Friday, May 31, 2013

20 Best Supernatural Episodes Season 1-5


This weekend in Sydney and Melbourne The Hub Productions hosts the fourth All Hell Breaks Loose Supernatural convention. Having attended the last three and had an absolute blast, I am really sad that I cannot make it over this year. I’m sure there will be plenty of stories about the Supernatural sing-a-long, the show and the six guys that The Hub is bringing over this year.

As far as I'm concerned, Supernatural ended at season 5. It’s never been the same for me and so I have compiled a list for the con-goers this weekend; 20 of my favourite Supernatural episodes from seasons 1 – 5 in season order. Have fun guys!

Join me under the cut for more.

Pre-Order Hot Toys Robocop and ED-209!



Your move, Creep! Hot Toys has delved into the Robocop license before, but that was when they were wee fledgling babbies, not the giants of screen-accurate 1/6th scale sculpting that they've become today! I recently re-watched crazy Paul Verhoeven's ultra-violent/satirical original film and I have to say that it still holds up. As a child of the eighties, I have to admit that I'm mighty tempted by Hot Toys' latest offerings.

His father was a man. His mother was a machine. He is half man. Half machine. All cop. Or something. Check it out!


If that's all you need to see, you can pre-order him here from our good friends at Sideshow: RoboCop - Hot Toys RoboCop MMS Diecast Sixth Scale Figure - Hot Toys

Or join me for far more pictures, a mechanical chair, and ED-209... after the jump!

Thursday, May 30, 2013

The 15 Best Would-Be Companions of New Doctor Who




I've started re-watching some of the New Doctor Who series (the 9th, 10th and 11th Doctors) and man, how many of those one or two episode companions do you just wish would sick around on a full-time basis!? The New!Who run has had some questionable choices for companion, or perhaps  some have been underdeveloped and overstayed their welcome.

The 9th Doctor seemed to promote those worthy to companion during his run, so it looks like it's just 10 and 11 that have the diamonds in the rough.

Under the cut I list some of my favourite one-off and recurring characters that could step into the role of full-time companion and give us all something awesome to remember.

Spoilers up to and including the series 7.

Thursday Threesome: Three Historical Ass-Kickers


This Thursday Threesome has really made me realise that there sure is a difference between being a normal nerd and being the kind of nerd who gleefully researches people who have been dead for a long long time. I was always a bit of a history geek at school, and in particular military history. What better opportunity to dredge up an old love and to educate our dear readers on a couple of almighty ass-kickers from the last few hundred years than our weekly trio post? Join me under the cut to get yourself some learnin'.

Wednesday, May 29, 2013

Book Review: Austin Grossman's You


It's always dangerous to judge a book by its cover, but look at this cover. LOOK AT IT. This cover alone, when this book was announced sometime last year, immediately placed it at the top of my list. Only later did I realize that the author, Austin Grossman, also penned the interesting, but flawed, Now I Will Be Invincible, a love letter to various comic tropes. Grossman takes that love letter concept to the heyday of next generation video games in You.

Tuesday, May 28, 2013

DC Comics New 52 - Stryder's Weekly Top 5

It was tough to decide on just 5 comics this week, but somehow I managed.  The first one was, of course, a no-brainer.  Let's hop right in!


Green Lantern #20  - "In brightest day, in blackest night..."
Geoff Johns' penned the story of Hal Jordan's return, titled Green Lantern: Rebirth, way back in
October of 2004!  Now, almost 9 years and over 100 comic books later, he is finally finishing his multiverse spanning epic!  The giant-sized Green Lantern #20 wraps up not just the "Wrath of the First Lantern" plot, but is also Mr. Johns final issue! 

I'm not going to say a word about this comic except that I thought it was great and encourage everyone to pick it up, even with the $7.99 cover price.  It's the end of a huge, amazing tale and well worth every penny.  After reading this final issue, I'm more of a Green Lantern and Geoff Johns fan than ever before...it actually made me want to go out and pick up all the trade paperbacks and read the whole story over again from beginning to end!  Like a kid at the end of a fun ride, I smile and exclaim "Lets do it AGAIN!"  Great comic!

Of course there's another 4 (regular-sized) comics too...after the JUMP!

The Book Was Better Podcast Episode 44: Ghostbusters II (with guest host Courtney Coulson!)



The Book Was Better is the (now weekly) podcast where we decimate the often terrible and hastily written book of the film!

Who you gonna call? Young pop culture aficionado (and fellow Fruitless Pursuits contributor) Courtney Coulson, that's who! My guest host strapped on the ol' proton pack and we snared Ed Naha's spooky novelization of the not-so-popular Ghostbusters II! I hear it likes the girls!

You can download it from the official site, or why not subscribe to us on iTunes? 

And here's Courtney in her costume! You can see more of this in our video teaser.

I ain't afraid of no guest host!

Peter Molyneux's Curiosity Cube: We Now Know the Prize, but was it Meaningful?

After many, many months of mystery, intrigue, and mindless tapping, perpetually enthusiastic game designer, Peter Molyneux's, Curiosity cube was finally opened, gifting one lucky participant the top-secret prize at its center. Molyneux, infamous for his big ideas, passion and hyperbole (on more than one occasion leading to disappointment due to unmet expectations) promised that the prize inside would be both life-changing and meaningful for that one lucky individual. Now we know what it is, my question is: “Was it?”


If you’re completely lost at this stage, don’t worry. I’ll give you the rundown of what Curiosity was, plus the nature of its prize, and its ramifications... after the jump!

Monday, May 27, 2013

El Professore Movie Reviews: Righting Wrongs (aka Above the Law)


1986
Director: Coey Yuen
Starring: Yuen Biao, Cynthia Rothrock, Melvin Wong
* * * 1/2
Before lensing the international hit 'The Transporter', director and master fight choreographer Corey Yuen Kwai was responsible for two of the top action films of the '80s, both co-starring Pennsylvania-born action actress, Cynthia Rothrock. The first was the groundbreaking 'Girls With Guns' smackdown, 'Yes Madam (which marked the lead debut of one Michelle Yeoh - then known as Michelle Khan). The second was the blackhearted, 'Righting Wrongs'.

Full review after the break.

Courtney Coulson's Costume Critiques- Technology and Textiles Part 2: Tron Legacy


The game has changed and it is beautiful, Tron Legacy may just have some of the most innovative costumes of all time. Michael Wilkinson is one of my favourite modern costume designers, his work is distinctive and memorable. He has worked on many blockbuster films, from Moulin Rougue and Romeo+Juliet to 300, Watchmen, Sucker Punch and the upcoming Man of Steel. Just from those titles alone it's clear that his directors love to work with him over and over again.

Almost 30 years have passed since the first Tron film, Kevin Flynn has transported the Grid from Encom servers to his own private ones, rebuilding it from the ground up as a much friendlier place for programs to live. I feel they convey this evolution is a believable way, this is still recognisable as the Grid, but it has become more realistic just as video games have. There is even simulated weather and more naturalistic water, textures and colours, this presents greater freedoms for the design department.

Remember what I was saying in my previous article about the costumes in the first film being very uniform and colour coded? That still exists here to a degree, but now programs have some sense of individuality, which is far more interesting to analyse, meaning a much longer review, strap yourselves in!

Sunday, May 26, 2013

Neverwhere The Graphic Novel Review


In Melbourne a few months ago I was rummaging around in a comic book store and found a graphic novel adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s book Neverwhere, which I had always intended to read. The adaptation is written by Mike Carey and beautifully illustrated by Glenn Fabry. It’s a fantastic story and the adaptation to the graphic novel form is awesome. I’d suggest that picking up the mini-series, book, this graphic novel or hanging out for the new BBC radio series is a very good idea. My review is about the graphic novel though, so follow me under the jump for the story of Richard Mayhew and a mysterious girl called Door.