metropolis, home of the big blue Boy Scout, or the Marvel U’s New York City, what would life be like in a city where superheroes and villains run amuck. I mean, sure, you get a good idea of what life is like for the heroes, but what about that guy on the street who’s pointing from the street shouting “Look! Up in the sky!” or the millions of people just like him? How do you go about your everyday life knowing that at any time you could be taken hostage by a supervillain? This is something I’ve always wondered, and finally, I have my answer in the form of Gotham Central.

Written by Ed Brubaker and Greg Rucka, Gotham Central follows the lives of Gotham City’s Finest (and not so finest) as they work in a city overrun with the most colorful and violent criminals in the world and where a vigilante wages a one-man war against crime dressed as a bat. The idea of being a cop in a city like Gotham has always been an interesting one to me, where a routine murder investigation can end with a surprise run in with The Joker. It’s just so fascinating. How do these seemingly average people deal with such extraordinary circumstances?

While no one in this book has superpowers, I’d be lying if I said it was filled with “Joe Schmo Nobodies” as the characters in this series are anything but average. To be a cop in a city like Gotham, thought, wouldn’t you have to be a little exceptional? This is a story about the men and women who put their lives on the line every single day in one of the most dangerous cities in the country, but they never get any credit. Why would they when Batman is so much more interesting? The stark reality is that, to be a cop in Gotham, you have to believe in what you’re doing enough that you never need any acknowledgement or praise, and that is remarkable.

The characters in this book are very well-rounded, and only get stronger as the series goes on. This first volume collects the first three story arcs with each writer concentrating on a particular shift at Gotham City Police Department. Brubaker focuses on second shifter Marcus Driver dealing with the murder of his partner at the hands of Mister Freeze, right before his eyes. He becomes driven to bring Freeze to justice, and investigate the unsolved case of his dead partner, without the help of the Dark Knight.

The real gem here, though, is “Half a Life” by Greg Rucka. This five issue story is about Detective Renee Montoya being “outed” as a lesbian to her coworkers and family while at the same time being framed for murder. Not only is “Half a Life” one of the best examples of comic storytelling I’ve come across in a long time, but the character of Renee Montoya, as written here, is one of the strongest and realistic portrayals of a gay character I’ve ever come across in any medium. She struggles with her desire to be happy and free to be the person she truly is, and her fear of being disowned when her devout Catholic family learns the truth. It’s a heart wrenching journey that I couldn’t put down, and I’m not the only one. It won a number of awards, including an Eisner in 2004 for Best Serialized Story.

I think my favorite part of this series is it’s depiction of Gotham City’s villains. Batman’s rogues’ gallery never really seemed that scary most of the time, but it wasn’t until I read this that I realized why. They can’t be so long as Batman’s around. It’s understood that he’ll always save you, and so no matter what, if Batman’s in the room, his villains are never at full strength. You never get to see them through the eyes of their victims, but within the first six pages of Gotham Central, that all changes. I’ve never been more terrified of a man with a freeze gun before reading this book. This series does a phenomenal job at opening your eyes to the fact that you would never want to come across these guys in a dark alley. No matter how ridiculous they might look, Gotham’s rogues are scary. While I’ve gushed about the writing, I think that a lot of the credit for this has to go to the artwork.

Artist Michael Lark is the cog that makes the whole series work. He has a knack for giving life to even the most ludicrous of villains and giving grit and realism to a city that so justly deserves it. Gotham is dirty and corrupt and you can see it smeared across every page. Some would say that his pencils have improved since his work on Gotham Central, but there’s a magic to this series that hasn’t been matched since. These three have reunited recently in the pages of Daredevil, and while it’s good, it just doesn’t compare.

So if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to live in Gotham, look no further. Gotham Central allows you to visit a city that you never thought you could.

Welcome to Gotham City. Enjoy the trip.

The box office crown for the weekend went to Tropic Thunder, which earned a weekend gross of $26 million. Despite earning only $16.8 million this weekend, The Dark Knight still managed to come in at #2, beating the snot out of the Jedi for a second time this week with the animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars earning a dissapointing $15.5 million in over 3,400 theaters (more screens than Tropic Thunder). That’s a laughable $4,500 per site average.

This weekend has made me regain a little faith in humanity. It proved that no matter how big a fanbase might get, people won’t pay to see garbage.

Well, maybe this whole thing will finally teach ol’ George a lesson…

…but I’m not holding my breath.

After the MEGA success of this year’s The Dark Knight, Nolan and company are back to bring us the next installment in 2011, The Dark Knight Returns!!!

Wow. Just wow.

Okay, so that’s not true at all.

Well, it could be true, but its not like anything has been announced as of yet.

Sorry for the misleading headline, but after seeing a MASTERFULLY KICK-ASS fan-made poster as this one… how could you not get a little hyped?

In all honesty, I don’t even know if this IS fan-made. All I know is that I saw it, and couldn’t stop staring at its beauty.

There has been absolute zero movement on the Batman movie front from what I understand, but this damn well makes me wish there has been.

If its real, that’ll be swell, if it isn’t, well then this is still an absolutely AMAZING piece of fan art that deserves all of its recognition.

Kudos to whoever put this together.

London based RockSteady Studios, just announced that they are developing a new Batman game using the Unreal 3 engine, called Batman: Arkham Asylum.

The game, which is being scripted by current Detective Comics scribe and Batman: The Animated Series writer Paul Dini, has Batman bring The Joker to the infamous mental ward of Gotham City, where his immense Rogue’s Gallery has set a trap for him. The basic description sounds reminiscent of Grant Morrison’s 1989 graphic novel  Arkham Asylum, wherein Batman takes on his greatest foes in a gauntlet style run through Arkham.

Phil Rogers, CEO of Eidos Interactive, promises the game will feature not just melee combat of a beat-em-up, but will also have Batman “utilizing his intuitive detective skills” to get through the adventure.

More information on the 3rd person action game starring Batman and a host of villains will be forthcoming in just two more days, when this countdown clock reaches zero.

Warner Bros. Pictures’ The Dark Knight earned an estimated $75.6 million from 4,366 theaters in its second weekend, surpassing Shrek 2’s $72.2 million for biggest second weekend ever.

Christopher Nolan’s Batman Begins follow-up has reached $314.2 million in just 10 days, another record. Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest held the previous record in the amount of days it took to cross the $300 million mark – 16 days. On Monday, The Dark Knight will surpass Iron Man and Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull to become the biggest movie of 2008 domestically.

The film is already up to #23 on the all-time domestic blockbuster list and has a good shot at surpassing Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope’s $460.998 million (not counting inflation) to become the second-biggest domestic earner of all-time, trailing only Titanic’s $600.788 million.

The Dark Knight, budgeted at $185 million, stars Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Gary Oldman, Michael Caine and Morgan Freeman.

Come ready to talk.

Keep reading for a spoiler-filled review

 A SPOILER FILLED Movie Review By Freak_Zombie

  
When the movie Batman Begins ended with a little hint of what was to come. Nobody knew how much better the sequel would be, though. I am now curious as to how the rest of the year will end, since nothing will be able to top it.

The first movie was very dark and realistic, yet it seemed to me that it lacked something. There were two villains, yet it was mostly a story about Bruce Wayne coming into the role of Batman. Most of the plot revolved around his past and not much time was spent on the villains. When the movie wrapped up with the Joker’s card, everyone was excited to see what could possibly be done to top this one.

When it was announced that Heath Ledger was cast to play The Joker, the first thing that came to most people’s minds were if he could live up to Jack Nicholson’s performance. Until last night, I was convinced that nobody but Jack could ever be The Joker. The first scene with Heath Ledger totally made me take that back. He was not playing a role in a movie, he was The Joker. Watch any other movie with him in it and you will agree with me that this was not Heath Ledger, it was a totally different person. During filming, he kept a journal as the character so he could play it better. I would be scared to read this journal just for how creepy and crazy he was.

We got to see more back story on the villains this time around and the story was much more rich because of it. The Joker’s story keeps coming up, yet we are not given the whole story all at once, just a little at a time. Just when you thought he was going to do something, we were thrown for a loop. There were a lot of scenes where everyone in the audience reacted because we didn’t see something coming.

The humor in this movie was very dark and at times, a little bit “oh my god.” There was not a single time when The Joker laughed that I, myself, didn’t at least chuckle. There are a few times when everyone in the theater couldn’t help but laugh when they knew they shouldn’t. This was how I imagined The Joker should be.

It was surprising that half the movie was all about Harvey Dent: White Knight. We were promised that Batman could retire as Harvey Dent was cleaning up the city. For anyone completely out of the loop, or the earth for that matter, it was no surprise that he was going to turn bad. I thought he was just going to ride this movie out and be the villain in the next movie. I didn’t see it coming when he actually became Two Face, and then was killed in the end. This was just a side story I felt that led to Batman not being able to ever stop.

I won’t lie, there were a few times during the movie that I shed a tear. Aaron Eckhart could not have played the scene when Rachel died any better. I still get a little choked up just thinking about it. The writing here was so good that I totally bought his reasoning to become a villain.

Hairs on the back of my neck stood at attention a quite a few points last night. I can’t imagine another movie this year topping this one. My only lingering question has to do with the death of Heath Ledger. If he had lived, was he going to be in the next movie? I can’t help but feel robbed after watching this movie. Had he lived on, his career would only go up from here. Nobody can ever top his performance as The Joker and frankly, I hope nobody ever tries again.

Silent Hill movie made by Gamers
Xmen 3 Teaser Site up
Rocky VI: Rocky Balboa
Crouching Dragon star in Indy IV
Elektra Sequel
Doom Sequel
A Day in the Life of a Harry Potter Star

City of Villains Update
Kameo Website
Kameo Soundtrack
360 Kiosks popping up at Walmart
EB Games no longer excepting Used PC games
Arrest Penny Arcade writers

Shatner taken to hospital
WB Rearranges their schedule

Baltar Reviews
Previously on Alias

Unaired Buffy Pilot

Discussion

Buffcast #2 a success
Buffcast Errors
Serenity released Friday
A Strange new interest for Randy
New Equipment for the next show

Movies
Kirsten Dunst spoils Spiderman3
Jessica Alba discusses Sin City 2 and Fantastic Four 4 – 2
New Batman Movie has a Title rumored
A Couple new Serenity interviews – Joss & Sean
Whedon helming Goners
Star Wars Pirates punished

Video Games
Sony discusses why PS3 wasn’t playable at TGS as promised
Suprise! Microsoft and Intel throw official support behind HD-DVD
Origen is a Joke
Buena Vista uses Unreal 3 engine for Turok 3

Television
Veronica Mars returns tonight
Ghost Whisperer Hot, Invasion Hot, Threshold improving
Season 5 of Smallville begins Thursday