Penguin

Here's hopin' they complete the set. The current 1/144 Gerbera Tetra ain't too bad, but an HGUC update would be very welcome. The only Xamel I've seen is a not-quite-to-scale GFF toy, though there was probably some vastly expensive resin kit of it as well. Considering that they did the Psyco Gundam and Dendrobium in HGUC, the Xamel isn't out of the question. It'd be cool if they did the GP04 that the Gerbera Tetra was supposed to lead into too. That's probably hoping for too much.

Ha! I knew if I waited long enough I wouldn't regret passing on the B-Club Dra-C conversion kit. Now I just gotta find the time to build my HGUC 0083 flotilla.

Yeah, well, only writer David Peoples considers "Soldier" to be related to "Blade Runner". Practically, only the mention of the Tannhauser Gate tenuously links the two. At the same time, the list of battles also references "Wrath of Khan", so by that logic it also takes place in the Star Trek universe . And there are a bunch of medals that refer to other Kurt Russell characters, so the final result is all pretty tongue in cheek. I think most people consider the "Soldier" - "Blade Runner" link a bit of movie trivia and nothing more. I know I do. Actually, I don't mind "Soldier" as an empty-headed actioner. The odd occurrence of Loreena McKennitt music endears it to me a little, and Kurt Russell on a bad day is still better than a lot of the also-ran action stars we get. Hallelujah. It's not the technology that matters, but skill and style. Makes for more entertaining "Behind the Scenes" features, too.

I'd love a good movie set in the same world as the original, but not necessarily a sequel or a prequel (in that the story directly follows from or leads into "Blade Runner"). I don't want "young Deckard" as the main character or anything. A story that took that path would have to be pretty freakin' spectacular for me to buy in. Rather it be something original, exploring associated themes, than just retreading the same space explored by the first.

This is weird... HLJ is showing the renewal version as "discontinued". Hope that's just a database gaff. VF-25 Renewal at HLJ

Honestly, I don't know that Bane has much of a following. His fame comes from being central to the Knightfall storyline, but I don't find people all that interested in him as a character. To me, choosing Bane is a way of saying something really, really bad might happen to Bruce in the course of the film. It'll be up to Nolan to apply the character in an interesting manner.

Monopoly the movie

Y'know, it always bugs me how people focus on the serum as some sort of steroid and leave out the all-important vita-rays that catalyze the transformation. I think this has been my favourite super-hero film of the season. It just seemed to gel really well to me. It had enough of everything I was looking for... character, story, action (well, maybe a little more of that might've been nice). In general, I thorougly enjoyed it from start to finish. I especially appreciated Chris Evans' portrayal. I honestly do get a little bugged at a lot of the reviews I've read that praise his performance as going beyond a "bland, flag-waving patriot" they all assume Cap is in the comics... which just goes to show none of them actually know the character they're sideways slamming. Unsurprising, but annoying. In any case, the Steve of the movie well represents the character as he is today, and I thought that was cool. Yes, I am a comic geek. Let's move along. As for Evans, it might be a bit of a vindication for him. All I heard before the film were derivations on "isn't he too comic for this", to which all I could think was "did nobody else see Danny Boyle's Sunshine?" (Given it was well-reviewed but not a big money-maker, guess I am in the minority.) Not that I'm a huge Chris Evans fan, but I never doubted he could pull of a serious role.

That was Gary's son Jake, actually.

Closing line from the article: And here I thought the world was in 3D already.

Cool... more grunt MS. Hope we get the Jesta Cannon too.

Is there a word for a joke being so close to truth that it isn't funny? "Dilbertonian" maybe?

People mention "Logan's Run" with "The Island" only to compare genres (i.e. dystopian future, evil secret behind the scenes, etc.). The stories have nothing in common, and in no way is "The Island" a remake or reimagining of "Logan's Run".

Yeah, figuring out how the mobile armours work in this new version took me a while. I definitely find them harder to beat in this version. Back in 2, it became a routine of avoiding attacks while powering up the smash hit, knock them back with the smash hits until they power down (or they use an attack that powers them down after), then close in for SP and heavy combos. I could drop a Psyco Gundam in 2 minutes. Now, having to keep attacking to build up the "chance gauge" keeps you close, and no smash attack means you can't knock them off balance anymore (at least, I can't find the smash anymore). Big Zam especially, since its beam immunity means ranged shots don't build up the gauge. At least the red "I'm about to get you" power-lines let you know when you need to back off, but it sure can take longer.

Just picked this up and started playing through a few missions today. When do the history missions start to appear? So far, unless I'm missing something, my menu just has story and online. How similar are they to the ones from the first two games? I still get shudders recalling the seemingly endless run of Zeta missions in the first.

‘Prometheus’ Screenwriter Damon Lindelof Talks ‘Alien’ Connection Damon Lindlehof explains a bit more at what the heck is going on with Prometheus. If I read him correctly, he's talking about it being an original movie, set in the Alien universe, which along the way may explain some of the story leading up to the events in Alien, without it being a movie solely about the events leading up to Alien. If I'm reading it right, then I'm really starting to look forward to this. A new and original Ridley Scott sci-fi piece, with the added bonus of callbacks to Alien... the idea is all sorts of awesome. Hopefully it delivers. I found I liked Damon's quip about "the sequel to a prequel should not be the movie which already exists" (and the knock against those most infamous prequels). Took me a couple of re-reads to sort that out in my head . It's a solid idea though... a prequel should be able to stand on its own merit and support direct sequels to its own story, while at the same time adding to the backstory of the original movie that inspired it.

I think you hit the nail on the head there. Most of the anti-3-D opinions I've encountered (including my own) aren't "3D is inherently evil and must be crushed" , they're more like "3D sucks and isn't worth the extra $$". It certainly isn't a case of "I reject and fear new things and change". It's amusing in itself to read someone referring to 3D as new. Certainly, a new twist on it thanks to the benefits of CGI, but it's always reared its head in response to the latest cry of "motion pictures are dying!!!". In the 50s and 60s, "television will put an end to motion pictures!!!" and we got 3D and William Castle's various stunts. In the early 80s, there was a brief resurgence (anyone else remember every sequel with a "3" had to be "3D"? ) because "VHS will put an end to motion pictures!!!". Now, "blu-ray and home theatres will put an end to motion pictures!!!" and lo and behold, we have 3D again, and D-BOX too for that matter. Eventually, they'll develop a technology that makes 3D a truly impressive experience, and it will become a standard and not a gimmick. Right now, it's still flawed though definitely a cut above the red/green cardboard lenses . Of course, it all goes back to the old maxim that newer doesn't mean better, but you don't get progress without missteps. That doesn't mean you stop trying, but you don't have to love it if it don't work yet. For example, I still think really well-done miniature photography looks more "real" than CGI, but it's also a lot more painstaking and time intensive. I certainly wouldn't have abandoned CGI just because "The Last Starfighter" didn't look as good as "Return of the Jedi". If we'd had to stick with miniatures, I don't think we'd have gotten the cool visuals from series such as "Firefly" or the new "Battlestar Galactica".

So, Winnipeg, Manitoba has got a new NHL franchise (or, rather, acquired someone else's) to replace the long-lost Winnipeg Jets. A lot of different team names and logos have been floated by fans. This one, for the Winnipeg Mechs, has a familiar feel.

Amen to that. Nice to see that article mentioning the darkness of the images, which is what's driven me completely away from the gimmick. After accidentally seeing Thor in 3D (due to a showtime mix-up), I've ended up like Graham. If it ain't in 2D, I won't see it in the theatre.

That's pretty much my point of view. I never avoid going to see a film I wanted to see just because of bad reviews. I'd still rather see it for myself, good or bad. "A hundred travel books aren't worth one real trip" and all that (within reason, of course). Granted, harsh reviews will tend to lower my expectations.

Generally, as a Green Lantern fan, I enjoyed it in spite of itself, but it's not a very good film. I didn't find it actively awful, just bland. The villains were especially lacking. Hector Hammond ends up less than 2-dimensional, and Parallax as evil cloud with a face had no sense of danger or menace. The tornadoes in "Twister" were more suspenseful and threatening. I have no gripes with any of the performances, and as Exo noted Mark Strong is really good, though not given nearly enough to do. It seemed like they felt the need to cram as much stuff into one film as possible, without taking the time to do any of it well. The credit-cookie bit felt similarly tacked on and thin. One thing that bugged me was that, in several long shots, the CG costume became a really awful CG body, which is pretty unforgivable considering the state of CG animation and that Reynolds was there, in-frame, with a mo-cap suit. None of the completely-CG aliens ever looked that bad. Reminded me of Blade II when Blade fights Nyssa in front of the UV lights - obviously fake and unnatural. In close-up and slow shots, the costume looks pretty great, and not every long shot is bad, either. There were a few scenes, though, that just really stood out to me.

Actually, that's why I wrote "Dark Phoenix story" instead of referencing the whole Phoenix saga. There's no way they should try to adapt the original story verbatim. SFX being what they are, it's certainly possible, and of course it would be an incoherent mess. But the core of that story (pre-"it wasn't really Jean"-retcon), about a young woman unable to cope with godlike powers, the toll it takes on her friends and the man she loves... that could be well-told by a decent writer. I mean, the flash of the phoenix signature at the end of X2 implied that Singer had something in mind, and I don't think it would have involved the Shi'ar or exterminating a planet full of broccoli people. Of course, to get it right, it would have to involve Scott and Jean much more than Logan, and I don't think the casual fans or Fox execs could conceive of that, concsidering how successfully they turned Last Stand into Wolverine guest-starring the X-Men. Or do we lay all that at Ratner's feet?

Specifically as he is in the comics, Apocalypse is a little too grandiose for the scale of the X-Men movie universe, IMHO. There's no reason you couldn't have some movie version of him... first mutant ever, immortal, etc., just not so epic. You'd have to do something in particular to make him stand out from Magneto, or he'd be just another human-hating mutant with a genocidal agenda. However, if it's true that Singer is ignoring Last Stand and Wolverine, Apocalypse could be introduced as a shadowy character that comes out from behind the scenes to aid Magneto. Or, if they were to focus more on Apocalypse' and Sinister's frequent abuse of mutants to further their own ends, they could end up being mutant villains that X-Men and Brotherhood might team up against. I could get behind a story like that. There's also a possibility, though I'd be less intrigued by it, that Sinister or Apocalypse could be used to introduce younger versions of Xavier and Magneto (the old cloning trope), rather than try to replace the aging Stewart and McKellan. Not that I'm promoting that. I'm seriously jazzed by the possibilities of the rumoured X4 and X5 if Last Stand is no longer part of the picture. For one, 'cause Cyclops is my favourite X-man, but even more importantly, could we actually see a decent take on the Dark Phoenix story?

Gotta say I really enjoyed it. The action was fun and the kids managed to carry the weight of the film well. I read an article that said JJ had two ideas, one a plot but no characters, the other a set of characters but no story, and decided to bring the two together. I felt once in a while it seemed very much like the story and the characters were in two different films, but largely it worked. I'd say that the characters outside the kids were a little thin. It might have worked better if he'd centered the film entirely from the kids' point of view, with no exposition outside what they experience (but I'm no filmmaker). As a Spielberg homage it successfully hit the major themes he liked to play with in the 80s. I agree that maybe JJ needs to change up the art department a little. I wouldn't necessarily recommend this specifically to sci-fi fans (as I would, say, District 9), as I thought that aspect wasn't a major focus in the film. As Negotiator noted, any suitably mysterious and crisis-y MacGuffin could've provided the elements for the kids' story, speaking again to the somewhat separated plot and characters. All in all, for the enjoyment I got out if it, I'd give it a solid 8 out of 10.

I always had the impression that these colours were meant to represent gold and silver, respectively, yellow and light blue/white being common stand-ins for those metallic shades. Maybe I just read too many comics.