Remembering Great Things About 2011!

As we approach the end of 2011 and the beginning of a new year, I can't think of anything better or appropriate to describe my wishes for 2012 other than this simple panel from the Batman Adventures Holiday Special issue, featuring a quiet and tender discussion between two old friends of justice, The Dark Knight Batman and Police Commissioner James Gordon.

Seriously though, it's time for an annual list of popculture related things I found memorable within the year, and boy are there a lot to enumerate. Next year still ushers in The Dark Knight Rises, but this year also had big moments for the Caped Crusader, and he'll be featured extensively as I go on. Here goes some of the stuff I found so memorable for 2011.

COMICS: DC The New 52

Yes the big reboot. Call me biased or a sucker for Jim Lee's artistic talents, but I do love it when a plan, or in this case big gamble comes together, and 2011 saw the relaunch of the DC Universe in a somewhat new and unexpected way. Sure, it divided the comic continuity in a way where they weren't sure how taking the undies would make a difference, but it certainly sold numbers by the record, highlighted by the dominance of the publisher's flagship team-up title, Justice League, which is written by Geoff Johns and Jim Lee. Other nods go to Scott Snyder's Batman run, Jeff Lemire and Travel Foreman's Animal Man, and Grant Morrison's take on a younger Superman in Action Comics. Those books fared well. There are titles that have their flaws though, such as ones that treat heroines like sex objects (Starfire in Red Hood and the Outlaws) and books that readers fail to grasp like The Fury of Firestorm, but it's only been 5 months since the relaunch as of this writing, and it would be unfair to lay judgement right away without seeing a full year of this gamble take its course. So yes, 2011 in comics definitely was highlighted by DC The New 52. It was a big year indeed.


GAMES: Batman: Arkham City

Best. Comic. Book. Video. Game. Sequel. Ever. If you thought 2009's Batman: Arkham Asylum was a sophisticated and brilliant piece of work, this will blow you off the edge, much like how Christopher Nolan raised his bar by making The Dark Knight an even better movie sequel to Batman Begins! The Dark Knight reigned supreme in 2011 in terms of comics and games alright. Just wait til 2011 for the epic conclusion to Nolan's Batman universe!




TV SHOW: Game Of Thrones

I'd be lying if I said The Walking Dead Season 2 was my favorite pick of this year. No, that honor goes to HBO's live action TV series adaptation of George R.R Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" novels, using the title of the first book of the series as its name - "Game of Thrones". As the name implies, the series evokes a world where chivalry is all but dead and treachery and conspiracy run rampant, as different factions fight and battle one another for the Iron Throne and the Seven Kingdoms, not knowing what evil is slowly crawling out of the shadows. Martin has been called the "Modern J.R.R Tolkien", so that's saying a lot, plus Sean "Boromir" Bean of The Lord of The Rings fame is here as Lord Eddard Stark of Winterfell... How can you go wrong with epic here?!

MOVIES: X-Men First Class

Frankly, it was a toss between this and Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, but you can't go wrong with a formula that brings a classic Marvel superhero franchise together with an excellent cast and a near flawless script. The fact that this movie begs to be a semi-reboot of the X-Men film series bolds well for the franchise, and James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender outperformed themeselves as Charles Xavier and Magneto, leading to the birth of the "FassAvoy" and "McBender" era of internet memes. Actually, the origin also got accepted and embraced somewhat into mainstream Marvel continuity, so how's that for a domino effect. Definitely, X-Men First Class deserves the top spot for my movie of 2011!

ANIMATED MOVIE: Batman: Year One

Yes. This one takes the cake for perfectly adapting one of the most recognizable and seminal works of DC Comics, not to mention one of the series that returned Batman back to his darker roots. If you haven't watched this DC Animated Movie feature, I implore you to do so!

MUSIC: Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger ft. Christina Aguilera

As for BEST SONG, there are too many to count... But honorable mention is THIS:




Maroon 5 - Moves Like Jagger ft. Christina Aguilera

And there you have it... The Best I could pick out for 2011! 2012 is here, so Happy New Year!

Game of Thrones director may land "Thor 2", plus some RPG fun by College Humor.

If you enjoyed Game of Thrones like I did when it was running its first season on HBO, then do expect wonderful things to happen next year when the Second Season premieres on April. Before that, a couple of updates took to my eye concerning the subject and its creatives, and these bits of news perked my interest enough that they deserved some reposting.


As reported on Slash Film, it appears Marvel Studios is in talks with Game of Thrones TV series helmer Brian Kirk to direct "Thor 2". After Kenneth Branagh confirmed that he wouldn't be returning for the sequel, this sounds like awesome news, and given Kirk's work on GoT, I think Marvel may have something wonderful at hand if they land a deal with this guy. More info on the story can be found at the source post at Slash Film.

This is what happens when you turn a brilliant medieval fantasy series by George R.R. Martin into a TV Series... THEN an RPG like College Humor did. Priceless.XD


Game of Thrones RPG by College Humor

First pics of World War Z with Brad Pitt appear!

Via The Daily Mail and Superherohype, it appears that shooting is well underway for World War Z, a zombie movie based on Max Brook's epic but fictitious novelization of the oral history of the "Zombie War". Brad Pitt stars in the film and plays the Brooks, who made himself into a character traversing through the world as he interviews and collects stories of those who experienced and survived their encounters against the undead ten years after humanity won against the zombie epidemic, referred to as "World War Z". Above is a shot of Pitt, all bearded and shooting a scene in Israel, which is the only country in the book to "close its borders and initiate a quarantine against the outbreak".

I can't begin to tell you how excited I am for this movie, since I am a fan of zombie lore, especially movies and comics based on them the Dead films by legendary director George A. Romero and Robert Kirkman's "The Walking Dead" come to mind!). Having a copy of the book in my personal collection, I can tell you right now that it is one of the best fictional zombie stories I've ever had the honor of reading. Influences from Romero's zombie movies, which have themes of social commentary, are present in WWZ, and while I am a bit concerned with how the film adaptation will turn out once it is completed, I have faith it will still be a great movie nonetheless. For now, we can only wait for information and details whenever it arrives online. For more on this story (as well as pics and info), you can visit the source posts at The Daily Mail and Superherohype!

World War Z, to be directed by Marc Forster, will be released sometime in 2012.

The Three Musketeers 3D Trailer debuts!

It's still hard to believe that this classic piece of French literature is once again getting the film treatment, but Paul W.S. Anderson's version of The Three Musketeers will see release in theaters worldwide this fall, and now a trailer has made it's way online courtesy of Enewsi and You Tube. If you're one like me who remembers the early 90's Disney film with Charlie Sheen, Kiefer Sutherlund, Oliver Platt, and Chris O'Donnell, you can forget all the chivalry, swashbuckling comedy, and the Bryan Adams/ Sting/ Rod Stewart song related to that version. This new one is darker, grittier, more serious, and it has names like Milla Jovovich, Juno Temple, and Orlando Bloom in it, all presented in true Paul W.S. Anderson fashion. Check out the trailer below and see what you think of it.

The Three Musketeers 3D Trailer

For more info, visit the source post over at Enewsi.

The Three Musketeers slashes its way to 3D and conventional cinemas on October 14, 2011!

Something "Magical"... and Something Kick-Ass!

I saw Harry Potter and The Half-Blood Prince last night with some friends. Despite all the magic and hubub, I can sum up the entire movie in a few words - loving, kissing, fooling, stealing, backstabbing, and most importantly, killing. Lots of sexual tension and theatrics going around, but with the exception of seeing Emma Watson growing up into a fine looking lady, I not all that impressed. Plenty of elements here discourage me, especially with the latter part of the movie involving Dumbledore and Golem-like creatures. These instances justify why I find things a tad too similar to the Lord Of The Rings franchise, and I'd much prefer watching that multiple times compared to seeing this again. Overall, I'm not a fan of the HP series, but this film would be decent enough to watch this week if you have nothing else better to do.

Score - 6/10

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Aintitcoolnews.com just released an exclusive poster of Kick-Ass The Movie, as illustrated by the comic book's own artist, the talented John Romita Jr. himself!


Ahhh... living to its namesake indeed. I've read a couple of issues down the line since the title's release early last year, but I'm still waiting for the collected version or even a volume 1 of this Mark Millar penned adventure to hit the shelves to guarantee my complete amusement. With the movie inching closer and closer to it's release, It's only a matter of time...