Gamertell

Title: The Dark Knight (aka Batman: The Dark Knight, Batman Begins 2, The Dark Knight: The IMAX Experience)
Release Date: July 18, 2008
Company: Warner Bros.
Rating: PG-13
Length: 142 min (2 hours, 22 minutes)
Pros: A lot of great acting, a well-woven story and plenty of psychological creepiness. The more realistic Gotham City is a well-executed contrast to the inner darkness of the characters.
Cons: A little long and a bit too creepy for kids. Only one moment of unbelievability.
Overall Score: Two thumbs up; 93/100; A-; * * * * out of five.

Put away your illusions that this is a big-screen adaptation of Frank Miller’s graphic Novel, The Dark Night Returns. While there is a tiny nod or two to the book, this is continuation of the Batman Begins film with a new origin of at least one DC Comics character and a more realistic, visually brighter yet thematically darker take on Batman.

Click through for the full review…

MORE »

Dunno what to do this holiday weekend? Excited for the upcoming Batman movie with a grittier, even more psychotic Joker? Then head to Kings Island Amusement Park near Cincinnati (Ohio, USA) where the The Bat Pod, formerly known as the Batcycle, will be on display at the park’s main entrance Saturday July 5, 2008, from noon until 5 PM…

MORE »

Now that we’ve looked at the games that have made the Prince of Persia series so popular, it is time to take a look at where the franchise is heading.

Prince of Persia: The Next Generation

As the franchise moves forward, the Prince is set for yet another transformation. After the Sands of Time trilogy came to a close, Ubisoft decided that the series needed a new direction. And while we still don’t know very much about the upcoming Prince of Persia title for…

MORE »

Leonardo DiCaprio made a real fist of his meaty role in the Academy award-winning biopic The Aviator in which he played Howard Hughes. DiCaprio will once again portray the role of a real-life pioneer in the Paramount Pictures’ film tentatively titled Atari. The film will tell the story of one of the pioneers of the videogames industry, Nolan Bushnell, the founder of Atari.

The movie has been scripted by Brian Hacker and Craig Sherman who were able to convince…

MORE »

By now, we’ve all heard the news that Pirates of the Caribbean director Gore Verbinski will direct the big-screen adaptation of thoughtful underwater shooter Bioshock. We’ve already extolled the virtues of the game and it’s filmic possibilities elsewhere, so right now, let’s focus on the man himself. Is Verbinski up to the challenge of making one of the most fully realized game worlds (and cleverest narratives) come to life? Or are we destined for yet another lame game movie night? We check out the director’s earlier film work, his statements on the adaptation, and his gamer cred to make a long-term prognosis.

MORE »

Title: Iron Man
Price: $29.99
System(s): PSP (also available on DS, Wii, PC, PS3, Xbox 360)
Release Date: May 2, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Sega (Havok)
ESRB Rating: “Teen” for alcohol reference, mild language and violence.
Pros: Captures the essence of the character quite well with the ability to fly at any time and use various weapons. Good looking (if not entirely accurate) cutscenes and nice bonuses.
Cons: Early stages a bit long and clunky. PSP controls get in the way throughout the game.
Overall Score: Two thumbs sideways; 73/100; C; * * out of 5.

Iron Man for PSP could have been a much more fun game if it weren’t for those pesky PSP controls. It has pretty good looking graphics, rather fluid character movements and even some decent attacks (and voice acting). Otherwise, it’s quite a letdown that starts slow and never quite redeems itself.

Click through for the full review…

MORE »

Title: Iron Man
Release Date: May, 2, 2008
Publisher (Developer): Marvel and Paramount Pictures
Rating: PG-13
Pros: Great acting, very funny, great effects, more contemporary setting and origin, pleasing to Iron Man and comic fans
Cons: Feels like a short movie, limited story, not enough action or Iron Man, to many quick edits, no Nick Fury cameo
Overall Score: One thumb up, one sideways; 80/100; B-; * * * out of five.

Ultimately, Iron Man is a fun ride that doesn’t live up to the story and emotional quality of Batman Begins, nor is it likely to win over a whole new generation of fans like the Spider-Man films have.

Click through for the full review…

MORE »

Coming to theaters near you in 2009, two of Marvel Comics best known and most popular mutants will be getting their very own movie spin-offs to the X-Men trilogy, they being Wolverine and Magneto.

While rumors of the two X-Men stars getting their very own origin stories have been humming around the web and your local comic book store for the past four years, it looks like both will be in theaters very soon with a Wolverine movie being released first…

MORE »

Further demonstrating the increasing availability and decreasing price of memory, Target has put out a Speed Racer themed gift card that features a USB 2.0 Flash drive built right in.

The plastic promo gift card features a tiny USB cable (an inch long) that clicks flat into the card and can be ejected using a tiny mechanical switch at the bottom edge. It also has an activity light on the upper right edge of the card.

The internal Flash drive shows 62.8 MB total capacity with 51.6 MB of it filled with Speed Racer movie promotion items including a cheat code for the Wii version of the upcoming Speed Racer videogame…

MORE »

It looks like the upcoming The Incredible Hulk film is in danger of becoming the latest comic book flop, according to a post at Icv2. It seems as if disputes between star/co-writer Edward Norton and Marvel studios are creating some serious bad buzz in Hollywood. The article also points out the heavy competition from other action and comic book flicks the film will have to face this summer (including the super-hyped Iron Man, Hellboy 2, Wanted and Hancock), along with the fact that the previous Hulk movie (Hulk, 2003) was a huge flop five years ago.

Well, it’s a mighty competitive market, but that’s a good thing for comic fans. Not long ago, comic book films were on par with videogame movies (i.e. terrible and marketed exclusively towards twelve year olds), the fact that they’re now bringing in talented filmmakers and massive star power is quite cool. We’ll see whether The Incredible Hulk sinks or swims on June 13, 2008.

Read [Icv2]