Question: What do you get when you send a Ranger, a Cleric, two Wizards (one of them is a conjurer to be fair), a Fighter, a Barbarian, and a Raven named Beaky to clear out a mine? 

Answer: Awesomesauce

Welcome to the first of hopefully many entries in our new Pathfinder campaign (based on Rise of the Runelords), which I am calling The Misadventures of Sandpoint. Every other week I'll be going into detail on all the randomness that occurs in our adventures at the table, hopefully brightening your day and maybe reigniting that need to roll some dice with friends. With that in mind, the first thing we need to do is meet the players. 

The Crew

Rusk: A Half Elf Cleric of Abadar, Rusk is always there to pick someone up in the middle of a fight (which seems to be for the most part Guilo and Motaurin). Rusk is pretty easy going, and seems to keep a cool head in all scenarios.

Willock: A Hafling Rogue who specializes in backstabs and hiding in the shadows, which is pretty much like having Batman in the group. Cautious and tactical, but not afraid to get in the middle of it if he needs to. 

Motaurin (also known as Mottorin. see also limp arm, Ven Vinder's plaything, etc, etc). A Dwarf Ranger by trade, there are few who are better with a bow than Motaurin. Of course, there are few who are better at getting into mischief too, but that's another story. Down to help a good cause, but sometimes distracted, mostly by women. 

Reginald: A crazy old coot of a conjurer whose age doesn't necessarily reflect his skill. Reggie (human by the way) specializes in conjuring, but does have access to other spells. Unfortunately, those spells don't get used that often, so he sometimes gets looked down on by the wizard community at large. 

Beaky: Reginald's Pet Raven, who is affectionately known as Louie. Why? Well, because when he speaks he seems to channel the late great Louie Armstrong. 

Basher: Reginald's main summon is named Basher, who is as powerful and well tempered as his namesake. Basher isn't exactly enamored with Reggie, and one of these days might be having a conversation with him, if he can find him.

Simon: Our spell centered Human Wizard, Simon is happy to be a part of the group, and to this point has yet to do anything crazy, but did go half on a net with Guilo, and that seems to have cemented their friendship. 

Guilo: An Elven Barbarian, whose fearsome demeanor conceals a very lovable and altogether trusting center. He's had a rough life, but that hasn't stopped him from having fun on the battlefield, mostly with his new net . Unfortunately that has resulted in some less than stellar moments in battle, since instead of hitting something with his Heavy Mace, he'd rather try and get someone to walk on his net.

Claude: A True Net amongst, well, other nets I guess. Claude is from a long line of helpful combat tools, and aims to impress in battle. Also, a fan of pecans and fresh smelling linens.

D20Monkey: The DM, and the shepherd of this rambunctious group, who puts all of this together every other week (See also Grand Singer of Goblin Song) and lets us wreck his house while doing it as well.

Well there's the crew, so join me in a few days when I will post the first chapter of our journey, and if you like what you see make sure to check back bi weekly as we make our way through the campaign.

Welcome to the team!

"See how our world will look in 1,000 years."

Here's a new TV spot for M. Night Shyamalan's After Earth that was released to celebrate Earth Day. The spot features some new footage from the film that stars Will Smith and his son Jaden. The movie looks like it could be good, but I feel like we're just being set up to be let down again by Shyamalan. After all, his movies have been getting progressively worse, and I don't think he's evolved at all as a filmmaker. The movie is set to be released on June 7th. Have you given up on Shyamalan? 

A crash landing leaves teenager Kitai Raige (Jaden Smith) and his legendary father Cypher (Will Smith) stranded on Earth, 1,000 years after cataclysmic events forced humanity’s escape. With Cypher critically injured, Kitai must embark on a perilous journey to signal for help, facing uncharted terrain, evolved animal species that now rule the planet, and an unstoppable alien creature that escaped during the crash. Father and son must learn to work together and trust one another if they want any chance of returning home.

Director Ron Howard's new Formula One movie Rush looks like an intense movie. It tells the true story of the Formula One racing rivalry between James Hunt and Niki Lauda in 1976. Here's a new poster that's been released for it featuring Chris Hemsworth as Hunt.

In a recent interview with EW, Howard talked about the filming process saying,

People ask what has Rush been like and I say from a filmmaking standpoint it’s been kind of like a cross between Apollo 13 and Backdraft. In the case of Apollo 13, that’s for the complexity and the authenticity and the intent to capture an era and an endeavor that blends technology, action and danger.

But, then speaking of danger, it reminds me of Backdraft because those fires scared me and so did shooting racing action in this film. I was happy when we wrapped Backdraft and frankly it was the same reaction this time. The relief of it, I was just as happy when we wrapped Rush.

He went on to talk about racing from the 1970s and the spirit of that time he was trying to capture...

Folks from the era are fond of saying of the 1970s F1 racing that’s it time when when sex was safe and driving was dangerous. That’s the way they lived. These folks aren’t forthcoming with a lot of details but there are a lot of winks and nods. I really did sort of fall in love with the sport. I love teams but yet the drivers are really unique talents and fascinating personalities, which is why I was involved in the story that [Frost/Nixon screenwriter] Peter Morgan wrote these characters brilliantly and there’s great acting opportunities blended with this cool, visceral action. I also loved the blend of teamwork and the state-of-the-art technology and, throughout, the wall-to-wall aggressive action

I'm excited to see this movie, which races into theaters on September 20th, 2013. If you haven't watched the trailer yet or you want to watch it again to be reminded of how good this movie looks click here.

The film stars Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers) as the charismatic Englishman James Hunt and Daniel Brühl (Inglourious Basterds) as the disciplined Austrian perfectionist Niki Lauda, whose clashes on the Grand Prix racetrack epitomized the contrast between these two extraordinary characters, a distinction reflected in their private lives. Olivia Wilde (TRON: Legacy) and Alexandra Maria Lara (The Reader) also star in the film.

There's been a lot of talk and speculation regarding Man of Steel, and if we are actually going to see any connections to the rest of the DC Universe or not. Chris Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy steered clear of that and Batman had his own world that he didn't open up to other DC characters. I was fine with that. I don't think these films really need to connect with each other anyway. The only reason DC is looking to do it now is because Marvel is doing it. In an interview with Empire Magazine Zack Snyder confirms, in regards to Man of Steel, that he has "been making references to the DC Universe, just to let you know that world is out there..."

If they plan on using Superman to open up the DC cinematic universe I hope they are able to effectively pull it off! It was also seemingly confirmed that Snyder would be directing Justice League, so this all makes even more sense. Snyder is going to be Warner Bros' Joss Whedon type guy, only not as talented. 

It was also revealed that the movie clocks in at around 2 hours and 10 minutes. Snyder also added, "The movie is the director's cut." When talking about the choice to not shoot the film in 3D, and convert it instead he said,

It is just my humble opinion, but it is better than native now. By the way, we like to think that the 3D is just another way of seeing the movie. It is not Superman 3D, it is Man of Steel, available in 3D.

Wait, did he just say converting is better than shooting the film in native 3D? I have to full heartedly disagree with that statement on every level. I will say the best 3D converted film I've seen so far was the re-release of Jurassic Park. The best movie I've seen actually shot in 3D is Oz The Great and Powerful. Most of the movies I've seen converted to 3D have been really bad; the worst ones actually come from Warner Bros., which doesn't spark a lot of confidence. 

It's puzzling because many other directors are saying the same thing about the 3D conversion process. Joss Whedon, Guillermo del Toro, and Jon Chu have made comments similar to Snyder's. I personally think the studio doesn't give them a choice, so they are put in a position where they have to say great things about 3D conversion. As a guy that loves going to the movies, I can say that I've plenty of examples of both native and converted 3D, and I can see the difference. As much as I enjoyed The Avengers, I still thought the 3D conversion looked cheap. Maybe one day the 3D conversion will be just as good as native 3D, but I don't see how it can ever be better.

In the end, Man of Steel looks like an amazing movie, and it will be fun to see how the rest of the DC universe is referenced in it.

What are your thoughts on Snyder's statements here? 

Check out this beautiful custom made steampunk AT-AT from the Star Wars universe. It was created by Mark a.k.a. Broken Journalist to give to his fiancée as an engagement present. She must be a big Star Wars and steampunk fan because I don't know many girls that would be happy to get something like this as an engagement present. That's a special kind of geek girl.

Marvel hasn't been shy about putting new footage in all of the TV spots and clips they have been releasing for Iron Man 3. In case you're worried about having the film spoiled for you with all of this stuff, don't worry. They've saved the best and most surprising stuff for the movie! These new spots show some of the lighter, more humorous parts of the film.

The movie hits theaters on May 3rd, 2013, and I have no doubt that you're going to love it. These are spots numbers 14 and 15.

Marvel’s Iron Man 3 pits brash-but-brilliant industrialist Tony Stark/Iron Man against an enemy whose reach knows no bounds. When Stark finds his personal world destroyed at his enemy's hands, he embarks on a harrowing quest to find those responsible. This journey, at every turn, will test his mettle. With his back against the wall, Stark is left to survive by his own devices, relying on his ingenuity and instincts to protect those closest to him. As he fights his way back, Stark discovers the answer to the question that has secretly haunted him: does the man make the suit or does the suit make the man?

Here's an exciting and fun sci-fi alien short film written and directed by Patrick Kalyn called Hybrids. The story follows an ex-special forces soldier who "seeks revenge after losing her daughter at the hands of an alien infestation." I like how the film turned out! It was entertaining. It had a decent story, solid production value, and the special effects were done really well. Kalyn had this to say about the movie in a statement:

I've been a visual effects artist for the last decade and have worked Avatar, District 9 and King Kong to name a few. The short is pretty VFX heavy as you could imagine. Triton Films produced, we shot this thing for no money. It was a labour of love... blood, sweat and tears for the last 10 months for everyone involved."

Watch the film for yourself below!

HYBRIDS from wsp on Vimeo.

I'm sorry, but the last thing that J.J. Abrams should do is get advice from George Lucas when making Star Wars: Episode VII. The director revealed in a recent interview with Playboy that he was going to seek feedback on his decisions with the film from the Star Wars creator. I just hope he doesn't steer Abrams' vision in the wrong direction.

Also in the interview, the director discusses a lot of other things including Cloverfield 2, the possibility of an Alias movie, Lost, Fringe, Scientology, and movie sex. Oh yeah! There's also still a chance he could direct Star Trek 3!

Here's how the Star Wars portion of the question and answer session went down...

PLAYBOY: There’s much to discuss, such as the rumors of old cast members returning.

ABRAMS: [Smiles]

PLAYBOY: Will this be a distinct new trilogy?

ABRAMS: [Smiles]

PLAYBOY: Can you do away with Jar Jar Binks?

ABRAMS: You won’t like this answer, but it’s so early it would be insane to discuss details or get into plot points about what this unfilmed movie will be. And I’m not going to give my opinion on the original movies or characters.

PLAYBOY: But as a lifelong Star Wars fan, surely you have broad ideas about what needs to happen going forward. Three quarters of planet Earth came down on George Lucas for practically ruining Star Wars in Episode I. The Star Wars universe revolted.

ABRAMS: Here’s the thing. I try to approach a project from what it’s asking. What does it need to be? What is it demanding? With Star Wars, one has to take into account what has preceded it, what worked, what didn’t. There are cautionary tales for anything you take on that has a legacy—things you look at and think, I want to avoid this or that, or I want to do more of something. But even that feels like an outside-in approach, and it’s not how I work. For me, the key is when you have a script; it’s telling you what it wants to be.

PLAYBOY: Star Wars needs to look different from Star Trek, certainly.

ABRAMS: As with anything, because these are very different worlds, they shouldn’t feel the same aesthetically. They can’t. You’re right. But again, I don’t apply aesthetics first and fit a movie into that aesthetic. If I had come into Star Trek with those eyes, I would probably have been paralyzed. The advantage here is that we still have George Lucas with us to go to and ask questions and get his feedback on things, which I certainly will do. With Star Trek it was harder because I wasn’t a Star Trek fan; I didn’t have the same emotional feeling, and I didn’t have Gene Roddenberry to go to. But I came to understand the world of Star Trek, and I appreciated what fans felt and believed about this universe and this franchise.

PLAYBOY: As recently as last fall you said that directing a new Star Wars comes with a burden of “almost fatal sacrilege.” Do you feel that?

ABRAMS: I meant if I viewed this from a fan’s point of view—and no one’s a bigger Star Wars fan than I am—or from a legacy standpoint, it would scare the hell out of me. But instead of trying to climb this mountain in one giant leap, I’m just enjoying the opportunity and looking to the people I’m working with. I’ve known Kathy for years. I’ve worked with the screenwriter, Michael Arndt, for a long time. I’ve known George for a number of years and he’s now a friend. Even if this wasn’t Star Wars, I’d be enormously fortunate to work with them.

PLAYBOY: How much of your personal vision can you put on this?

ABRAMS: For me to talk to you about what the big themes or ideas are before they exist is disingenuous, but naturally I have a big say in how this gets put together. When I get involved with something, I own it and carry the responsibility of the job.

When Abrams was asked if directing Star Wars meant that he couldn't direct Star Trek 3, this is what he said: 

No. I would say it’s a possibility. We’re trying to figure out the next step. But it’s like anything: It all begins with the story.

I can see Abrams directing Star Trek 3 and Star Wars back to back. That is if Paramount is willing to wait for him to finish up with Star Wars. 

As of right now, Star Wars: Episode VII is still in the very early stages of development. There's a long way to go still, so we aren't going to get any solid news from Abrams on it for quite a long time. It sounds to me though like he's going to do what he feels is best for the next chapter in the franchise. He's taking charge. If Lucas ends up throwing out a bad idea, maybe, just maybe, Abrams has the balls to tell him "no."

Click here to read the full 4-page interview. 

Artist Das Merten created this funny t-shirt design that mashes together The Walking Dead and Star Wars. It's called The Walking Droids, and I love the concept of it! You can get yourself one on RedBubble for $24.54!

Director Bryan Singer tweeted out another one of those Vine videos featuring quick shots of the chairs on the set for the cast members. Among those many chairs included, Singer reveals a couple new character additions to the story that includes Bishop and Warpath.

Bishop is a time travelling mutant who goes back to join the X-Men. He has the ability to absorb and redirect all forms of energy. Bishop debuted in "Uncanny X-Men" #281 in 1991 and was also part of the Fox cartoon series. He played a crucial role in the cartoon's adaptation of Days of Future Past. It's not confirmed, but he might be being played by Omar Sy.

Warpath is the son of Thunderbird and a member of Wolverine's X-Force. He first appeared in 1984's "New Mutants" #16 as a member of the Hellions. Warpath possesses heightened senses and physical abilities and is a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. He also likes to use really big knives. There's a possibility this character is being played by Booboo Stewart.

Here's the Vine video. This Vine thing seems to be a big fad right now, but I actually think it's a little annoying.

Are you excited to see that these two characters are going to be a part of the film?

You're going to want to check out this trailer that mashes together Prometheus with Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull. The two films fit together way too well. I couldn't help but laugh at the crazy comparisons. 

The world's greatest archaeologist meets mankind's engineers in this mash-up combining audio from the Prometheus trailer with visuals from Crystal Skull.

YouTuber Justin Fields did a great job splicing these two movies together, and you're sure to be entertained by it! Enjoy!

Carrie is all about the blood. So I imagine almost every piece of marketing material we're going to see from the film will feature Chloe Moretz as the title character covered in blood. There's that pivotal point in the story where she gets a bucket full of pigs blood dumped on her head, which sets her off and she ends up going on a horrifically deadly killing spree with the powers of her mind.

The new adaptation was directed by Kimberly Peirce (Boys Don't Cry, Stop-Loss) and also stars Julianne Moore, Judy Greer, Portia Doubleday, Alex Russell, Gabriella Wilde, and Ansel Elgort. It's set to be released on October 18th, 2013. Click here to watch the latest trailer.

The quiet suburb of Chamberlain, Maine is home to the deeply religious and conservative Margaret White and her daughter Carrie. Carrie is a sweet but meek outcast whom Margaret has sheltered from society. Gym teacher Miss Desjardin tries in vain to protect Carrie from local mean girls led by the popular and haughty Chris Hargenson, but only Chris’ best friend, Sue Snell, regrets their actions. In an effort to make amends, Sue asks her boyfriend, high school heartthrob Tommy Ross, to take Carrie to prom. Pushed to the limit by her peers at the dance, Carrie unleashes telekinetic havoc.

Zack Snyder's Man of Steel is upon us. To help keep the excitement levels up here's an awesome fan-made opening title sequence created by Will and Tale. I was really impressed by what they came up with even though it kind of has a different tone and setting from what we've seen of Snyder's movie. The video was sent to us by Patrick Lee who says,

It's the life of Clark Kent told through the voices of the world. This is a passion project we pursued in our free time for the past 3 months. No pre-existing Man of Steel footage was used. We created all the 2D/3D animations, compositing, in-camera article UI and designs, voiceover recordings, etc. Even the score was composed exclusively for this project. 

I think you'll like what you see so check it out!

Summit Entertainment has released a photo from their big screen adaptation of Divergent. The photo features our first look at Shailene Woodley as the main character, Beatrice “Tris” Prior.

The story has been likened to The Hunger Games as it features teen on teen violence. It centers on a 16-year-old girl named Beatrice Prior (Woodley), who lives in a world where society is divided into five factions that each represents a particular virtue or personality: honesty, selflessness, bravery, peacefulness and intelligence. The character that Woodley plays is classified a 'divergent,' and is told that she will never fit into any specific group. She uncovers a conspiracy to destroy all 'divergents,' and she must find out why others like her are considered so dangerous.

The movie is being adapted from the book by Veronica Roth and is being directed by Neil Burger from a script by Vanessa Taylor and Evan Daugherty. It also stars Theo James, Kate Winslet, Ray Stevenson, Maggie Q, Mekhi Phifer, Jai Courtney, Miles Teller, Zoë Kravitz, Ansel Elgort, Ben Lloyd-Hughes, Ben Lamb, Christian Madsen, Tony Goldwyn and Amy Newbold.

It was previously reported that China would be getting a different version of Iron Man 3 than the rest of the world. We aren't really sure what will be added to that version, but according to director Shane Black it will include an interesting surprise. I've got to say that the U.S. version already has a few interesting surprises, so I'm excited to find out what they are planning with this alternate version.

It was previously revealed that there would be “significant Chinese elements” and “exclusive footage” that was created with the Chinese media company DMG. It also will include an appearance by Fan Bingbing, who is one of China's big actresses. During the recent Iron Man 3 press junket, the director was asked if he could provide some more details on what will be included, and here was his response...

Well we left out the giant dragon. The Chinese version will have an interesting surprise. We do know that there’s additional footage that will be available in that version, which I’m sure will filter back here.

Co-writer Drew Pearce went on to explain...

I think Marvel would like to keep an element of surprise by that, so when the inevitable versions of it feed back to us, you’ll see exactly what it involved, but for the moment I don’t think we’re allowed to talk about it.

What's even more interesting about all this is that Black wasn't really a part of the footage that was shot in China. He basically just had to approve what other people shot. Here's what he said about that:

There was the idea of a Chinese version where it would entail additional footage that I was asked to look at and approve. I was busy doing the American version while we were simultaneously obtaining footage for the Chinese version, so I got a sense of what was going on. I was asked to look at and had a chance later to approve the footage, so now you’ve got these two versions. I’m just thrilled that we got the opportunity to work with what is one of the single fastest emerging box office environments in the world, which is China, where they build theaters so quickly now.

I'm not sure when we will get a chance to see this version here in the states, but I'm curious to know what is going to be included. I guess we'll eventually find out! 

Joss Whedon's feature film adaptation of William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing has been getting pretty solid reviews. I haven't seen it for myself yet, but I plan on checking it out as soon as I get the chance! 

Here's a new UK trailer for the indie movie that been released. Whedon shot the film in less than two weeks while taking a break from making The Avengers.

The movie also has a great cast that includes Clark Gregg (Avengers), Fran Kranz, and Amy Acker (The Cabin in the Woods), along with Nathan Fillion, Alexis Denisof, Jillian Morgese, Sean Maher, and Reed Diamond. Here's the synopsis...

Leonato, the governor of Messina, is visited by his friend Don Pedro who is returning from a victorious campaign against his rebellious brother Don John. Accompanying Don Pedro are two of his officers: Benedick and Claudio. While in Messina, Claudio falls for Leonato’s daughter Hero, while Benedick verbally spars with Beatrice, the governor’s niece. The budding love between Claudio and Hero prompts Don Pedro to arrange with Leonato for a marriage.

In the days leading up to the ceremony, Don Pedro, with the help of Leonato, Claudio and Hero, attempts to sport with Benedick and Beatrice in an effort to trick the two into falling in love. Meanwhile, the villainous Don John, with the help of his allies: Conrade and Borachio, plots against the happy couple, using his own form of trickery to try to destroy the marriage before it begins.

A series of comic and tragic events continue to keep the two couples from truly finding happiness, but then again perhaps love may prevail.

Much Ado About Nothing opens in theaters on June 7th, 2013.

Check out this incredible series of photos from the New York set of Marc Webb's The Amazing Spider-Man 2. These are the most detailed images that I've seen of Spider-Man's new costume, and it looks so damn cool! I want one. The director also tweeted out a photo featuring Ravencroft, and I've included a couple more featuring Harry Osborn looking out the window for Spider-Man.

Peter Parker (Andrew Garfield) finds, life is busy – between taking out the bad guys as Spider-Man and spending time with the person he loves, Gwen (Emma Stone), high school graduation can't come quickly enough. Peter hasn't forgotten about the promise he made to Gwen's father to protect her by staying away – but that's a promise he just can't keep. Things will change for Peter when a new villain, Electro (Jamie Foxx), emerges, an old friend, Harry Osborn (Dane DeHaan), returns, and Peter uncovers new clues about his past.

The movie also stars Martin Sheen, Shailene Woodley, Paul Giammatti, Felicity Jones, and Colm Feore, and it hits theaters on May 2nd, 2014.

The fourth season of Arrested Development is right around the corner! I'm so excited for the show's return, and I'm sure it's going to be just as funny as it was the first time around! The series premieres in its entirety on Netflix on May 26th, and there will be 15 episodes!

Producer Mitchell Hurwitz explained the season in an interview with EW saying,

This year is about the enduring entanglements of family. They are 10 years older than when we met, so that means emotionally they’re, like, two years older than we met them. Amazing things happen when one goes from being emotionally 12 years old to emotionally being 14 years old.”

Will Arnett adds,

It’s the story of shame, cunning, thievery, dishonor, backstabbing, deceit, bold-faced lying, one-upmanship, psychological torture, lust, financial ruin, and magic, all supported by a very broad beam of dysfunctional love.

While we wait for that here are a series of character posters, photos and Entertainment Weekly magazine covers for you to look over.

Here's the poster to the new horror anthology film V/H/S/2, which was formerly titled S-VHS and serves as the sequel to VHS. I had a great time watching the first movie, but the sequel was even better! If you liked VHS, you're going to love V/H/S/2. If you didn't like VHS, you're still going to love V/H/S/2! It was such a good horror film! You can read my review for it here.

This anthology horror sequel has segments directed by Jason Eisener (Hobo With A Shotgun), Gareth Huw Evans (The Raid: Redemption) and Timo Tjahjanto (Macabre), Edúardo Sanchez and Gregg Hale (Blair Witch Project), and Adam Wingard (You’re Next). Then there's a wraparound segment directed by You’re Next writer Simon Barrett.

The movie will be available on VOD on June 6th and opens theatrically July 12. Here's the synopsis provided by Sundance:

Inside a darkened house looms a column of TVs littered with VHS tapes, a pagan shrine to forgotten analog gods. The screens crackle and pop endlessly with monochrome vistas of static—white noise permeating the brain and fogging concentration. But you must fight the urge to relax: this is no mere movie night. Those obsolete spools contain more than just magnetic tape. They are imprinted with the very soul of evil.

From the demented minds that brought you last year’s V/H/S comes S-VHS, an all-new anthology of dread, madness, and gore. This follow-up ventures even further down the demented path blazed by its predecessor, discovering new and terrifying territory in the genre. This is modern horror at its most inventive, shrewdly subverting our expectations about viral videos in ways that are just as satisfying as they are sadistic. The result is the rarest of all tapes—a second generation with no loss of quality.

Here's the previously released teaser trailer: