Big Brother Power Rankings: The Final Three

With the last week of Big Brother generally devoted to evicting two more people in preparation for the final week's three-part Head of Household competition, things generally slow down in the House itself. This season, with an alliance in place and one person being unaware of it, it made for a slow, predictable week.

Thursday Threesome: Three Favourite Musicals!

I have a soft spot for musicals and this Thursday Threesome I thought that I would go through a few of my favourites. This isn’t the land of High-School Musical or Glee, neither of which I have a lot of time for. These musicals have more of a cult following (large as it may be) and have touched many different kinds of people over the years.

Follow me under the cut for more.

DC Comics New 52 - Stryder's Weekly Top 5

For September DC Comics has decided to do something special!  All of our heroes are gone, and instead their arch-nemeses have taken over!  Yes, Villain's Month is here!!  And what better way to kick everything off than with the first of a brand new 7-part miniseries?

All these comics were released on September 4th, 2013, for those keeping track...

Forever Evil #1 (of 7)  - "This World Is Ours!"

In the first issue of what is being touted as a huge game-changing universe-wide event for the New 52, Forever Evil already delivers some massive shocks!  The Justice League is nowhere to be seen...in their place, the Crime Syndicate stands triumphant!  They begin their plans for World Domination by gathering most of the Villains of the DCU together to inform them (along with people everywhere) of the New World Order!  Your heroes are dead!  The World is theirs!  EVIL!

The Crime Syndicate have some proof to back up their outlandish claims too...

Wow what a great first issue!  This miniseries looks like it's going to be a lot of fun, and really shake thing up as well.  I'm hooked!  It's a great way to kick off Villain's Month!

Of course that's not all!  Check out my favourite 4 titles from the first week of Villain's Month after the JUMP!

STGCC13: Play Imaginative

No one would blame you if this is the first you're hearing of Play Imaginative. Six months prior to attending STGCC I had no idea who this Singapore-based toy company was, but now not only do I own some of their wares, I've got multiple items on my 'to-get' wishlist. In a market where Hot Toys and Enterbay are blowing people away with their high quality replicas of movie characters, Play Imaginative have crept up from the rear and are threatening to overtake the big boys.

Join me below the cut to check out some of what they had on show at the Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention.

Books: Check Out Brandon Bird's Astonishing World of Art!

You know and love Brandon Bird, right? The pop artist who gave us such enduring classics as Killing Machine featuring Bea Arthur wrestling some raptors, and the heartbreaking No One Wants to Play Sega with Harrison Ford? Well now he has a new book, an activity book of sorts that gives you plenty of projects for those rainy days indoors. It's called Brandon Bird's Astonishing World of Art, and while I don't have a copy yet, I am absolutely mesmerised by this brilliant trailer that shows it off.

Please trust me when I say you should watch this one. It's hilarious!

 

Now I need to find this thing!

Continuum Seasons 1 & 2 Reviewed!

Those of us who love science fiction television often have to wait a long time between drinks for another show to come along and fill the void that the previous ones, who have either been wrapped up or cancelled, have left behind. Fringe, Eureka and Sanctuary are gone and have left a whopping hole in my science fiction viewing. Enter Continuum; a science fiction drama headed up by Rachel Nichols that's taking an interesting approach to science, terrorism and technology.

The year is 2077 and Kiera Cameron is a new age policewoman called a Protector. She's a mother, a wife and a professional arse-kicker. In 2077 there is no government, everything is controlled by the biggest corporations of the day. Technological advances have made it much easier to monitor and record people for their safety, upgrade them when they require it and as it turns out, bend them to the will of the corporations. When a group known as Liber8 rise up to take power back from the corporations they are branded as terrorists and their war efforts escalate. Many are killed but the lines are blurred as to who or what is truly responsible for these atrocities.

During a planned execution of a group of high-ranking Liber8 members, they use a device to travel back in time and change the past in order to win a war of the future. Kiera, one of the officers overseeing the execution, is sucked into the blast and transported back to the year 2012. She is desperate to stop Liber8 and return home to the world that she loves.

Continuum has been compared positively to Life on Mars, which I recently reviewed here. So if you liked that show and are interested in Continuum, then follow me under the cut for a look at it's first two seasons and what makes it a really solid science fiction show.

Review: Marvel Minimates Deadpools Assemble Convention Exclusive!

One of the rare treasures that Jacinta brought me back from her recent jaunt to STGCC (Singapore Toy Game and Comic Convention) was this exclusive set of Marvel Minimates, previously available at this year’s San Diego Comic Con. Entitled Deadpools Assemble it’s a collection of fourth-wall-breaking, fan-favourite, mercenary Deadpool pretending to be some of Marvel’s heavy hitters. (And Cable).

As Marvel’s wackiest, most irreverent character, Deadpool is easy to write terribly and difficult to execute well. But even when I’m repelled by the material itself, there’s been some pretty solid premises - and I can’t help but but endeared by at least the concept of the character (plus it’s Rob Liefeld’s one great design!). (Okay, he may have been trying to draw Spider-Man at the time). Regardless, everybody loves Deadpool to some degree so why not celebrate him in this bizarre way...

Now I might not get all the references but I can provide you with a comprehensive visual guide and tell you what I enjoyed about this set... after the jump!'

The Book Was Better Podcast Episode 59 : Mortal Kombat! (with guest host Simon Haynes!)

The Book Was Better is the podcast where we inexplicably read the rushed, tie-in novelizations of your favourite and not-so-favourite films!

This week we compete in the deadliest tournament of all as we read the book based on the film based on the video game... Mortal Kombat! I’m joined by staunch opponent Simon as we hurl supernatural projectiles, barbs, and bicycle kicks at each other in the gruesome fight for Mortal Kombat supremacy! Join us for what is surely the literary equivalent of Johnny Cage punch to the nuts! This book was so bad I could barely FINISH HIM!

You can download it right now from the official site!

And be a pal and subscribe to us on iTunes, like us on Facebook, and join the discussion in the Book Was Better Facebook Group!

STGCC13: Singapore Toy, Game & Comic Convention

Well, it took a little while, but we finally got here! Being away from your home computer does seriously cramp your blogging ability. But not to worry! I am home from the wilds of Singapore and ready to deliver to you Part 1 of my STGCC coverage. Wait, Part 1? There's going to be MORE?

Consider this your con overview, while in later posts I will delve deeper into some of the companies who were showcasing their goods over the weekend. You've probably already seen some of the Iron Man stuff, right? No way I was fitting all that in one post!

Join me below the cut for my Asian con adventure.

Kickstart the Week: General Chaos II: Sons of Chaos

I was more of a Nintendo kid growing up than anything else, but my brother decided he wanted a Sega Genesis so he could play Sonic the Hedgehog. I didn't play a ton of Genesis games when it was all said and done, but I did have three favorites: Toe Jam & Earl, NHL 94 (the best entry in the series to this day), and a somewhat bizarre game that I don't think ever got old for me: General Chaos.

General Chaos was basically a simple console starter for your wargame-type experience. You had classes of soldiers and effectively had to take territory and blow up the opposition. It was a deceptively simple game with a lot of moving parts, and my brother and I must have spent a ridiculous amount of time playing this game over the years. I pulled it out again a while back and it largely holds up, too. Total nostalgia trip.

I learned that the creator of General Chaos has turned to Kickstarter to fund a sequel/remake of the classic game. They're planning a bunch of cool stuff, including some new weaponry, updated gameplay, internet battles, more maps and levels (an absolute must at this point) and so on. I'm really hoping to scrap together $20 to help make this a reality, because this is really the game I always wanted to see remade and never realized.

FPcast! The Fruitless Pursuits Podcast for September 9th! Darth Cumberbatch!

This week Luke and Jacinta tackle the Benedict Cumberbatch Star Wars rumours, Fifty Shades of Grey, Transformers 4 and the Robocop reboot! Plus Jacinta gives a full report on Singapore Toy Game, and Comic Convention and fruitlessly attempts to explain Fantasy Football to Luke. Put it in your pretty face! (Via the ears preferably).

Download here! (Click to stream, right-click to save).

And make sure you’re subscribed to us on iTunes where you can also rate and review us! Go on! We love you!

Review: LEGO Minifigures Series 11 (Part One!)

It's that time again! Series 11 of LEGO's insanely popular series of blind-packaged collectible minifigures has hit the shelves. Eager opportunists across the world are furtively squeezing at bags, their highly-attuned digits attempting to discern between an evil mech's helmet and grandmother's basket. Gone are those halcyon days of tell-all barcodes and bump-codes. This is the wilds where we are at the mercy of our senses. And this time around there are a lot of new figures that are worthy of the hunt!...

Apparently some plucky, time-rich individual spent three hours squeezing packets and cleared out a lot of these before me. But I did manage to pick up SEVEN unique figures and I think that's enough to get us started. Find out which ones I got, and what I think of them... after the jump!