BlackGeekdom Science-Fiction from a Different Perspective

I admit that I can be more than a little negative about upcoming movies that look like bad ideas.  So, in order to do something different, I am going to write positive things about a movie which should be avoided at all cost.  I am going to give you 10 reasons I am going to go see Conan.

1.  Jason Momoa: I liked Jason Momoa’s character in Stargate: Atlantis.  If he plays Conan with the same amount of intensity that he played Ronin, then you can be sure he’s going to throw everything he has into the role.  I want to see him do well.  The Sci-Fi Fantasy genre could use a good young minority lead actor.

2.  Mickey Rourke: Mickey Rourke will most likely be cast as Conan’s dad.  This is  a good choice.  No one in Hollywood is as rugged and haggard looking as Rourke.  He’s been riding his success in the movie The Wrestler and has turned it into numerous upcoming roles, especially as Whiplash in the upcoming Iron Man sequel.  He’s a great actor, and is especially good at playing characters who aren’t necessarily evil, but have a skewed moral compass.

3.  Conan:  I am a fan of the character Conan.  Conan the Barbarian and Conan the Destroyer starring Arnold Schwarzenegger are a couple of my favorite movies.  It makes me happy to see a possibility that the franchise could be resurrected.  Conan the Cimmerian is one of the few comics I follow every month.  He’s a great character who often times finds a way to come out on top no matter the odds.  He’s relentless, unforgiving, and fears nothing.

4.  Arnold Schwarzenegger:  Just a whisper of a rumor that he could make an appearance in the movie.  That would be worth seeing it.

5.  I saw Pathfinder (Marcus Nispel director of Conan, also directed Pathfinder) and 10,000 B.C. in the theaters….If I can spend good movie theater money on them, I can do the same for Conan.

6.  Epic Fantasies are the reason I go to the movies.  And I believe that Conan is going to be an epic fantasy.  The interest level is so high for a Conan movie, and the studio has to be hoping for a franchise, so this has to be bigger than Pathfinder and 10,000 B.C.

7.  Bob Sapp. MMA star Bob Sapp is apparently cast as a villain according to /Film.  Sapp  was pretty impressive in the last match I saw him in.  So, the fight scenes will be good.  And it’ll keep him off the streets.

8.  It’ll be in 3-D more than likely, and I haven’t seen any 3-D movie in the theater, ever.  Not even Avatar.  Actually, when I was 11 I saw Starchaser: The Legend of Orin in 3-D, but I don’t count that. (at least I think I saw it in 3-D)

9.  Djimon Hounsou:  This movie will open up the possibility that the Thulsa  Doom movie starring and produced by Djimon Hounsou will become a reality. Thulsa Doom was an immortal sorcerer who was originally played by James Earl Jones in Conan the Barbarian.  He’s a prominent character in the comics and in.  According to Lobo, this movie will give us a chance to see an African culture that isn’t Egyptian in a movie.

Okay. I came up with 9.  It was an ambitious list to begin with.  Oh, and Conan the Cimmerian or Conan the Barbarian is a character created by Robert E. Howard.  There’s a really good movie called The Whole Wide World starring Vincent D’Onofrio as Howard.  Check it out.

Posted under Articles, Movies, Rumors

This is a person who understands how we view things around here.

You can find more of Andre at blacknerdcomedy.com.  You can also find him on Twitter and Facebook.

Posted under Fanboy Rants, Television

I must admit that I had never heard of Percy Jackson until I saw the teaser trailer last fall.  I am a huge mythology nut, especially Greco-Roman mythology, so this movie looked like it was right up my alley.  After watching the movie, I was more than a little pleased.  I kinda liked how they made Percy similar to Perseus, whose exploits were fictionalized in Clash of the Titans starring Harry Hamlin, and will be reimagined in this years Clash of the Titans starring Sam Worthington. 

Percy is the son of Poseidon (Kevin McKidd) God of the Seas and Earthquakes and one of the Big Three (Zeus and Hades).  Being the son of one of the Big Three gives him a considerable amount of power.  We saw him use his power over water; it will be interesting to see if they work in the earthquake powers if the series continues.

I haven’t read the books and don’t know how closely it tracks to the source material.  I am not sure if they are going to make this a franchise, but considering how popular the book is, I am sure that there were discussions.  The story was decent and the pacing was good.  When it ended, I seemed to want more, and as a movie goer that’s a good sign.  However, it ended in a way that if they don’t ever do another Percy Jackson movie it isn’t as if the story left you hanging.

The effects were good and the CGI was seamless with the live action.  All of the actors were perfect in their roles, though I did have a hard time buying Alexandra Daddario (Kate in White Collar) as a 17 year old.

Oh, and don’t think of this post as just another reason to post a picture of Rosario Dawson.

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http://www.mania.com/10-influential-africa…cle_120722.html

I really hate these list when people don’t put more than 5 min worth of thought into it. The fact that you have Richard Roundtree and Michael Jackson on the list tells me this list is @$#$#!$ up.    Seriously “Mania”  what the hell does Richard Roundtree have to do with Sci-fi even in your article you only mentioned his small role in “Se7ven”.    This has to be one of those list where you wanted to create some buzz by putting MJ as #1, instead of taking the time to put some thought into a  meaningful list.

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This week Halo Legends was released on DVD and Blu-Ray.  I must admit that I don’t really play first person shooters.  And everyone tells me that Halo is the best of the best.  I have dabbled in the Medal of Honor and Call of Duty franchises and I even downloaded N.O.V.A. for the iPod Touch.  They are fantastic games, but I can’t play them more than 20 minutes at a time.  However, I do watch the cut scenes for many FPS on YouTube.  So, when I heard about this, I thought that it was just going to be a collection of new Halo cut scenes, until I heard it was going to be similar to how Animatrix was to The Matrix.  That got me interested.

The release is comprised of 7 animated short stories.  Each story delves into part of the Halo canon.  Fleshing out some things, and shedding light onto others.  Each episode was done in a different animation style.  Fans will appreciate that the material in the stories are canon.  Fans will like the episodes The Package and The Babysitter since they add to the mythos of the Spartans.  My favorite episode was The Duel.  I liked the animation and the story was a classic.  The Duel also gave you insight into the workings of the Covenant.  But I believe that most fans already know that the Covenant is not as monolithic as one would think.

Overall, I enjoyed watching it and I think anyone whose a fan of animation will appreciate this collection of stories.  I know most of the fans of the game will already have this, I would still recommend it for everyone else.

Posted under Animation, Reviews, Video Games News

Last night I had to watch The Deep End, Grey’s Anatomy, and Private Practice.  Some might say, “hey, that’s a pretty good night of television.”  No it isn’t for a scifi fan.  I can’t remember a time when I watched a whole night of ABC.  Of course I could have put in a movie or two, but I want my sci-fi TV.  Fox is trying to throw us a bone by giving us a new show Past Life.  I watched about 6 minutes and 30 seconds of it before I realized how inferior it was to Medium, besides being a wee bit slow.

Could I have watched the Olympics? Sure.  I tried that the other night, and found myself bored to death by the skating event, and then I was unmoved by the women’s alpine skiing (congratulations to Lindsey Vonn and Shani Davis for their gold medals.)  But after last night, I draw the line.  I want Fringe, V, Bones, The Mentalist, Flash Forward, and all the other “be back in March” shows back on right now.  Don’t make me have to start watching America’s Best Dance Crew, Project Runway, or some other “fun to watch” reality show.

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Okay, so I’m late on this review.  Overall, I liked the movie, but I wouldn’t recommend you pay theater prices to go see it.  Wait till it comes out on video or cable.  I really was excited when this movie was announced and that Denzel was attached to the project.  Even the first theatrical trailer had me hyped about it. Book of Eli is about a lone man traveling across a post-apocalyptic world with a sacred book.  When asked where is he taking it, he answers, “where it needs to be.”  Cryptic.

I thought Denzel performed all his stunts exceptionally.  I also think that the Hughes Brothers did an excellent job adapting it for the screen.  The pyrotechnics were great.  I like to see things blow up.   My main problem with the movie is length.  The Hughes Brothers spent a tremendous amount of time showing us how bad ass Eli was.  They also spent time showing people doing a lot of traveling: walking, driving, etc.  I could have easily cut out about 20-30 minutes of the movie.  I have been a fan of the Hughes Brother’s work, From Hell, Menace to Society, Dead Presidents, but all of those movies were tight.  Book of Eli seemed like they tried to make an Epic with less than epic material.

Posted under Reviews

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Source: Vulture

Vulture has learned that Warner Bros. is negotiating to reteam with The Book of Eli‘s Hughes brothers to have them direct a live-action remake of the cult favorite Akira, from a script by Iron Man scribes Mark Fergus and Hawk Ostby. (Akira is being produced by Leonardo DiCaprio’s company, Appian Way, along with Andrew Lazar, who’s also currently producing an adaptation of DC Comics’ Jonah Hex for Warners.)

Posted under Movies

Source: Dailyrecord

“It has been really fun playing a goddess, I have to say. She’s wild. It is full-on flirtatiousness.”

This depiction of Hell is sumptuous, decadent and dark, all candlelight and high ceilings full of Gothic detail. In Greek mythology, Persephone is abducted by Hades and tricked into becoming his wife and Queen of the Underworld .

She is also the goddess of springtime and Rosario first thought of wearing robes and flowers. But the actress wanted to go for a modern look with “chipped nail polish and lace” rather than a T-shirt and mini skirt.

Instead, she wears a bustle and corset. She said: “It’s a little darker and grungier, a gothic image that I think is quite fascinating.

“It is fun to reinterpret the myths surrounding her and try to imagine her and place her in this world.

“She’s very bitter and angry. She is violent and aggressive and it’s fascinating because she also has innocence and sweetness and childlike qualities when she’s not being completely bitter.

“She is also very lustful.”

Posted under Movies