The Great Geek Manual

Movie: “Batman: Gotham Knight”

Tagline: “Get Ready….To Rage Against Evil”
Rating: PG-13 for stylized violence
Release: July 8 (Blu-Ray & DVD)
Running Time: 1 hr 15 min
Starring: Kevin Conroy, Gary Dourdan, David McCallum, Parminder Nagra, Ana Ortiz … IMDB listing

Verdict:
This collection of six short films breaths fresh life into the DC Animated Universe. Animatrix fans are certain to love it. Boys of all ages will love it. Even hardcore Batman nitpickers are certain to enjoy this fresh perspective on the franchise, so long as they approaching it expecting style rather than substance.
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The long awaited, much promoted The Dark Knight (PG-13) opens this Friday. It’s widely expected to be the single most spectacular film of the summer – probably the year. For the kiddies, Space Chimps is also opening, though whether or not anyone will notice with Batman in theaters is anyone’s bet.

New Films
• The Bank Job (R)
• Shutter (PG-13)

Television

• Eureka: Season Two
• Swamp Thing: The Series, Vol. 2 (TV G )

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Animation

• Batman: Gotham Knight (PG-13)
• Batman: The Complete Fifth Season (NR)
• Welcome to the NHK, Vol. 5: 5nd Conspiracy (TVMA)
• Yu Yu Hakusho 1-26 (TVPG)

Films

The following films open Friday July 11, 2008:
• Hellboy II: The Golden Army (PG-13)
  Ron Perlman, Selma Blair, Doug Jones
  When the mythical world rebels against humanity to seize control of the Earth, Hellboy and his team must once again save the world.
• Journey to the Center of the Earth (PG)
  Brendan Fraser, Josh Hutcherson, Anita Briem
  On a journey to find his missing brother, a scientist, his nephew, and their guide discover a fantastic world hidden in the center of the Earth.
• Meet Dave (PG)
  Eddie Murphy and Elizabeth Banks
  A crew of minuscule aliens exploring Earth in a human-form spacecraft on a mission to save their planet, encounter difficulties when their ship falls for an Earth woman.

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Movie: “Hancock”

Tagline: “Meet the superhero everybody loves to hate.”
Rating: PG-13
Release: July 2, 2008
Running Time: 1 hr 32 mins
Starring: Will Smith, Charlize Theron, Jason Bateman, and Eddie Marsan… IMDB listing

Verdict: Hancock is neither the comedy it is marketed as, nor the drama it attempts to be half way through. Rather, it’s a mixed-up disappointed made all the worse for actually containing two surprisingly imaginative concepts that convincing hook audiences before leading them nowhere.

Pirate it or wait for it to hit television so that you don’t feel like a boob for wasting money on tickets.

The first trailer for the sci-fi film Jumper has finally been released! I’ve been looking forward to seeing this film since the book it is based on was reviewed on The Dragon Page, one of my favorite podcasts. I read the book, and it was pretty good, though it looks as if the movie will, as with most Hollywood productions, be nothing like its progenitor. The book tells the story of a boy, Davey, who escape an abusive father by spontaneous developing a super-power – the ability to teleport instantly anywhere. Most of the book is occupied by Davey’s exploration of the extent and rules of his ability, but the movie seems far more action-packed.

The movie is is directed by Doug Liman (Go, The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith) and it stars Samuel Jackson, in his first appearance since Snakes on a Plane. If the trailer is any true indicator, it is seriously going to rock!

Visit the movie’s official website to watch the trailer.

Movie: “Resident Evil: Extinction”

Tagline:
“Experimentation…Evolution…Extinction”
“All Bets Are Off”
Rating: R for strong horror violence
Release: September 21
Running Time: 1 hr 35 min
Starring: Milla Jovovich, Ali Larter, Oded Fehr, Mike Epps, Iain Glen, Ashanti Douglas, Chris Egan, and Spencer Locke… IMDB listing

Verdict: It’s everything that’s wrong with Hollywood, but, God help me, the only way I could love the ninety minute killing sprees that are the Resident Evil franchise more is if they somehow managed to remove the five minutes of plot that interrupt all the noise. I won’t buy the DVD, but I enjoy seeing it on the big screen and I will most likely spend untold hours vegging out in front of the television watching it when it hits cable.

Synopsis:
Years after the events of the previous movie, Resident Evil: Apocalypse, which chronicles the destruction of Raccoon City, Alice wanders the deserts that are all that is left of the world’s ecosystems. After a complete non sequitur in which she must kill the obligatory back wood family that inevitably crop up during the course of apocalypses, Alice is force to rejoin her fellow Raccoon survivors Carlos Olivera and L.J. on a convoy in desperate need of fuel. Determined to travel to Alaska, the convoy decides that the only way to secure enough fuel is by finding a gas station in a Las Vega that has nearly been lost to the sands of a shifting dessert. When one of the few remaining scientists of the Umbrella Corporation decides to intervene in order to capture Alice, the real action begins.
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Movie: “Superman: Doomsday”

Tagline: “Where were you the day Superman died?”
Rating: PG-13
Release: September 18 (DVD)
Running Time: 1 hr 15 min
Starring: Adam Baldwin, Anne Heche, James Marsters … IMDB listing

Verdict: If you’re over the age twelve or an actual comic fan, you’ll want to take a pass on this direct-to-video disappointment.

Synopsis:
While constructing a covert subterranean power station, Lexcorp unearths a mysterious extraterrestrial artifact from which Doomsday emerges with the smallest of provocations. In an all too short battle sequence, Superman engages the creature, which he finishes off with a super orbital body-slam that levels a city block and leaves both combatants dead. As the world mourns their fallen hero, humanity realizes it will never feel truly safe again. As Lois Lane struggles to come to grips with Superman’s death, the city’s criminals run amok in a crime wave of unprecedented proportions. Just when Lois Lane teeters on the brink of death, though, Superman returns to save the day. But before long, serious doubts arise as to the authenticity of the city’s resurrected hero.
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To commemorate the 30th Anniversary of the theatrical release of Star Wars, the guys over at Geeks of Doom compiled a list of the film’s thirty most memorable quotes. All in all, I think it’s a good list, though, of course, R2-D2 and the Jawas got a few zinger in, but I suppose the list is only of English quotes and I think the translation of the Jawa “Pucinni!” probably translates into something indecent. And no, the omission of “Luke, I am your Father” isn’t a mistake, it’s just not from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope.

30. “This will be a day long remembered. It has seen the end of Kenobi, and will soon see the end of the rebellion.”

29. “What a piece of junk!”

28. “Don’t call me a mindless philosopher, you overweight glob of grease.”

27. “I’m Luke Skywalker, I’m here to rescue you.”

26. “Watch your mouth kid, or you’ll find yourself floating home.”

25. “Evacuate in our moment of triumph? I think you overestimate their chances.”
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