This is my second Nintendo post of the day, so the world might be ending.

I stumbled across this on YouTube and first thought that it would be a standard set of facts that we have all heard before. Turns out these guys (V Sauce) got a little more esoteric with sources and uncovered some stuff that even I didn't know about (NINTENDO PHONE?!).

I'm just trying to help drop some knowledge on you fools!

Also, they list their sources in the video description on their YouTube page if you have any doubts, heathens.

Here is a cool piece Evil Dead and Peanuts mashup art. Charlie Brown is playing th role of Ash and is ready for a battle with a shotgun and chainsaw. The art was done by Justin Hillgrove. More of his art can be seen below.

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In case you didn't already know, Joss Whedon is the man. He blew audiences away with The Avengers and he's set to write and direct the sequel. He is also leading the charge on the new S.H.I.E.L.D. TV series. The guy is a busy man, and has unsurprisingly been named one of  Entertainment Weekly‘s entertainers of the year. To be fair he's always been a hell of a good entertainer, it's just now people are starting to realize it. 

It's revealed in a breif EW describption that he's already submitted and outline for The Avengers 2! 

We met with him just days after he had submitted an outline for the 2015 sequel The Avengers, and as he was in the midst of preparing to shoot the pilot for what could be his next television series: S.H.I.E.L.D, a spy-fi drama tracking the ongoing adventures of the secret agents and superhero wranglers of Marvel’s movie world. If ABC he picks up the series, Whedon will remain involved as exec producer, and frequent collaborators Jed Whedon, Maurissa Tancharoen (Dollhouse, Dr. Horrible) and Jeffrey Bell (Angel) will serve as lead showrunners.

It's kind of cool to know that the idea and story for The Avengers sequel is out there. That outline contains everything we want to know about the sequel, and by May of 2015 the story will unfold before our eyes as an epic completed film. 

In an interview conducted with Whedon he talks about his sccusses and his frustrations,

Whedon says that his emotional reaction to his most Marvel-ous year also included “a little bit of anger.” He elaborates: “I’ve had a wonderful career, and I’m grateful for it. But like every writer in Hollywood, there have been many times where I’ve said, ‘I swear to God, if you just me do this the way I’m thinking of doing it, it’ll work out!’ and I’ve been thwarted.” The success of The Avengers, then, felt like validation, but also exposed his need for validation… as well as a deep, dark want to avenge old grievances with black magic necromancy. “Once you get to this place, where people will listen to you, give you the benefit of the doubt, and will get out of your way, all of the stuff you’ve learned to live with and tamped down, you don’t need to live with it anymore” – and here, he goes spooky voice to evoke an image of summoning ancient demons – “and so the basement door opens … and you go down into there … and read from the diary that raises the dead.” He laughs. “It’s a weird little counter-intuitive thing.”

In retrospect, Whedon sees his anger — about life in general, not just old Hollywood slights — reflected in The Avengers, and specifically in one of the film’s best-realized characters: The Hulk, played by Mark Ruffalo. “What was most astonishing to me about making that movie was how personal it was,” he says. “I literally had the I’m-always-angry revelation during production. I had this certain amount of back-burner simmer of rage that I was completely aware of, but apparently I wrote it for Bruce Banner, going (to myself): ‘I think this is what a guy like this might go through!’ Interesting! What guy, Joss? ‘I don’t know! Some guy. I can’t think of anyone in particular, or why this is coming to me…’ Really, Joss? Really?”

To be clear: Whedon thinks going totally Loki is a thing to be avoided. “For the most part, I’m psyched. But you have to be careful that self-righteous umbrage doesn’t determine how you act around people, or how you behave artistically,” he says. “You don’t want to be the guy who’s like: ‘OF COURSE I’M RIGHT! I’VE ALWAYS BEEN RIGHT ALL ALONG!”  And then suddenly, you’re making your worst stuff, because you’ve lost that checks-and-balances thing you need to manage yourself.”

Whedon just seems like an incredibly likable guy. I dig his attitude, and can't wait to see what he has planned for the sequel!

Fan favorite artist Olly Moss was kind enough to give us a little tease of his upcoming cast and crew poster design for Thor: The Dark World via his instagram account. This is a work in progress so the poster still isn't finished yet. It looks like it's going to be pretty awesome when it's done though! This is the poster that will be exclusively given to the cast and crew of the film. 

Marvel’s "Thor: The Dark World" continues the big-screen adventures of Thor, the Mighty Avenger, as he battles to save Earth and all the Nine Realms from a shadowy enemy that predates the universe itself. In the aftermath of Marvel’s "Thor" and "Marvel’s The Avengers," Thor fights to restore order across the cosmos…but an ancient race led by the vengeful Malekith returns to plunge the universe back into darkness. Faced with an enemy that even Odin and Asgard cannot withstand, Thor must embark on his most perilous and personal journey yet, one that will reunite him with Jane Foster and force him to sacrifice everything to save us all.

Thor: The Dark World will blow up in theaters on November 8th, 2013. 

It's been a long wait, but our patience has paid off. Paramount Pictures has released the first teaser trailer exclusively for the internet giving us our first awesome look at J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness! This movie looks like it's going to be so freakin' badass! The trailer shows just enough to blow my mind a little! There's some epic looking scenes included in this little teaser. Damn, I can't wait to see this movie! It looks like Abrams has done it again.

The movie stars Chris Pine, Zachary Quinto, ZoeSaldana, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Peter Weller, Alice Eve and Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain, and he could very well steal the show!

In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

The movie was written by Damon Lindelof, Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and it's set to launch on May 17th, 2013. Now watch the teaser trailer! The full trailer will be released on the 14th, so stay tuned for that awesomeness! 

Watch Japanese Trailer With More New Footage >>>

24's Dennis Haysbert has been cast in Robert Rodriguez and Frank Millar's Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. He will be replacing Michael Clarke Duncan, who recently passed away, in the role of Manute, "the brutal and seemingly unstoppable right-hand man of Ava’s husband." Rodriguez and Miller had this to say in a statement regarding the casting,

Manute is a character that has been part of the heart of the Sin City tales, and the late Michael Clarke Duncan beautifully established that role on screen. We could not tell the story of Sin City: A Dame to Kill For without Manute and are thrilled to welcome Dennis Haysbert to the cast.

He will join Mickey Rourke, Jessica Alba, Jaime King and Rosario Dawson who are all returning to reprise their roles. Another new addition to the sequel is Jamie Chung who is replacing Devon Aoki.

The movie is based on the comic created by Frank Miller who is also co-directing the film, from a screenplay by Miller and Academy Award winner William Monahan (The Departed).

The plot for Sin City 2 comes from the stories A Dame To Kill For, Just Another Saturday Night, and a new one Frank Miller wrote called The Long, Bad Night, which apparently centers on Jessica Alba's character Nancy Callahan who will be the connection between the two films.

I loved the first movie, it was ground breaking in the way it was shot, and it was done extremely well. I'm looking forward to seeing how this sequel turns out. If it ends up being better than the first film, everyone wins. 

Last month it was announced that Dark Knight Rises star Tom Hardy would be playing the lead role in the big screen adaptation of Ubisoft's hit video game Splinter Cell. At the time of the announcement there was still no Hollywood studio attached to the project until just recently. It was announced that New Regency would be teaming up with Ubisoft Motion Pictures to bring Splinter Cell to life. So now that it's got a studio backing it the movie can move forward.

Hardy will play a covert operative named Sam Fisher who works for Third Echelon. The name of the game, Splinter Cell, refers to an elite recon-type unit of single covert operatives (Fisher) who are supported in the field by a high-tech remote team. 

As far as the games go, the first three games in the franchise see Fisher trying to stop a terrorist organization who are planning and carrying out attacks. In the fourth game Fisher assumes the identity of a wanted criminal in order to infiltrate a terrorist ring. Fisher abandons Third Echelon in the fifth game, and goes on a personal mission to take down the people responsible for killing his daughter. There's also a sixth game coming out next year in which Sam Fisher is the leader and founder of a new covert organization called Fourth Echelon, after the President shuts down Third Echelon.

I love the fact that Hardy is playing the lead character in this movie! It's currently be written by Eric Warren Singer and I'm excited to see how it turns out!

Here's the Full Press Release:

Ubisoft® and New Regency announced that they are partnering on the forthcoming Tom Clancy’s™ Splinter Cell® film.

Ubisoft Motion Pictures, the film and television division of Ubisoft, will develop the Splinter Cell movie in close collaboration with New Regency. Ubisoft also recently announced it attached award-winning actor Tom Hardy and up-and-coming screenwriter Eric Warren Singer (“The International”) to the film.

“With actor Tom Hardy attached and screenwriter Eric Warren Singer to write the script, Ubisoft Motion Pictures will lead the development with the support of New Regency to bring the franchise to the big screen in a dynamic way,” said Jean-Julien Baronnet, chief executive officer, Ubisoft Motion Pictures. “For Ubisoft Motion Pictures, creative control is key and New Regency shares our commitment to respecting the creative freedom of our team. Their ability to produce both blockbusters and intriguing indie hits is an ideal fit for the Splinter Cell franchise.”

“We could not be happier to be teaming up with our friends at Ubisoft Motion Pictures on yet another truly iconic title. With a movie star like Tom Hardy in place and a gifted writer such as Eric Warren Singer penning the screenplay, we know the fans will not be let down,” said New Regency CEO and President, Brad Weston.

This deal is separate from but builds upon the recent partnership between Ubisoft and New Regency to develop the Assassin’s Creed® film.

Tom Clancy’s™ Splinter Cell® is an award-winning stealth action video game series that has sold more than 23 million copies since its debut in 2002. Splinter Cell follows protagonist Sam Fisher, a highly-trained special operative in a fictional black-ops sub-division, “Echelon”. Sam Fisher and the agents of Echelon utilize combat skills, weapons and cutting-edge gadgets to neutralize international terrorist threats and rogue forces in modern, realistic stories ripped from the headlines. Development for the next installment, Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell® Blacklist™, is being led by the Ubisoft Toronto studio, and the game is set for release in Spring 2013.

Ubisoft Motion Pictures was created in January 2011 to expand the audience of Ubisoft’s successful video game brands by bringing them to film, television and Web series. In addition to the Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell film, the studio is also partnering with New Regency on the upcoming film based on the Assassin’s Creed franchise, and is in production on the Rabbids TV series, a collection of 78 seven-minute CGI episodes based on the insane stars of the video game franchise of the same name, in partnership with France Televisions and Nickelodeon.

Check out this new teaser trailer for Square Enix and Crystal Dynamics' amazing looking game Tomb Raider! The teaser is a little taste of what we will see during Spike TV's Video Game Awards. This is the game that explores the crazy gritty origin story of Lara Croft. She doesn't think she has what it takes to survive at first, but as we all know... she'll learn. 

I've been impressed by everything that I've seen for the game so far, and it will be exciting for fans to see how Croft's lifelong adventure began. I grew up playing the Tomb Raider games, and it's been amazing to see how much it has evolved. 

When a sudden storm destroys her research vessel, a young and inexperienced Lara Croft finds herself stranded on a mysterious and remote island hidden off the shores of Japan. Despite several signs of various inhabitants the island is oddly deserted, and an uneasy feeling settles in as strange sounds emerge from the shadows. 

With only her determination, inner strength, and resourcefulness to help her, Lara must overcome the challenges of a harsh and unforgiving journey that will take her across a vast island wilderness and deep into the claustrophobic and menacing underground tombs from the island's past. 

As she struggles to prevail through brutal combat encounters and treacherous exploration, Lara will be pushed to her limits and forced to adapt to her situation in order to survive and escape from the lethal predators that stalk her every move. 

The game is set to hit stores on March 5th 2013 for PlayStation 3, Xbox 360 and Microsoft Windows. What's your favorite Tomb Raider game from the franchise? 

Casey Affleck sold a film pitch to Warner Bros. based on the infamous Boston Strangler, a serial killer who terrorized Boston during the early 1960s. Affleck, who is producing the movie, is also looking to star in it as one of the detectives who was part of the Strangler Squad responsible for solving the crime.

According to Deadline the tone of the film will be similar to Se7en and Zodiac, the story will cover one of the most haunting unsolved serial murderers in U.S. history. It "follows an ambitious detective who is willing to risk career and life in a race to bring down the most notorious sexual predator of the day, while battling a political cover-up by corrupt politicians and lawyers trying to save their careers. Boston pols were desperate for a conviction; the early murders centered on older women living alone, but when police found a 21-year old victim, the public panicked. Soon, guns and door locks became scarce in Boston and pressure grew to end the hysteria by locking up someone."

Albert DeSalvo was a criminal in Boston, who confessed to being the "Boston Strangler", who killed thirteen women. DeSalvo was not imprisoned for these murders though, he was imprisoned for a series of rapes. Over the years his murder confession has been disputed, and debated regarding which crimes DeSalvo actually committed. There's still belief that more than one killer was involved, and that DeSalvo was a pawn in a bigger conspiracy.

The script will be written by Boston native screenwriter Chuck Maclean. I think Casey Affleck is a much better actor than his older brother, and this has the makings of a great film. I love movies like this, David Fincher's Zodiac is one of my favorite movies of all time, and I'll be looking forward to this one!

Sorry guys, these socks are made for ladies only. These knee-high socks have some cute Star Wars designs. At only $6.99, these socks make the perfect stocking stuffer this holiday. 

Here is the description from ThinkGeek:

Ladies Knee High Star Wars Socks

• Knee socks for fans of Star Wars
• Each order comes with two pairs of socks
• Officially licensed Lucasfilm apparel

 

 

Choose:

• Empire (Black/Silver, White/Black)
• Rebel (Pink/Gold/White, White/Pink/Red)
• R2-D2 (All over R2 design, Blue/White/Pink stripes)
• Skull Trooper (Black/Gray/Pink with Skull Trooper, Pink with Skull Trooper argyle)

Materials: 70% Polyester, 20% Nylon, 10% Spandex
Fits Women’s Shoe Sizes: 7-11 (8.5″ heel-to-toe unstretched, and these are ultra stretchy!)
Cuff Dimensions: 6″ around unstretched, 14″ (max for design), 16″ (max stretch)
Height: 13″ heel-to-cuff

 

Yes, they’re machine washable!

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While we wait for this season's Doctor Who Christmas special "The Snowmen" we bring you a bunch of new promo posters and photos from the highly anticipated episode which is set to air on Christmas day! The photos show off several of the characters that we will see in the episode.

"The Snowmen" will feature the first appearance of the Doctor's new companion, Clara. He will also will cross paths with the homo-reptilian Silurian Madame Vastra (Neve McIntosh) and her associate Jenny (Catrin Stewart). It was written by lead writer and executive producer Steven Moffat (Sherlock), and it looks fantastic! 

Christmas Eve 1892 and the falling snow is the stuff of fairy-tales. When the fairy-tale becomes a nightmare and a chilling menace threatens Earth, an unorthodox young governess, Clara, calls on the Doctor for help. But the Doctor is in mourning, reclusive and determined not to engage in the problems of the universe. As old friends return, will the Doctor really abandon humankind or will he fight to save the world – and Christmas – from the icy clutches of this mysterious menace.

Mario has been a mainstay in the video game world ever since his introduction on Nintendo’s NES console back in the day. We have seen him in many incarnations over the years, whether it be racing in Super Mario Kart or fighting in the Super Smash Bros. games.

But I bet you’re not up to date on all the random Mario facts out there. So take a look at this fantastic infographic made by RIPT Video Game T-Shirts. They list many facts about our favorite plumber from the many years, some of which you may even be surprised about. What has been your favorite Mario game to date?

Bonus Level Facts about Super Mario

1. Mario was created by Shigeru Miyamoto and appeared in the 1981 arcade platformer, Donkey Kong.
2. Mario was originally known as Jumpman. However, when Nintendo’s US office were trying to think of a better name, they were interrupted by their landlord Mario Segale, after whom they christened the character.
3. Mario was originally a carpenter, not a plumber.
4. The look of Mario is all about the graphical limitations of the hardware at the time. He has a hat, because realistic hair was difficult to portray, a moustache to accentuate his nose, and dungarees to make his arm movements more noticeable.
5. Bowser was originally sketched as an ox by Miyamoto, but his drawings were misinterpreted by animator Yoichi Kotabe as a turtle.
6. Wario first appeared as a nemesis in the Game Boy title, Super Mario Land 2. Wario’s name blends Mario with the Japanese adjective ‘warui’ meaning evil.
7. The first Super Mario Bros game has sold 40.24 million copies to date.
8. The main theme in Super Mario Bros, known as ‘Ground Theme’, is one of the most recognizable pieces of game music ever recorded.
9. A early nineties study revealed that Mario was more recognizable to American children than Mickey Mouse.
10. The Chain Chomp enemies in Super Mario Bros 3 were inspired by an incident in Miyamoto’s childhood when a neighbor’s dog chased the terrified genius, before it was yanked back by its chain.
11. Released in 1989, the Game Boy title Super Mario Land was the first major Mario game to be developed without Miyamoto.
12. Since 1995, the voice of Mario has been provided by American voice actor Charles Martinet.
13. The Super Mario bros series is in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful gaming franchise of all time. It now boasts global sales of over 240 million units.
14. Mario has appeared in over 200 video games and a recent study showed that kids recognized better than Mickey Mouse.

Entertainment Weekly has revealed four new magazine covers for The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey featuring Gandolf, Bilbo, Gollum and Thorin. 

We've been waiting a long time to see this movie and the moment is almost here when we will finally get to see it! There's been a bunch of reviews released and peoples thoughts on it have been pretty mixed. But I think the hardcore fans are going to love it. Bilbo Baggins is played by Martin Freeman in the film, and he looks like he nailed the part! He was perfectly cast, but that doesn't mean he's not worried about what other people will think about his performance, in an interview with the magazine he said,

The Hobbit is a suicide mission, If I read one bad thing about me — it can be one person’s opinion in Idaho — I’m like, ‘Jesus, why does everyone hate me? If you read four of those, you think, ‘Everyone in the solar system hates me!’ Then even if you read 80 people saying, ‘I think he’s wonderful and I really want to f— him,’ you’re still thinking, ‘But that person in Idaho…’ In short, I don’t really seek out the Hobbit stuff.

Peter Jackson goes on to talk about how the new trilogy is a lot lighter than Lord of the Rings, but that doesn't mean it's going to be long and boring, in fact he says it's the exact opposite.

The Hobbit is written in a series of chapters that feel almost like they’re designed to be read to your son a daughter at night. It’s got that episodic, rip-roaring adventure quality to it.

A lot of the questions I’m being asked are perfectly understandable. But I’m confident that when the first movie comes out, people will understand. The Hobbit is a faster-paced film than the Lord of the Rings films. It has more adventure, more action. When people see the first film, those questions will go away.

The first film in the trilogy is set to be released on December 14th, and I hope it lives up to all of our expectations! 

I don't know about you, but I thought the first teaser trailer for J.J. Abrams' Star Trek Into Darkness was incredibly awesome! We've barely scratched the surface of what this movie has to offer, but I'm already 100% sold on it. Now thanks to a Japanese teaser trailer we have 15 seconds of additional footage, some of which seems to pay homage to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan as there's a scene that shows a behind the glass hand touching moment between two people as Benedict Cumberbatch's villainous voiceover says, "Is there anything you would not do... for your family?"

The blue shirt indicates that Kirk isn't a part of this scene shown above, that is most likely Spock, the other person could be Cumberbatch's character. This might be the event that leads to Cumberbatch turning bad. I'm confident that the villain will be Gary Mitchell. Watch the footage and see for yourself, and hit us up with your theories! The movie hits theaters on May 17th, 2013.

The movie also stars Chris Pine, Zoe Saldana, Anton Yelchin, Simon Pegg, John Cho, Peter Weller and Alice Eve.

In Summer 2013, pioneering director J.J. Abrams will deliver an explosive action thriller that takes Star Trek Into Darkness. When the crew of the Enterprise is called back home, they find an unstoppable force of terror from within their own organization has detonated the fleet and everything it stands for, leaving our world in a state of crisis. With a personal score to settle, Captain Kirk leads a manhunt to a war-zone world to capture a one man weapon of mass destruction. As our heroes are propelled into an epic chess game of life and death, love will be challenged, friendships will be torn apart, and sacrifices must be made for the only family Kirk has left: his crew.

People who are intelligent and have plenty of time on their hands can be the creators of some the most mind-blowing stuff. Take for instance Alex Marcolina, who spent three years making a Portal prelude on his scientific calculator. Alex is a game design major at UC Santa Cruz and it looks as if he is putting his degree to good use.

It's interesting to think that while I was using my TI-83 in high school, people were already thinking of ways to exploit its programming. I STILL COULD PLAY MARIO ON IT, THOUGH!

The source article has quite a bit of jargon on programming and coding, so I'll avoid trying to relay that information. Once they start talking about numbers and variables, I zone out.

I really wish I still had my scientific calculator.

For those of you looking to drown yourself in more Hobbit awesomeness here's a 13-minute TV special called "A Return To Middle Earth" that your sure to enjoy! It includes a ton of awesome must see new footage from the The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, including Gandalf kicking some ass. It also features the cast and crew talking about aspects of the film such as the Dwarves, Gandalfs untold adventures, and Bilbo's epic journey of becoming a man.

This movie looks so beautiful and I can't wait to see it on the big screen in 48fps! According to Ian McKellen we will see more of Middle Earth in this film than we've ever seen before, and if that doesn't get fans excited I don't know what will! It's kind of sad to think that after the Hobbit trilogy is over, we will most likely never see anymore of these Middle Earth movies again. Jackson says himself that he will never do it again, even though there is still a ton of material from J.R.R. Tolkien that I think could make for another trilogy. This is a seriously a must watch video, it's full of great stuff! So check it out!

Tucked away in a little IGN interview for the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series is an interesting quote from Sean Astin regarding a sequel to The Goonies. There's been talk and rumors about a Goonies sequel for years, but it's one of those things I doubt will ever happen. Astin on the other hand had this to say when asked about it,

It will happen, I'm 1000 percent certain there will be a sequel. I will bet my children on it.

He'd bet his children on it? That's pretty hardcore. Does he know something the rest of us don't? Or was he just screwing around? Corey Feldman was part of the same interview, he's doing a guest voice spot on the TMNT series, and this was his reaction to the question and Astin's answer...

Oh my God, I am betting no child on this matter.

As you can see Feldman is less convinced. I'll admit, it would be cool to see the gang get back together again for a sequel, but the script and story would have to be perfect. Who knows what will happen, but Astin seems very confident. Maybe he knows more than Feldman does. Either way it's cool to see these to Goonies teaming back up in the TNMT animated series! 

What do you think about Astin's comments? Are you open to a Goonies sequel?

Here's a photo from inside of a bookstore in which employees stacked a bunch of Lord of the Rings boxed sets up to create the tower of Barad-dûr. This has got to be some kind of safety hazard, it just needs one little kid to grab a box from the bottom to have the thing fall on top of him. It's still pretty rad! And if that did happen they could always sue the poor bookstore!

Hey you've made it this far, so you must be excited for another episode of SoundTRAX...and if you aren't pumped about Red Dawn perhaps a quick history lesson would do you some good. Either way, listen for sweet movie goodness.

Hey peoples! Coming your way this week on Gaming Disassembled is a tip of the hat to City of Heroes, a lengthy discussion on the recent #1ReasonWhy movement on Twitter concerning the trials of women and men working in the games industry, as well as the recent gameplay reveals for Final Fantasy XIII-3: Lightning Returns. As always we have some great art featured in the Colartibles segment, and then round things out with some random rants and ravings in sounding off.

Thanks for listening and see you next week!

J.Dot Art: OMG OMG OMG by Riza Turker

Knight Art: Sherlock (BBC) by Amy Gouin