[IGH] at the Movies: Godzilla

By BatHobbit

CONTAINS MAJOR SPOILERS! 

DO NOT READ UNTIL AFTER VIEWING THE MOVIE. THEN COME BACK TO DISCUSS.

You know what was a great Godzilla movie?

Pacific Rim.

You know what wasn't a great Godzilla movie?

Godzilla.

No, I'm not referring to the 1998 film, though that one was pretty awful. I'm talking about the 2014 film that all the ads portray as a "serious take" on the King of Monsters.

If you've seen the trailers and the television ads, you've gotten a sense that the new Godzilla movie is a disaster film, with the titular beast as the force of nature sending the human character scattering to recover. Footage of decimated cities and ravaged tropical landscapes is intercut with Bryan Cranston shouting that it's not a natural disaster and that the public is being lied to. It looks like a pretty gripping epic, but it's not the movie that you'll see if you head to the theater.

First Glimpse of Batman: Assault on Arkham

Who doesn't rave about the Batman: Arkham games?!  Now we can enjoy that world even more with the announcement of Warner Bros. Animations new's release, Batman: Assault on Arkham!  As per Warner Bros. press release:

Gotham is in great danger when the government assembles a 

group of villains — code named the Suicide Squad — and forces 

them to break into Arkham Asylum to retrieve top secret 

information stolen by the Riddler.  Things take a turn for the 

worse when one of the Squad members (Harley Quinn) frees the 

Joker, who is intent on blowing up Arkham Asylum and 

Gotham City.  Batman must use his super hero wits and strength

 to thwart the wicked plans of the Joker and the Suicide Squad. 

This sounds great!  The film will be released on August 12, 2014 on BluRay, DVD and Digital Download.  If you can't wait, watch the trailer below.

[IGH] at the Movies: Son of Batman

Out this week is DC Animation's Son Of Batman.  You can check out a clip and here is the official description:

Batman learns he has a son, Damian – and to further complicate matters, the mother is Talia al Ghul, daughter of one of his most dreaded enemies, Ra’s Al Ghul. When the odds quickly turn against Batman and Damian, Batman must become both father and mentor to the aggressive, agile new Robin. Together they form an uneasy alliance to try and thwart the criminal enterprise of Deathstroke and his army of ninja man-bats before there are international consequences.  

Check below the break to see a sorta spoilery review!

May the Fourth Be With You!

Happy May the 4th be with You!!!! Break out your stormtrooper gear and your lightsabers to show the world how much you love Star Wars!!!

In case you want or need a refresher on the original trilogy, check out this awesome Lego recap!

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Happy Easter from [IGH]!

Everyone at [insertgeekhere] wishes all who celebrate 
a very Happy Easter!!

If you don't observe Easter, we wish you a wonderful Spring!

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Review: Unmasked Vol. 1

We've all read superhero stories, and we all know the basics of how they go.  But what really makes up a superhero?  Is it just saying it or is there a specific moral code that needs to be there?  Unmasked Vol 1 delves into this question, looking at what makes a superhero.

Unmasked was created and written by Michael Sarrao, with art by John Broglia and published through Kickstarter.

First Glimpse of Son of Batman

No question about it, Warner Bros. animation has been putting out some ah-may-zing DC films lately.  Next up is Son of Batman, which introduces Damian Wayne to his crime-fighting father and a life without the league of assassins.

Check out this clip!

It's Tolkien Reading Day!

This is an annual event dedicated to reading Tolkien's works.  Fans and The Tolkien Society developed it in 2003 but to be honest, this is the first I've heard of it.  Fun side note: they chose this day because it also marks the Fall of Sauron.

He likes reading too!

This is a great time to encourage new readers to explore Middle Earth. Take a moment to sit down and read a bit of The Hobbit to get ready for the final film or sit down and give The Silmarillion another shot.  You might get it finished before next year.

To get in the mood, listen to the man himself read to you!

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It's PI DAY!!!!

Not the baked kind, but math! March 14rh, aka 3.14, is the beginning of PI.  So make sure you celebrate our favorite mathematical constant with a pastry of some sort.  ;)

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We went to Toy Fair and all you got is this Awesome Giveaway!

That's right!  It's giveaway time!  We scoured the con floor at Toy Fair 2014, grabbing what we could to share with you, our loyal readers.  So here we go!  We will have three lucky winners this time around!

First up, we have TWO Boxes O'Toys!  These include a mishmash of fun things we grabbed from the floor.  Some of the things in one of these two boxes can be seen here!  Big high five to ThinkGeek for sharing a bunch of stuff from their booth!  Now, look at all of that!  Ooooooh!

This was the giveaway I realized I had a picture chair.
This makes me awesome in some fashion.

Some of you might be wondering, what about when you said THREE winners but you only mentioned TWO prizes?  Yeah about that.  During our wandering through the con floor, looking for small but awesome giveaway items, our friends at A Crowded Coop said uh-uh.  They weren't gonna give us a small thing, they wanted to fill a bag of awesome stuff for one lucky person!  That's right, one of you gets to win the A Crowded Coop Bag of Awesome!  A huge, big thanks to A Crowded Coop for being so awesome!  Go check them out right now.  Seriously.  And also look at the picture below to check out what's in the bag!

Thanks A Crowded Coop!!!

So now you've got to enter.  RIGHT NOW!!!  Contest ends at midnight on March 6th so get moving!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

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Toy Fair '14: Loot Crate Review

While at Toy Fair last week, we got a chance to meet and greet with the guys behind Loot Crate.  In case you don't know about Loot Crate, they are a monthly loot service.  Each month, you get a themed crate (box) of goodies, all perfectly suited for any geek.  These crates have ranged in theme, from animation to zombies to gaming.

With the help of The Fight Nerd over at Nerdvolution, we took the opportunity to film our unboxing in the Javitz Center cafeteria!  Enjoy the lovely scenery as we take a peek into the January Loot Crate.

As you can tell, we really loved that crate. It held something for each of us. So, now that we've peeked your interest, go check out Loot Crate!


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Happy Valentine's Day from [IGH]

Everyone at [insertgeekhere] wishes all who celebrate a very Happy Valentine's Day!!

If you don't observe Valentine's, we wish you a wonderful Discount Candy Day tomorrow. ;)

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[IGH] At the Movies: The Lego Movie

Last weekend, Wysefyre and I got the chance to see the most anticipated movie of February, The Lego Movie!!  It's out in theaters on February 7th but I was just dying to share my thoughts about why you need to see this movie.

The story follows regular ol' minifig Emmett, who accidentally gets caught up in a prophecy to stop the evil Lord Business in his plot to destroy the universe! Along his journey, he meets a fun cast of new and old characters who help or hurt him in his quest.

Review: Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #1

Courtesy of Dark Horse Comics

If you don't already know, I'm a huge Browncoat.  Yeah, super big.  Like throwing a whole party around the Firefly game.  On New Years Eve.  I turned the year playing the Firefly game while ignoring the clock.  So I was a wee bit excited for the release of Serenity: Leaves on the Wind #1 from Dark Horse Comics.  With the team of writer Zack Whedon, penciller Georges Jeanty, inker Karl Story and colorist Laura Martin, this series continues the story of our favorite Firefly crew nine months after the events of the movie Serenity.

My Geeky Resolutions for 2014

With 2014 upon us, everyone is making the same old, hard to achieve resolutions. And yes, there a bunch of those damn gym commercials happening everywhere. Still, I admit there are some things it want to do. So here is my list of Geeky resolutions.

Happy 2014 from [IGH]!

Everyone at [insertgeekhere] wishes you an amazing 2014!   We have so much to look forward to in the upcoming year!!!

Such as:

- Lots of fun Cons!

- At least four comic events in DC and Marvel

- Final season of True Blood

- Captain America 2

- Mourning of cancelled tv shows

- Firefly comic mini series!!!

- Excitement about new TV shows

- Guardians of the Galaxy

- 75th Anniversary of Batman

- Mockingjay Part 1

- A ton of complaining about Michael Bay

And so much more I am totally forgetting!! What geeky thing are you super excited for?!

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Alfred Pennyworth - The Collectible of My Dreams

I have a toy addiction. I love them. I love them so much they're almost like a drug to me. However, since I can't afford my addiction, I like to torture myself at the end of each year, and look at all the great toys that I can't get... At least, not yet.

I never knew how much I wanted to stare at Sir Michael Caine until now

Today, I found one that made me start to feel that itch, you know, that itch that crawls over your skin and works its way into your brain and screams, "YOU MUST OWN ME!!!" I found the Hot Toys Alfred Pennyworth.


Hot Toys is known for its superior work, but something about the Alfred Pennyworth speaks to me. Maybe it's because I'm such a fan of Sir Michael Caine's work or maybe I just enjoy good craftsmanship, but dang, I want this! Look at it. It's beautiful!

I'm going to stop gushing over this and give you the details on this.

PRODUCT DETAILS

License

DC Comics

Scale

Sixth Scale Figure

Manufacturer

Hot Toys

Product Size

14.5" H (368.3mm)*

Tabletop View »

Dimensional Weight

12 lbs*

Int'l Dim. Weight

16 lbs*

Size and weight are approximate values. Learn more »

Artists:

• Head Sculpted by Im Jung Hyuk & Yu Mi Kim
• Head Painted by JC. Hong
• Head Art Directed by Yulli
• Costume Designed by Hai Lim

Alfred comes with the Batman Armory, which looks pretty great. The set comes with a ton of extras. I really just want Alfred, but I have to admit, it would be so much fun to have the Armory too. It comes with Batarangs! 

WHAT'S IN THE BOX?

The 1/6th scale Batman Armory Collectible features:

• Authentically detailed 1/6th scale Batman Armory in The Dark Knight
• Approximately 37 cm tall
• Movable armory doors
• Movable armory shelves
• Light-up function on armory ceiling with remote control

The 1/6th scale Batman Collectible Figure features:

• One (1) Batman head with patented Parallel Eyeball Rolling System (PERS) and four (4) interchangeable lower part of faces capturing his classic facial expressions
• One (1) complex Batman body featuring fabric material covered with armor

Costume:

• One (1) Batsuit collar
• One (1) black cape
• One (1) pair of black boots 

Six (6) pieces of interchangeable gloved palms including:

• One (1) pair of fists
• One (1) pair of relaxed palms
• One (1) left open palm
• One (1) right palm for holding batarang

Weapons:

• One (1) surudoi saw
• One (1) nunchuck
• One (1) cutter
• Two (2) smoke bombs
• Three (3) sticky-bomb guns
• Three (3) grappling guns
• Three (3) Batarangs for attaching to utility belt
• Four (4) mini mines
• Six (6) ninja spikes
• Eight (8) Batarangs

Accessories:

• One (1) set of wire
• One (1) antidote injector
• One (1) drill
• One (1) set of drill bits
• One (1) big hook
• Two (2) holders for Batarangs attachable to utility belt
• Three (3) utility belts
• Three (3) gun holders
• Three (3) holders attachable to utility belt
• Four (4) hooks
• Five (5) sets of grappling gun clips
• Fourteen (14) mini canisters
• Fifteen (15) pouches
• Twenty seven (27) rounds of ammo
• Armory stand with the movie logo

The 1/6th scale Alfred Pennyworth Collectible Figure features:

• Authentic and detailed fully realized likeness of Sir Michael Caine as Alfred Pennyworth in The Dark Knight
• Movie-accurate facial features with detailed wrinkles and skin texture
• Approximately 30 cm tall
• Body with over 30 points of articulations 

Seven (7) pieces of interchangeable palms including: 

• One (1) pair of fists
• One (1) pair of relaxed palms
• One (1) pair of holding palms
• One (1) right palm for holding batarang
• Each piece of head sculpt is specially hand-painted 

Costume:

• One (1) white shirt
• One (1) red tie
• One (1) black vest
• One (1) black blazer
• One (1) black coat
• One (1) pair of black pants
• One (1) pair of black shoes 

Accessories:

• Figure stand with Alfred Pennyworth nameplate and the movie logo

All product information was obtained at Sideshow Collectibles.

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Merry X-Mas from [IGH]!

Everyone at [insertgeekhere] wishes all who celebrate 

a very Merry X-Mas!!  

(Get it? X-Mas!)

If you don't observe Christmas, we wish you a wonderful day and happy end of 2013!

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Review: The Steamworld Chronicles #1

By Reboot

Today I'm reviewing the successfully Kickstarter funded comic The Steamworld Chronicles #1. The Steamworld Chronicles was created and written by Steven Hoveke & Mike Scigliano with pencils by Ben Risbeck, inks by Mark McKena, colors by Kote Carvajal and letters by John J. Hill.

I actually got to meet Steven Hoveke and Mike Scigliano at Grasshopper Comics on Long Island some weeks ago when they were signing for the book; which is when I picked it up. I got the Walter Simonson variant cover which is great, but I probably didn't need to tell you that. When I picked up this comic, they described it as being like Indian Jones in a steampunk setting. Since there really is no better way to sum this book up quickly, I'm going to go with that. Now, to elaborate.

This is the first part in a miniseries titled "The Constantine Quest." Basically, a train gets hijacked for a particular piece of cargo, things don't go according to plan, which leads to our hero, Q, being introduced to help find the missing cargo. As Q digs deeper, he runs into faces both new and familiar and slowly beings to see how important the missing cargo really is.

The story is solid and paced pretty well. The only real complaint would be that it is fairly predictable at first. However, this is supposed to be serving as an introduction to a new world which makes it difficult to go too far beyond just setting up the story. They have plenty of time to add twists and turns along the way.

The art is also solid, but they don't take too many risks. This is both good and bad. On the one hand, the art is very clear, fluid, and the panels combined with the lettering guide you seamlessly through the story; making for a quick and easy read. Let me be clear, this is incredibly important and even some of the top tier professional comics fail at this sometimes. It highlights how skilled this team is. The downside is that the art could be pushing the envelope further and be more visually outstanding. None of the pages really popped at me as being exceptionally stunning or visually intriguing. I think for this story though, that sacrificing that for clear and fluid storytelling works.

Overall, The Steamworld Chronicles #1 is a solid story, and if you're into steampunk and like comics this is a no brainer. If you aren't by Grasshopper Comics on Long Island, you should check out their website to pick up a copy, physical or digital, of the first issue with the promise of more to come!


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Review: Schaffer The Darkord: Sick Passenger

By Reboot

Today I'm switching things up and reviewing an album; Sick Passenger by Schaffer The Darklord. Schaffer is a nerdcore rapper who put his first album, Meet Your Maker, out back in 2004. Sick Passenger marks his fourth full studio album which is his first in four years. In those four years he has performed many shows including multiple Nerdapaloozas as well as touring with MC Chris.

This is Schaffer's first full concept album complete with short skits every few songs or so. This is an idea I absolutely love, with Velvet Rope by Janet Jackson still being one of my favorites that uses that format. Basically, Schaffer is speaking with his therapist (or is he!?!?) about the many short comings he feels he's had over the years and what to do to overcome them to grow as a person. The skits on this album are quite entertaining back and forths and are hard to skip while listening even if you originally intended to just go to your favorite songs. That's the marking of a great concept album.