Sucker Punch

Zack Snyder (director of the Dawn of the Dead reboot, 300, and Watchmen) co-wrote and is directing Sucker Punch, due to hit the theaters in March, 2011.  Here is the synopsis according to Snyder (from the Wikipedia entry):

Set in the 1950s, it tells the story of Baby Doll (Browning), who is trying to hide from the pain caused by her evil stepfather and lobotomy. She ends up in mental institution in Brattleboro, Vermont, and while there she starts to imagine an alternate reality. She plans to escape from that imaginary world but to do that she needs to steal five objects before she is captured by an unknown adversary. She has 5 days to escape before being lobotomized. In order to cope with the situation, she enters the hyper-real world of her imagination, and the lines between reality and dream begin to blur. She is joined with friends who are inmates from the institution. Lessons learned in the said fantasy world could help the girls escape their real-world fate.

Check out the official trailer below.



This looks absolutely amazing.

I think I need a change of pants.

Do and Don't Guide to Babies

Click to Embiggen!

Anyone Else Hate The Halloween Snickers Ad?

This just creeps me the eff out.  And it doesn't help that the visage reminds me of Jocelyn Wildenstein!

GAH!

Antique/Steampunk R2 Unit

Created by amoebabloke from Deviant Art

Warning: Teachers Know How To Use Yahoo Answers

Full Throttle Douche Bottle

Drunk Guy Taunts Cop With Pink Dildo

I assume this takes place somewhere in Germany as the officer has "Polizei" written on the back of his jacket (that and he has a kickass looking bike for a ride). Why the obviously inebriated guy is packing a pink dildo/vibrator and a tiny pair of panties is beyond me but it sure makes for awesome video.

Battlefield: Vietnam (Starring Public Enemy)

The Best Battlefield 1942 Kills EVER

Okay, I don't know about "ever" but these have to be up there as some of the best killshots in all of Battlefield history. The following two clips are similar in that the players each leap out of their planes to perform a seemingly miraculous killshot... and then return to their planes. In mid-air. Absolutely incredible.





I miss this game.

Beauty and the Beast - Thai Version

The Thai title literally translates to "Beautiful Girl With Curse Devil" which, I admit, is awesome. But that character design. Holy shit! To people who can't animate for shit: please, PLEASE leave character design up to the animators at Disney and the CG masters at Pixar. Because... well... you can't. The sad thing is that this is a shot for shot copy of the Disney film. Is that even legal?

Here's a Thai version of Snow White from the same demon possessed mother fuckers who animated "Beautiful Girl With Curse Devil."



See what I mean about character design? Those dwarves?
Yeah.
100% good old fashioned nightmare fuel.

TreT the Parkour Dog

Steampunk Iron Man

To go along with the previous Steampunk pics, check out this dude's Steampunk Iron Man costume.  Dude looks badass!

Photo was taken at the 2010 New York Comic Con.

Alternative Buzz Lightyear and Woody

I wish I knew the artist - I'd love to give credit where it's due.

Compare and Contrast

What's interesting to me is that I've always heard Lucas intended the Battle of Endor to be an allegory for the Vietnam conflict: a technologically superior invasion force repelled by natives employing guerrilla tactics.

Banksy Does Simpsons Intro

I love Banksy.  No one quite does satire that hits it home for me as well and as hard as he does with his street art.  I wish I knew how the hell the Simpsons producers were able snag his talent for one of the current season's intros.

Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine Project

Babbage's Difference Engine

Okay, so I think the subject of Steampunk is pretty damned cool.  Maybe that's why I think the folks over at Plan 28 have a really nifty, albeit expensive, idea that they want to take off the ground: to build Charles Babbage's Analytical Engine.  Wait a sec... let me clear something up.  Steampunk cosplaying?  Not so cool.  As a matter of fact, it's downright silly.  Well, unless you're a hot/sexy Steampunk cosplayer like this:

But, that's really more the exception than the rule.  Right?

Uh... what was I talking about again?  Oh, right.  This:

Fable III Prostitutes

People seemed to either love or hate Fable II.  G4's X-Play named it their 2008 Game of the Year but countless complaints still abound on the internets about how terribly far from Peter Molyneux's original vision for the game it ultimately fell.  I loved it and played the crap out of it.  The combat was simple on the surface and just barely complex enough to keep things interesting with a pleasant mix of melee weapons, guns, and magic all in one, naturally feeling flow.  I liked how I really felt like I could control my character's future any way I wanted - marry whoever I wanted, have as many or as few kids as I wanted, kill anyone I wanted if I chose to be evil, etc.  Sure, I had a few complaints (namely, the final battle) but ultimately I had fun.  And a shit ton of it (yes, that is a valid unit of measure; one shit ton is about a fuckload of regular tons).  Anyway, Fable III is due out October 26th.  Not sure I'll be getting it at release (probably not) but pictures like the one above remind me of the humorous and lightweight tone the game series has that I miss.

Halloween Means It's Time For Sexy... Chewbacca?

Ahhh, I love Halloween.  It's the one day of the year that always manages to bring out the slut in your average, everyday girl (check out this linkage for what I'm talking about, Willis).  Now, I'm not advertising for the following website, just letting you know that these guys have just about every possible slutty costume under the sun.  No need to just wait for Halloween to buy your girlfriend that sexy Chewbacca costume you've always wanted her to wear.  Yeah, that's right you perverted deviant.  We know you've always wanted to dress as Han and biblically get to know that Wookie over a holo-chess board.  RAWWWR!  "Laugh it up, fuzzball" indeed.

X-Men Arcade Coming to PSN and XBLA!

I don't know if you caught that in the headline, but THE ABSOLUTELY KICKASS X-MEN ARCADE GAME IS COMING TO THE PLAYSTATION NETWORK AND XBOX LIVE!!! And here's the kickassiest part of it all - it's going to "feature drop-in online multiplayer supporting up to six players." I've got one word for this news: Holy Shit!  No release date has been set, unfortunately.  A tiny bit more news, some chatter, and a video at Kotaku.  Can't wait for this.  I used to love hearing the machine bellow "COLOSSUS!" when I'd join.

MegaMan 8-Bit FPS Deathmatch

More retro games need this exact treatment, IMHO.  The geniuses over at Cutstuff have just released a Doom mod/TC based on MegaMan characters, levels, and music.  This has awesome written all over it.  Check out the following video for a sample of the weapons:

Zombie Modes in Other Games

Seems like "Zombie Modes" are all the rage these days.  Call of Duty: World At War had it.  Now they've announced that Call of Duty: Black Ops will have it as well.  Borderlands had the add-on, Zombie Island of Doctor Ned.  Hell, even "Grand Theft Prairie Wagon" (Red Dead Redemption) just released some DLC for a zombie mode.  Not that I'm complaining.  Nothing gets me going like a good, old fashioned zombie head blastin' game.  One of the recent Kotaku 'Shop Contests was to come up with zombie modes for other games.  Check out the gallery here.

US Army Tests IRL PipBoys

If you haven't checked it out yet, I had a quick article back in September you can see right over here.

Check out today's Kotaku article.  It's not the same item.  It's definitely a bit different but this one seems a tad more streamlined.  Some day I'll have to get all the specs on both and make a good comparison.

It's That Time of Year Again!

I can't embed this one, but definitely check it out:

Girls's [sic] Costume Warehouse

"Sexy 1900 steel conglomerate tycoon."


 

Guild Wars Hall of Monuments Calculator

When the Guild Wars Eye of the North expansion came out, they said that anything we put into the Hall of Monuments would have some sort of bearing on the sequel.  I'm still not completely sure what that means, but they've just unleashed the Guild Wars Hall of Monuments Calculator.  A snippet from the site:

The rewards that your Guild Wars 2 characters earn are exclusive to the Hall of Monuments and can't be picked up or earned anywhere else. Depending on your Guild Wars characters' history, you can unlock:

• Special Hall of Monuments titles
• Animal companions for your ranger, like the Black Widow Spider and Rainbow Jellyfish
• Miniatures such as the Red Servitor Golem or Orange Tabby Cat, that any profession can use
• A wide selection of weapons, like the Living Shortbow and the Fellblade
• Armor pieces for your light, medium, and heavy armor sets

Your new Guild Wars 2 characters will be able to use these low-level items and armor right away, and we'll provide you with the means to use these special items as you advance to higher levels.

Online Communities 2010

Click to Embiggen!
Taken from the very awesome online comic, xkcd.

Don't Let Me Die In Vain

Avenge me, Narwhal!

Katy Perry on SNL

In case you missed it, Katy Perry had a guest spot on Sesame Street and sang "Hot n Cold" with Elmo.  The segment received a shit storm of criticism from concerned parents that it was simply too sexy for a kids' show.  As a father, part of me agrees.  As a straight, male there is another part of me that wants to see more.  To make light of the criticism, Perry was part of a sketch on a very recent SNL in which she... well... click the pic above for the animated version.

I'm not particularly fond of her music, but she's a helluva looker.  I love her sexy but nerdy style that I also see in Zoey Deschanel.  Anyway, more videos below.

Here's her stint on Sesame Street:



And her sketch on SNL:



And Katy Perry dressed as a schoolgirl during one of her musical performances from the same SNL:

My New Cell Phone

Zack Morris would be proud

Star Wars in 3D

<sigh> I really don't like this 3D movie trend we're experiencing - especially for movies that haven't been directed with 3D in mind.  Avatar worked because Cameron directed and shot various sequences knowing that it would be seen in 3D.  Clash of the Titans didn't work because it was not shot in the same manner - the 3D was applied very much after the fact.  This latter case is becoming all too common.  And now it's being applied to "the Holy Trilogy" (and the "Un-Holy Trilogy").  All six Star Wars movies are getting the 3D treatment starting with Episode I: The Phantom Menace in 2012.  I know the Star Wars franchise is a huge money maker for Lucasfilm but this just seems, I don't know, too obvious an attempt at milking his cash cow bone dry.

There are definitely some scenes that have some awesome potential for 3D.  Consider the following from each movie:
- the podrace in Episode I
- the Battle of Geonosis in Episode II
- the massive space battle over Coruscant at the beginning of Episode III
- the Death Star trench run in Episode IV
- the Battle of Hoth in Episode V
- the speeder bike scenes and Death Star assault from Episode VI

Here's an idea: instead of re-releasing the movies so that we can watch Han kiss Leia or Anakin's terrible CG balancing act on those fat, cow things on Naboo, neither of which would benefit from 3D, how about releasing a special feature that is JUST those scenes I mentioned above.  Maybe throw in an occasional quick cut to showcase the Stormtrooper's stun rings when he shoots Leia in Episode IV or the A-Wing crashing into the Star Destroyer bridge in Episode VI, but more or less just make a one to two hour montage of the coolest scenes from all six movies in 3D and leave it at that.

Just my two cents.

Crazy Optical Illusion

You've got to check out this optical illusion. Focus on the white and black ball and see that it moves across the screen in a vertical manner. Focus on the blue ball to the right and it appears the white and black ball will move diagonally across the screen. Quite awesome. You can change some of the parameters of the illusion for fun too (controls on the bottom).

Homeless Man Under Pressure

Absolutely brilliant and touching.

Midnight Riders Video Contest Winners

There was an official contest to make a video for the Midnight Riders song "Save Me Some Sugar (This Won't Take Long)" and they ended up selecting two winners. Check 'em out below.

SLAYER RULES... Uh... Wait a Sec... On Second Thought....

Literal Resident Evil: Afterlife Trailer

Pretty funny stuff. The other videos in the "literal" series are just as good, if not better.

A Game of Thrones Coming 2011 to HBO

Been waiting a long time for this one: HBO's adaptation of George R. R. Martin's first book in his A Song of Ice and Fire series, A Game of Thrones. It's premiering sometime in 2011.

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead series premiers on Halloween night on AMC - not sure how they snagged the show and I'm surprised that HBO didn't. The comic is absolutely incredible. Check out this 4+ minute trailer.

Francis Hates Everything

I hate stairs.

Taco Town

One of the best SNL commercials ever IMHO.

For Your Health & Brule's Rules

Dr. Steven Brule's For Your Health series and the always awesome Brule's Rules. 

Dude's 3rd Year Animation Project

This is a 3rd year project of Mike Rianda's, a student at California Institute of the Arts.  Some great stuff here.

Bill + "ninjah sword" = AWESOME

Via the official Left 4 Dead blog:  

"The Sacrifice” is the prequel to "The Passing," and takes place from the Left 4 Dead Survivors' perspective as they make their way South. You may read the comic to find out the official version of events or this October 5th you may play the game to choose your own ending.

In "The Sacrifice" for Left 4 Dead, gamers receive the complete Sacrifice campaign with maps playable in Campaign, Versus, and Survival. There are 5 new achievements, a new style finale and plenty of places for devastating Hunter pounces.

For Left 4 Dead 2, gamers receive “The Sacrifice” campaign and L4D1’s “No Mercy” both playable with the L4D1 Survivors. This version also offers 5 new achievements. In the L4D2 version of “The Sacrifice” each campaign is playable in Campaign, Versus, Survival, and Scavenge modes, and both "The Sacrifice" and L4D2 version of No Mercy feature the Left 4 Dead 2 Special Infected, items, and weapons. Yes, Zoey with a chainsaw!

"The Sacrifice" will be available as two separate packages on Xbox Live for 560 Microsoft Points each and free to all PC gamers.

Check out the incredibly awesome trailer for it below.



And other cool info (from the above video's description): With the AI Director 2.0, L4D's dynamic gameplay is taken to the next level by giving the Director the ability to procedurally change weather effects, world objects, and pathways in addition to tailoring the enemy population, effects, and sounds to match the players' performance. The result is a unique game session custom fitted to provide a satisfying and uniquely challenging experience each time the game is played. Adding new Survivors, boss zombies, weapons, and items, Left 4 Dead 2 offers a much larger game than the original, featuring more co-operative campaigns, more Versus campaigns, new Survival maps, and the new competitive game mode, Scavenge, all available at launch.

After reading all that and watching the trailer, I just popped a boner.

Guild Wars 2 Designer Talks About Loot, Gear and Playing Dress Up

John Hargrove, one of the main designers for Guild Wars 2, explains how the loot system, rewards, and character customization based on said loot will work.  Really juicy stuff in there with some nice pics.  Definitely give it a looksee right here.