Superman Cast, and he’s English!
Henry Cavill is Superman
Well that’s just typical… Hours after i make a roundup post of things going on in the DC Universe, DC go and announce they’ve found their Clark Kent/Superman for their Christopher Nolan producted and Zack Snyder directed Superman reboot!
Following the current trend, like DC with Batman, and Marvel with their recent Spider-man reboot, DC have also picked an Englishman to take on the lead role. And that man is Henry Cavill. Who you say? Well, he can currently be seen on BBC2 swanning around Tudor England in The Tudors, and has popped up in a number of film and tv roles over the years, but this is by far his biggest break. It’s also not the first time Cavill has been linked to a DC comic book role, as he auditioned in front of Nolan for Batman Begins, but lost out on the part to Christian Bale.
As Cavill takes on Superman, he joins a list of the Brits recent invasion of the superhero genre, with Bale as Batman, Aaron Johnson as the lead in Kick-Ass, and Andrew Garfield as Spider-man to name but a few!
Superman: Man Of Steel is due in cinemas December 2012!
DC Universe Online, in Film and on TV!
You may have noticed a slowdown in posting recently… Sorry about that, it’s mainly due to myself and D’s latest addiction, DC Universe Online (full review coming soon!). However, online isn’t the only place DC has been expanding to over recent weeks, so I though i’d do a quick roundup of the latest news from the world of DC.
DC Online
DC Universe Online
As i mentioned in the intro, DC Universe Online is our latest addiction. Due to 2010 being a pretty sucky year for MMOs, this is actually the first MMORPG both of us have really got into in about 18 months.
It’s usually a sign of a compelling MMO when you’ve sat down mid-afternoon to play for a bit, and then you think ‘i’m feeling a bit hungry, i’ll just get some food… why is it dark out… oh, it’s 7pm…’ ;)
We will be doing a full review of it soon, but so far it’s fair to say, being a superhero is a whole load of fun!
DC in Film
Tom Hardy will play Bane
There were a couple of announcement made last week regarding the new Batman movie – The Dark Knight Rises. We finally have a couple of villains, one of which I don’t think many people thought likely. Fresh from working with director Chris Nolan on the brilliant Inception, Tom Hardy has been cast as one of this chapters major villain, Bane. For those of you who aren’t up on your Bat history, Bane is a very intelligent criminal who gains superhuman strength from a drug called Venom. This enabled him to figure out Bruce was Batman and set in motion a plan which ended in him breaking Batman’s back. Bane is an intriguing choice for Nolan. It’ll be interesting to see how he plays with the comic book story and handles the Venom issue in the established ‘real world’ style setting of his movie Batman. Much as I would have loved to see Hush or Black Mask, he’s got me very interested to see what he’ll do with the character. It’s fair to say whatever Nolan does, he can’t treat the character any worse than than Joel Schumacher did in Batman & Robin…
The second bit of casting for Batman was Anne Hathaway as Selina Kyle/Catwoman. Again an interesting choice in casting, and, although, like Joker, it’s a character that’s been used before, i’m really intrigued to see what they do with the character. The Dark Knight Rises is due in cinemas July 20th 2012.
DC on TV
New Wonder Woman TV Show
NBC has picked up a new Wonder Woman series! Written and developed by David E. Kelley (of Ally McBeal & Boston Legal fame). Not a whole lot is know about the show at the moment as it’s still in early development, although the rumours are circulating that they’re trying to land McG as the director for the pilot episode. Now, i know most of his films suck (Charlie’s Angels 1&2 and Terminator Salvation), his TV involvement has overall been pretty positive. He’s a producer on Supernatural, and produced and directed Chuck – 2 of my favourite TV shows, so I think this maybe a turn in the right direction. Although the synopsis of it which is “a vigilante crime fighter in L.A. but also a successful corporate executive and a modern woman trying to balance all of the elements of her extraordinary life” does have me slightly concerned it’s going to be less Wonder Woman and more Corporate Exec Woman given Kelly is writing it… We’ll just have to wait and see…
UK Premiere of Alice on SyFy
ALICE on SyFy
There have been a number of takes on Lewis Carroll’s classic Alice’s Adventures In Wonderland, and Syfy are bringing a brand new twist to the classic tale in a new two part mini-series – ALICE.
ALICE is written and directed by Nick Willing who’s previous credits include SyFy’s previous Alice outing Tin Man, and the 1999 Alice in Wonderland film, it’s fair to say he’s a man that knows his subject matter! This latest iteration has an an all-star cast including Kathy Bates (Revolutionary Road), the glorious Tim Curry (Burke and Hare), the dino hunting Andrew Lee Potts (Primeval), Matt Frewer (A Town Called Eureka) and Caterina Scorsone (Crash).
The story follows Alice Hamilton (Scorsone) whose world is suddenly turned upside down when she finds herself on the other side of a looking glass in Wonderland, an outlandish city ruled by the devilish Queen of Hearts (Bates).
To maintain control of the land the queen uses the emotions of kidnapped humans to feed her citizens. Her strong army of evil Suits – led by the White Rabbit (Alan Gray) – has been kidnapping humans for years and holds them captive in a casino where their memories are erased and their extreme emotions are drained, bottled and consumed by the people of Wonderland.
When Alice’s love Jack Chase (Philip Winchester) is kidnapped and brought to Wonderland she embarks on a thrilling journey through the bizarre world to find him and unravel the strange going’s on. Along the way she enlists the help of some familiar characters – including Hatter (Lee Potts), White Knight (Frewer), Dodo (Curry), Doctors Dee and Dum (Eugene Lipinski) and Caterpillar (Harry Dean Stanton).
Alice airs in the UK on SyFy – Thursday 27 January at 8pm, with part 2 on Thursday 3 February.
Facejacker: The Art of Technology
This post is sponsored by Bing
For those of you out there that are fans of the TV show Facejacker, Brian Badonde – their eccentric art critic at large, has launched a new web-based series entitled ‘The Art of Technology.’ The series follows Brian Badonde in his quest to learn more about how technology can enrich his already extravagant life with the help of Bing.
Brian Badonde, comments: “Filming the Bart of Bechnology was in many ways a biritual journey for me. Never before have so many people so generously allowed me to binkle with bechnology with such freedom of bexpression. I hope my fans, bart critics and bart lovers from around the world will join together, in one bollective bonsciousness to bembrace the new series and that it helps them see the true beauty that blies at the very beart of bechnology.”
3. Brian Badonde does Segways
In this weeks episode, Brian’s technological adventures lead him to a store in Los Angeles where he experiences the greatest invention of all time – the Segway.
Review: Freakonomics
Freakonomics
What is Freakonomics? Well, it’s basically the idea of taking economic theory and applying it to non-economic-type things… Such as corruption in sumo wrestling, or the social impact of baby naming.
In Freakonomics, Steven D. Levitt – ‘Rogue Economist’, and Stephen J. Dubner - ‘writer/journalist’ take the ideas from their best selling book of the same, and hand the chapters over to a variety of documentary film-makers to make short films. In terms of structure, it’s almost like was conceived as a tv series, with a director taking an episode each and Levitt and Dubner then doing a 5 min interview to each show, introducing the concept of this weeks topic. It is a slightly odd format, but given their isn’t any a direct connection between one idea and the next (other than the use of economics), the switch in styles for each topic works perfectly well.
The opening short from Super Size Me‘s Morgan Spurlock takes an entertaining look at whether the name you choose for your child has an affect on their social standing, followed by Alex Gibney’s (Enron: The Smartest Guys in the Room 
tale about corruption in Sumo. To me though, the most interesting segment was Eugene Jarecki’s (Why We Fight) take on why the US crime rate dropped in the 90′s, which comes to a really rather surprising conclusion. Grady and Heidi Ewing’s (Jesus Camp final section on whether it’s possible to bribe a 9th grader (that’s 14 to 15 yr olds to us Britishers) to learn, was also quite fasinating.
Freakonomics is an interesting documentary and well worth watching, although i can’t help but feel the subject matter might have been better served as a TV show, allowing a bit more time on each subject.
7/10 – Freaking interesting, if a bit rushed.
Watch or rent Freakonomics online with LOVEFiLM
GeekTown’s Top Ten Games of 2010
Usually around this time of year we’d do a run down of our favourite MMO’s of the year. But 2010 was such a sucky year for the MMO we’ve decided to look at all genres of game, and 2010 had some great ones! Here’s our top ten!
10. Mafia II (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
Mafia II
Dave: I loved the original Mafia. Well… I loved Mafia apart from the practically impossible to beat car race… But overall it was a brilliantly told, and wonderfully atmospheric game. Mafia II doesn’t quite live up to it’s predecessor for atmosphere, and I would have liked it to be a little more sandbox and a little less linear – It seems a shame that they created such a stunning world, only to be forced down a certain path, rather than allowing you to explore on your own, GTA style. Even so, it’s still an immensely enjoyable action adventure.
9. Medal of Honor (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
Medal of Honor
Daryl: Yet another Medal of Honour game is what I first thought when I heard about this title, but as a fan of the FPS genre I thought I would give it a try. What I encountered is a unique and memorable game. While most FPS games in recent years feel like a Michael Bay movie or a Tom Clancy novel, DICE set out to make Medal of Honour as close to reality as possible. There are no soviet super spies, no team of cocky soldiers who can storm an army of thousands with only a few scratches, in fact whenever you do encounter the enemy in large numbers you’ll most likely find yourself running for your life or calling for backup.
Throughout the game you play as various different characters but the one that I grew most attached to was a young Navy Seal who goes by the call-sign Rabbit. The events he goes through are truly engaging and it was only after finishing the game that I learned his story closely follows that of a real Navy Seal known as Neil Roberts. This was a brave decision and DICE’s commitment to making the game absolutely authentic has earned them widespread condemnation, but I’m sure if many of the bandwagon jumpers had played the game they would change their minds. Yes it has its flaws, particularly in a lacklustre and derivative multiplayer offering, but few games feel so sincere, nor so inspiring.
8. Battlefield Bad Company 2 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
Battlefield Bad Company 2
Daryl: Yet another game from the DICE studio, but if you played them both you wouldn’t be able to tell. While Medal of Honour focuses almost purely on single player, Bad Company is very much a multiplayer game. The Battlefield games have always had a strong following online but this latest edition stands out and is some of the most fun I’ve had since Call of Duty 4. The vehicle and infrantry combat is perfectly balanced, so you’re as likely to win a match with your rifle as you are with a tank. The building destruction is more than a gimmick, allowing you to demolish the very buildings objectives are housed within, or if that pesky sniper is getting you down simply obliterate the entire room he is standing in. The maps are perfectly sized, allowing you to quickly travel on foot but also hang back far enough away for some old fashioned sniping and the levelling is always interesting as the game offers seemingly endless items and weapons to aim for.
The Battlefield and Bad Company games have always had their strengths, but Bad Company 2 feels like the game where everything came together for DICE, the technology, Battlefield staples and modern FPS trends are blended together to form a truly exceptional online game.
7. Alpha Protocol (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
Alpha Protocol
Dave: Alpha Protocol was an original title from the kings of the game sequel Obsidian. A little rough around the edges, but a still a thoroughly enjoyable spy thriller. One of the neatest parts was the Dialogue Stance system, which give you a number of choices, modelled (according to Obsidian) after the 3 JB’s – James Bond, Jason Bourne, and Jack Bauer. So, be suave (Bond), be professional (Bourne), or threaten to cut someones fingers off one by one till they tell you what you want to know (Bauer).
6. Heavy Rain (PS3)
Heavy Rain
Dave: This was a fascinating concept for a game, from the makers of the brilliant Fahrenheit/Indigo Prophecy – Quantic Dream. On the surface, it’s a straightforward adventure thriller. You start playing Ethan Mars, a father looking for his missing son. However, at various points in the game, it’s possible Ethan may get killed… So you just load your last save, right?.. Not it Heavy Rain. You continue the story, using one of the other characters you’ve met along the way. And if they die, you move to the next one. Each changing the story, and giving you a variety of possible endings. Heavy Rain also has a lot in common with Quantic’s previous releases, from the extremely cinematic feel, to the fairly unique control system, which works by using the controller to mimic the action you want to perform on screen. This has also been modified to work with the PS3′s Move controller.
5. Fallout: New Vegas (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
Fallout: New Vegas
Dave: This really had to go into the list, as thanks to Steam, i know it sucked up 49hrs of my life last year (no, it’s not big or clever… ;)). Following on from Fallout 3, development for New Vegas was passed on to Obsidian from Bethesda.
Obsidian is actually the natural home for a Fallout game, as many of the developers now at the studio are ex-employees of Fallout & Fallout 2 developers Black Isle Studios. Yes, New Vegas was basically more of the same (including the same graphics engine, bringing it’s own advantages and problems), but the original Fallout 3 was so good, why rock the boat. What Obsidian did bring is a lot more humour to the script, and a bit more of the essence of the original Fallout. Still… The next character to say ‘Patrolling the mojave almost makes you wish for a nuclear winter’ to me is getting a bullet through the brain…
4. Angry Birds (Smart Phone, Mac)
Angry Birds
Dave: Angry Birds really has everything you want from a moblie game. It’s cheap. It’s silly. It’s easy to control. And most of all, it’s incredibly addictive! The basic premise is that you control a bunch of flightless birds to help them reclaim their eggs from some thieving pigs. This is done by slingshotting them into the pig’s wood, metal or glass forts. As you advance, the birds gain more skills, as you fire them at the pigs to create piggy carnage.
3. Mass Effect 2 (PC, Xbox 360, PS3)
Mass Effect 2
Dave: The original Mass Effect breathed a breath of fresh air into the RPG genre. RPG masters Bioware, produced an epic space opera, with a wonderfully constructed story, fast paced FPS style gameplay, and a stunning galaxy to play in. Mass Effect 2 managed to expand and build on that, even allowing you to import your character and choices from the first game to effect some of the story elements in the second.
Bioware also listened to the criticisms of Mass Effect 1, and managed to make 2 a far more streamlined and pleasurable experience, whilst still keeping the cinematic nature of the original. Mass Effect 3 is due out in a few months, and I for one, can’t wait!
2. Red Dead Redemption (Xbox 360, PS3)
Red Dead Redemption
Dave: So yes, it is basically GTA with horses… but in my book, that’s no bad thing.
Once again. Rockstar not only built one of the move stunning and complete environments for you to play in, they also constructed a great story and characters to play with. From annoying snake oil salesmen, to crazy old grave robbers, Red Dead gives you a world full of interesting a textured people to interact with. The story is well constructed, managing to avoid falling into being an off-the-shelve western cliche (apart from when it intents to for comic effect).
Red Dead, like Mass Effect, is one of those games that proves you don’t need to go to a cinema to find a well crafted script.
1. World of Warcraft: Cataclysm (PC)
World of Warcraft: Cataclysm
Dave: Well it had to be really. How often do you get an MMO that does something as crazy as destroying half the zones in the game to improve gameplay. Most companies would just decide to launch a WoW2, but not Blizzard. Although Cataclysm is technically an expansion, the massive changes it brings to WoW really does make it seem like a whole new game. Plus there’s the addition of the frankly awesome Goblin race (really the best starting zones they’ve ever made), and the ye olde England style Worgen’s.
There is also a 5 level bump in level cap, a whole new zones for 80-85, and a huge graphic update. Blizzard have once again show why WoW is number one… for now at least… 2011 sees the first truly serious contender for it’s crown, and that’s in the shape of Star Wars:The Old Republic. Whilst the updated to WoW has massively improved levels 1-60, 60-80 now seems a bit of a grind. 2011 could get very interesting for the MMO genre.
