The iPhone 5 Promo Video Has Leaked!

We're potentially a few weeks away from the announcement and launch of the iPhone 5, but a clever techie has uncovered Apple's promo video from their upcoming 9/12 keynote. If you are an Apple fanboy such as myself, or a curious tech consumer, you might want to check out this video.

SPOILERS


Unfortunately my last phone died about a month ago so I am not eligible for the new phone just yet. :( Of course, after it's not-so-timely death, I marched right back into the Apple Store and bought another.

I'm curious what will be different this time around. Of course there are the usual rumors of a laser keyboard, diamond encrusted phone. I'll just take one of these.

El Professore Movie: The Time Travelers

The Time Travelers

1964
Director: Ib Melchior
Starring: Preston Foster, Phillip Carey, Merry Anders, John Hoyt
* * * 1/2

It's really too bad that the name Ib Melchior isn't more familiar. One of the pioneering minds of sci fi film and T.V. the Danish author has penned the scripts for such films as the cult classic 'Robinson Crusoe on Mars', the notorious bad monster movie 'Reptilicus', the trippy 'Journey to the 7th Planet', the Mario Bava directed sci fi/horror film 'Planet of the Vampires' and the Roger Corman fave 'Death Race 2000'.. He also has two films under his belt as a director; 'The Angry Red Planet' (featuring the famed bat/rat/spider/crab monster) and this, the criminally underseen minor masterpiece, 'The Time Travelers'.

Full review after the jump.

Trailer for New Star Wars Animated Series Makes Me Want to Sell My Collection.

Don't know how I missed this, but here's the official trailer for the new totally wacky/zany/in-yo-face super-stylised Star Wars animated TV show. Dubbed Star Wars Detours it's a comedic take that uses characters from all six movies, focusing on their everyday lives outside the story we already know. A lot of the Robot Chicken guys are working on it (you'll certainly recognise a lot of the voices) and despite their triumphs working with Star Wars in the past, I found this trailer largely unfunny and very difficult to get through. I'll let you judge for yourself. The annoying title announcement alone gets me on edge...

I appreciate that I'm probably not the target audience here, and I do think you can have fun with the Star Wars universe and subvert its characters for comedy. I think that was especially successful in the Lego Padawan Menace special, but through sharp, focused writing and beautiful design, that show had fun yet still managed to capture the magic that made Star Wars stick with us in the first place. This new Detours thing seems very far removed from the magic/mythology, and the dumber and crasser they get with all this stuff the more alienating it feels. Did you see their horrible valley girl version of Leia that strips away everything wonderful and unique about that character? Arrrgh. It's too depressing to even rant about... Time to take a break from Star Wars.

R.I.P. Jerry Nelson (July 10, 1934 - August 23, 2012)

I just learned this morning that my personal favourite Muppeteer, one of the original greats, Jerry Nelson passed away last night.  Let's all just take a moment to reflect on this guy's amazing life.  Read his page over on the Muppet Wiki and you'll be shocked at how accomplished he truly was!

I can't understate the influence the Muppets and Jerry Nelson especially have had on me throughout this life.  Heck, without the Muppets, this website wouldn't even exist!  And that's the least of it.  Jerry Nelson has helped to teach me how to be a better man over the years!  He will truly be missed.

Join me after the JUMP for a few YouTube videos of my Favourite Jerry Moments:

Unboxing the $7 Case of Dark Knight Stickers and Figures!

Now this is weird. Last week I was browsing the Dark Knight section of Australia's aptly named pop culture website Popcultcha and I stumbled across this anomaly. It's a whole case (24 packs) of something called The Dark Knight Collectible Stickers and Figurines and it was marked down to the ridiculously low make-our-storage-problem-your-storage-problem 90% off price of SEVEN DOLLARS. That's a bargain in anyone's language, and seeing as how I was already making an order I added it to my cart even though I didn't really know what it was.

How about we find out together?

That's a pretty big box! This is kind of like finding a treasure chest in an attic! Let's crack it open and see what seven dollars can buy you these days... after the jump!

Thank GIF it's Friday

You have no idea how long I've been pining for Friday to come around so I can post this.

Pre-Order Hot Toys Wolverine X-Men: The Last Stand 1/6 Scale Collectible Figure! SNIKT!

Now this is a nice surprise! Not only are we getting our first official gallery of Hot Toys' brand new 1/6th scale Wolverine from X-Men: The Last Stand figure, but he's up our good pals at Sideshow have him up for pre-order already as well! Check out song-and-dance man Hugh Jackman getting ready to carve up some thanksgiving turkeys! SNIKETTY-SNIKT!

I dig that backdrop too! IT tempts me to set part of my shelving on fire!

You can pre-order him right this goddamn second here: Hot Toys Movie Masterpiece Series Wolverine - X-Men: The Last Stand Sixth Scale Figure and expect him to fastball through your front windows in March. Join me after the jump for plenty more photos!

The Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show: Another Podcast You Should Be Listening To

While you read this, I'm knee-deep in two weeks worth of business meetings and what have you. This means a lot of time on airplanes, a lot of downtime for myself, and, while I read a lot of books, I'm also (in case you haven't noticed) addicted to podcasts.

One of my favorite podcasts I've discovered recently is the Jeff Rubin Jeff Rubin Show. Jeff Rubin is associated with College Humor, so you kind of get an early grasp for his humor and reach, but what sets Rubin apart is that he's truly One of Us. An unrepentant nerd, he not only geeks out over the minutia, but shares it with all of us. Hour long programs on the languages of Game of Thrones, multi-episode discussions about pop culture conspiracy theories - they're all there.

It's a pretty good show. Rubin's voice gets a little radio-schticky at times, but the show is so sincere and charming, and the topics so relevantly irrelevant, that you can look past a lot of it for what ends up being a fun, informative time. Definitely something to add to your rotation. Some recommendations for starter episodes are beyond the jump:

Review (Warning): Total Recall Should Be Totally Recalled.

Seriously. Seriously? WTF!

It’s hard to fathom a reason why Len Wiseman’s Total Recall remake needs to exist. An extremely watered down version of the original, he serves up a criminally boring Total Recall Lite, stripped of everything fun, ingenious, brash, vulgar and ridiculous that made the first one so entertaining.

This is Total Recall without Mars, without mutants, without midgets, without conjoined monster baby Kuato, without human arms being severed by elevators, without memorable one-liners like “BLAM! Consider dat a divorce!”, without eye-popping, or nasal implants, or robot taxi drivers, or a copious amount of blood. It does have a rogue three-breasted prostitute but it fails to explain how she got in that predicament and no other physical deformities are ever present in the film.

Paul Verhoeven and Arnold Schwarzenegger gave us a raging hard-on of a film. Len Wiseman and Colin Farrell gives us a tiny, sad, pale penis.

To find out what else I thought... join me after the jump!

Gen Con 2012 Recap - Part One (with SEASONS!)

After a whirlwind of a weekend in Indianapolis, I'm finally home from Gen Con and looking back at my first experience at the largest board game convention in the US.

There were tens of thousands of people playing thousands of different games. It's by far the biggest convention I've ever seen (even bigger than the Philly car shows) and one of the best weekends you can experience as a gamer.

Click through the jump for the recap!

America's Got Talent Wild Card Episode Recap: It's Tricky

Last night was the Wild Card episode of America's Got Talent, where each judge was allowed to bring back four acts that were previously voted off of the show. Sometimes an act was voted off because the producers put together a selection that was too good, or too similar... and other times an off night sent them packing. 

It was a pretty good mix, but very high on the "wild" side of things. Most of the acts were tricks of some sort, and it made me wonder if the heavy hand of the producers had anything to do with it. Either way, it made for a great episode that will be hard to choose a top four... aside from this guy, who shot a crossbow at his own head while blindfolded.

Click through the jump for videos and the full recap. And let us know your top 4!

Watch Steff Bomb on TLC's Craft Wars Tonight!

As you probably know, we're big fans of Steff Bomb's amazing plush creations. But here's something you may not know...

Steff Bomb will be crafting in every one of our homes TONIGHT!

Well, kind of. She's one of three crafters battling for $10,000 of Tori Spelling's hard earned money on TLC's Craft Wars. Tonight's episode is Thanksgiving themed, which immediately makes me want to see her design a plush Cornucopia. And we all know that would pretty much guarantee the $10,000 prize.

Will there be any Star Wars references? Will there be any mentions of her Weezer Wonder Woman tattoo? Will she destroy the competition?

Tune in at 11pm EST.

Stryder's Favourite Comics - 8/15/2012

First off, did you guys see my spiffy new banner?  It appeared as if by magic last week!  I suspect elves, possibly of the Keebler variety.  I bet you didn't know that along with cookies, they also make custom graphics!  Sweet!

Anyway, I have a RECORD BREAKING number of comics this week, NINE in total.  I've tried to be brief, m'lord (as woman's love).  Hey, don't get mad at me, SHAKESPEARE said it!!  Moving right along...

Before Watchmen: Rorschach #1 (of 4) - "I am the lonely man, who stalks the executioner."

In the first issue of what is probably the most highly anticipated title in the Before Watchmen universe, we take a closer look at the fascinating and maniacal vigilante known as Rorschach.  This issue is mainly all about establishing character...we get to see how Rorschach operates as he stalks a drug dealer and attempts to quell the flow of opiates onto the NYC streets.  He uncovers more than he bargained for and ends up in a fight for his life against a whole gang of street scum, including an as yet unnamed ringleader who towers over him and whose face is a mass of scar tissue.  He's also down one nose.  Rorschach, of course, is NOT intimidated.  He DOES, however, know how to bleed...

B-Plot includes the police finding the naked body of a woman in a dumpster who's had messages carved into her flesh with a scalpel.  The killer, apparently, has never heard of blogging.  Oh wait, that's right, this story is set in 1977.  Well, before the Internet, I guess expressing yourself was more challenging...

Another EIGHT comics briefly discussed after the JUMP! 

The Book Was Better Podcast: Teaser for Episode 25!

It's a 20 minute teaser this time as Jess returns with some very huge news, we finally get a response from one of the authors whose books we've ravaged, and we reveal the batshit insane book that we'll be talking about in next week's show. This is one that must not be missed!

Download it from the official site or subscribe to us on iTunes!

Set phasers to SQUEE!: Avengers gag reel

A copy of the blooper reel from the upcoming Avengers DVD/Blu-ray release has been leaked, and by god we're happy about it. I literally did a spit-take during one of Coulson's parts.

Enjoy it while you can, the first version I saw has already been pulled from YouTube by Disney and I imagine this one won't be too far behind. Luckily, those of us in Australia only have to wait until August 29th until we get to watch Avengers avenging (and fluffing their lines) in glorious high definition.

Nerd History: The Memory Palace

I don't get a ton of time to listen to podcasts, and my favorites tend to be ones that can be consumed in bite-sized chunks. Thus, a great podcast for me is The Memory Palace. Hosted by public radio producer Nate DiMeo, it covers tiny snippets of history - some forgotten, some strange, some heartwarming. It's short enough where I'm able to mainline four or five in a row, and detailed enough to keep you thinking for hours afterward. A few of my favorites are after the jump.

* Far Below Lake Michigan: About a warship sunk in one of the Great Lakes.

* A Brief Eulogy for a Consumer Electronics Product: A quick history of the revolution that was the Sony Walkman.

* OMG!!! JKP!!!: A defense of James K. Polk, former president.

* High Above Lake Michigan: A love letter to the Ferris Wheel.

Two Tiny Pieces of Scarlett Johansson's Black Widow Costume.

My father has a small rock from space. He’s quite fascinated by it. It’s amazing to think of where it’s actually been and take delight in the fact that although none of us will probably ever go into space, we can still hold a little piece of it in our hands.

That’s exactly how I feel about this small piece of Scarlett Johansson’s Black Widow costume...

Join me... after the jump!

Let's Talk About That New World of Warcraft: Mists of Pandaria Cinematic...

The new World of Warcraft expansion, Mists of Pandaria, is bouncing its furry little body into our lives in about a month so, as is customary at this time, Blizzard has released the new fantastically rendered cinematic to get our pulses racing. But this expansion, arguably more so than any other before it, has faced a fair amount of mockery and/or criticism. So this trailer answers the inevitable question... How do you showcase an expansion about pandas while showing the absolute bare minimum of pandas. Observe...

I think it's pretty badass as a short film, and I think that the style is incredible. I know there's been a billion false-starts at making a live action Warcraft feature film, but I don't think many fans would be disappointed if they instead released an animated movie that looked more like this. Horde versus Alliance has never looked better. And when the contentious panda shows up to bamboo everybody's ass I think they've handled the reveal about as well as they could. Plus it has mist in it. (Unlike the beta).

The glaring problem, however, is that it doesn't suggest how this reveal might change the landscape for the players. The previous expansion, Cataclysm, teases a world-wide threat and shows that every aspect of the game will be altered permanently. Everything you think you know is about to change. Conversely, this trailer says... "Well... there are pandas." But we knew that right? What are the long-term ramifications of pandas? I guess we'll find out in September.

What do you make of this? I ask, knowing full well I won't receive an answer.

Review: Batmobile - The Complete History & The Dark Knight Manual

I'm not too proud to admit it. When I got hold of the latest books from Insight Editions featuring our favourite mentally-deranged orphan, I was emitting the sorts of high-pitched noises only dogs can hear. Batmobile: The Complete History puts readers in the driver's seat of the Dark Knight's iconic ride throughout the decades, and The Dark Knight Manual gives you a peek into Bruce Wayne's little book of Bat-secrets.

Head below the cut for a hands on look at these two impressive tomes. Holy Hardcover, Batman!