Star Trek Nail Polish

If you’re a girl, this contest is perfect. If you’re a guy, it still works. Either you give the nail polish to your girl friend for Valentine’s or you wear the polish yourself. It’s not like guys don’t do that these days, right? ;)

You know how our contests go, but to avoid confusion, here are the rules for this Tweet + Link Contest.

Step 1: Copy & paste the following, and then tweet it:

I want to win a bottle of geeky nail polish from @geekforever & NerdLacquer (http://spla.us/zVt6RB)! Enter here: http://spla.us/ymAvhu

Step 2: Leave us a comment on this page (below) to let us know you tweeted, and paste the link to your Tweet in your comment. (Note that our comments are moderated, so your comment may not show up immediately after you click the “Post Comment” button.)

The winner will be selected at random from the commenters on or around 8:00 pm EST on Friday, February 10. That’s tomorrow, folks! The winner will be notified via Twitter, after which you’ll send your mailing address to Amanda at NerdLacquer so she can send you your prize.

Important: You can enter the contest once per day between now and tomorrow. Amanda has kindly agreed to ship anywhere in world – well, almost, as she has problems sending nail polish to Italy and Brazil. Sorry guys, if you are based in those two countries!

I am not imposing my preference on you, but may I suggest Warrior Ethos if you win? ;)

Happy tweeting and commenting, and good luck!

I’ve made no secret of my disdain for Sony rebooting the Spider-Man franchise so quickly after Sam Raimi and Tobey Maguire’ trilogy came to an (unplanned) end. But after watching the new trailer for Marc Webb’s Amazing Spider-Man, I’ve finally found a reason to get excited about a new Spidey. Click through to watch the trailer and check out some high-res screengrabs of its blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em key moments.

First of all, do yourself a favor and bump the trailer up to full 1080p resolution, and expanded it to full screen. Totally worth it.

There’s lots of cool VFX in this trailer. There’s some terrific character moments (the one that will most warm your geeky little heart is when Spidey smack-talks a car thief). There’s some dynamic, fast-paced, brutal action scenes (seriously, Peter escaping the cops: whoa). There’s some fun dialogue (Gwen noting under her breath, “I’m in trouble,” I’m guessing comes shortly after she learns Peter’s secret, and realizes that she’s in love with him). The lighting and cinematography are appropriately dark and glistening (Webb’s New York City looks like the real thing more than Raimi’s candy-colored NYC). And there’s a noteworthy absence of any hokey FPS sequences, like we saw in the teaser trailer.

These are all things that fill me with great hope. But they’re not what changed my mind about The Amazing Spider-Man.

What captured my imagination is that the trailer reminded me once again why we love Spider-Man in the first place. We love him because he’s one of us. He’s a dork. A geek, who gets superpowers and finds the nobility to use them for good instead of gain. A fanboy who learns the hard way that being a superhero is a lot more complicated than the comic books make it look. A regular Joe who accepts the responsibility fate has thrust on him, despite the hardships and pains that it brings, and simply tries to do the best he can with the hand he’s been dealt.

I watch this trailer… And I believe. Again.

Raimi’s first Spider-Man was good. 2 was excellent. Just a brilliant, brilliant movie. But 3 was a hot mess. It had so many good things going for it, including a lot of potentially great ideas. Its problem was in getting away from the core of who Peter Parker is, by awarding him with fame and adoration, and letting him get caught up in it. Peter Parker is not Superman. He’s the underdog. People love him, but they don’t throw parades in his honor or give him the key to the city. I don’t fault Raimi for trying new things and attempting to push the character in new directions. I fault Spider-Man 3 for being a bloated, busy exercise in excess that lost sight of who its hero is.

From this trailer, it’s plainly obvious that director Marc Webb and star Andrew Garfield know exactly who Peter Parker is. And I can’t wait to see their dark new take on everyone’s favorite web-slinger.

Oh, and the mechanical web shooters? Flippin’ awesome.

It’s here at last — the one you’ve been waiting for. ForeverGeek is proud to present the ultimate movie calendar featuring all the movies you should care about in 2012.

This is an exhaustive list, but not a comprehensive one. We’re geeks, so there are no romcoms, no tear-jerkers, and no dumb kiddie flicks. (And no sparkly vampires!) Not every movie you care about from 2012 may be on this list, but every movie you should care about is here.

This page is constantly being updated with new movies and new details. Know a movie that belongs on this list? Suggest it to the list curator.

Watch for ten special films that we’ve selected as our Must-See Picks for 2012.

Change Log
2/9/12: The Bourne Legacy – poster, trailer added
2/9/12: Dorothy and the Witches of Oz – entry, poster, trailer added
2/9/12: Iron Sky – poster, release date added
2/8/12: I, Alex Cross – entry added

Click a link to jump to that month’s movies:

February | March | April | May | June | July | August | September | October | November | December | Unknown

February 3

Chronicle Forget the Teen Titans and the Young Avengers. Here’s what would happen if high schoolers really gained superpowers like strength, telekinesis, flight, and invulnerability. The buzz is strong for this tale of indulgence with power, and zero responsibility. Where’s Uncle Ben when you need him? Directed by newcomer Josh Trank. Trailer Official Website

The Innkeepers A pair of amateur paranormal investigators set out to prove that a 100-year-old inn is haunted. Wanna bet they find more than the guys on Ghost Hunters? (Rumor has it you should stay through the credits for a little something extra.) Trailer Official Website

The Woman in Black Daniel Radcliffe headlines this throwback to the days when “horror” was about chills, not torture porn. Radcliffe plays young lawyer Arthur Kipps, sent alone to a deceased client’s house to sort through her papers. But this house has been home to much tragedy and many secrets, and Kipps finds himself stalked by a mysterious woman dressed in black. Probably just a Harry Potter fan who’s still in mourning. Trailer Official Website

February 10

Journey 2: The Mysterious Island Dwayne Johnson steps in for Brendan Fraser in a sequel nobody saw coming. There’s always a chance it could be kooky fun, though the addition of Luis Guzman as the Goofy Latino Sidekick doesn’t instill confidence. Trailer Official Website

Safe House When a CIA-operated safe house is targeted by a group of bad guys, the facility’s house-sitter (Ryan Reynolds) is tasked with the dangerous job of moving the criminal who is being hidden there (Denzel Washington) to another secure location. Seeing these two share the screen should be worth the price of admission alone. Trailer Official Website

Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace It’s the Star Wars movie we all want to forget the most! Now in entirely unnecessary 3D! Lucas hopes to convert all six movies to 3D if this one proves it’s worth it. (I would have started with a better lead-in.) Trailer Official Website

Perfect Sense It’s not often that “serious scifi” and “serious romance” cross paths, and the results are always unpredictable when they do. This one has an intriguing premise, though: a doctor (Eva Green) falls for a chef (Ewan McGregor) who’s suffering odd symptoms that affect his emotions and five senses. She investigates his illness and discovers that his case is one of many to break out in just 24 hours, all over the globe. Trailer Official Website

February 14

This Means War Star Trek‘s Chris Pine and Inception‘s Tom Hardy are CIA agents and besties who fall for the same gal (Reese Witherspoon), forcing them to pull out all the stops to stop each other from getting the girl. Sort of like Mr. & Mrs. Smith with a love triangle. Trailer Official Website

February 17

Dorothy and the Witches of Oz A new twist on the classic story finds Dorothy Gale a children’s author in New York City who discovers that her books are actually based on repressed memories, where now the beings of that world are entering ours, Enchanted-style. Originally aired internationally as a miniseries; this re-edited version is releasing to theaters only in the U.S. Stars Christopher Lloyd as the Wizard and newcomer Paulie Rojas as Dorothy Gale. Trailer Official Website

Ghost Rider: Spirit of Vengeance The first movie wasn’t really good enough to warrant a sequel, but at least this one looks crazy enough to be fun. The guys that brought you Crank bring their over-the-top style to the franchise, allowing even Nic Cage to enjoy himself a lot more as the title character. Trailer Official Website

The Secret World of Arrietty The revered Studio Ghibli brings their interpretation of the classic children’s books, The Borrowers. Disney distributes. Ghibli only knows how to make masterpieces, and this should be no exception. Trailer Official Website

February 24

Act of Valor It’s a documentary shot like an action thriller. Real-life Navy SEALs are sent on a covert mission to recover a kidnapped CIA agent that leads to the demise of a complex web of terrorist cells. Strong buzz surrounds this one. Trailer Official Website

Gone Nothing can stop Jill (Amanda Seyfried) from finding her missing sister, because she’s convinced that the serial killer who kidnapped her two years ago has returned for her sibling. Trailer Official Website

March 2

Dr. Seuss’ The Lorax The same studio that brought you Horton Hears a Who puts their CGI spin on another classic Dr. Seuss story. Anybody else getting an unfortunate Garfield vibe from that poster? Trailer Official Website

March 9

John Carter Disney has a lot riding on the live-action debut of Pixar’s Andrew Stanton — not the least of which is a ginormous VFX budget. Taylor Kitsch stars as Edgar Rice Burroughs’ classic hero, a Civil War veteran who’s transported to Mars, where he becomes a savior figure. Hollywood’s been trying to get this movie off the ground for ages, since nearly every science fiction epic in existence was influenced by the ideas Burroughs dreamed up first. So it stands the risk of feeling “old hat” to modern audiences unaware of its pivotal place in history. Its scheduling in early March (well outside summer blockbuster season) and shortened title (it originally matched the novel’s title, John Carter of Mars) has us nervous about Disney’s confidence in the film. But our hopes remain very high. Trailer Official Website

Playback While digging into their town’s infamous past, a group of high school students unwittingly unlock a dark secret, unleashing an evil spirit that takes possession of its victims. Stars Christian Slater, and screams “direct-to-video,” but I’m in a charitable mood so here’s hoping. Trailer Official Website

The Silent House A chilling thriller from South America based on a true story about a girl trapped inside a cottage by someone — or something — bloodthirsty. The movie follows her actions and her rising panic, second-by-second, for the majority of its running time. Trailer Official Website

March 16

21 Jump Street Jonah Hill and Channing Tatum attempt to revive the franchise that put Johnny Depp on the map. The old Fox TV series comes to the big screen with a more lighthearted tone. Unfortunately, it’s probably going to be funny for all the wrong reasons. Trailer Official Website

Seeking Justice After his wife is assaulted, a husband (Nicolas Cage) enlists the services of a vigilante group to help him settle the score. Also stars Guy Pierce and January Jones. Trailer

March 23

4:44 Last Day on Earth What would happen to people, to society, if we all knew the exact day and time that the world was going to end? Stars Willem Dafoe. Official Website

Brake A Secret Service Agent (Blade‘s Stephen Dorff) is held captive in the trunk of a car and endures high-speed mental and physical torture as terrorists attempt to extract needed information from him. In other words, the feel good movie of the year. Trailer Official Website

The Hunger Games All eyes are on star Jennifer Lawrence and director Gary Ross to see if they can bring Suzanne Collins’ runaway bestseller — a book that begged for a big-screen adaptation — to glorious life. Expect a faithful adaptation of Collins’ mesmerizing story of survivalist Katniss Everdeen, a sixteen-year-old forced into a brutal, televised competition where teenagers are pitted against one another to the death. The trailer shows that Ross has perfectly captured the future society of the books on film, but he faces a serious challenge in bringing Katniss to life. Since the book treats readers to Katniss’ inner thoughts, everything happens from her first-person perspective. Translating the core of this beloved character — whose often subtle actions don’t always betray her true feelings — won’t be easy. Lionsgate has big plans for The Hunger Games (they’re filming both sequels), but as the book’s legions of fans know, Katniss Everdeen is the most worthy successor to Harry Potter to come along in a very long time. Trailer Official Website

The Raid Gareth Huw Evans follows-up his Indonesian martial arts flick Merantau with this stylish romp about a special forces team forced to fight their way, floor-by-floor, out of an apartment building owned by a notorious drug lord. Trailer

March 30

Mirror Mirror The first of two Snow White movies out of the gate in 2012 is the more lighthearted of the pair. It has the benefit of Julia Roberts as its above-the-title star, but the candy-colored production looks awfully campy, considering it comes from a director (Tarsem Singh) usually known for his visually sophisticated style. It’s the more family-friendly Snow White of 2012, but it hasn’t made a good first impression. Trailer Official Website

Transit A family on a road trip is stalked by criminals who stashed stolen money in their car. Starring Jim Caviezel, Elisabeth Rohm, James Frain, and Harold Perrineau. Trailer

Wrath of the Titans Sam Worthington returns as Perseus when the gods go to war once more, but this time Zeus is captured by the Titans and must be rescued from the dark realm of Tartarus. Bigger effects, more characters, and (hopefully) better 3D. Oh, and a bizarre reunion for the two lead actors from Schindler’s List (Liam Neeson and Ralph Fiennes), who play godly brothers. Trailer Official Website

April 4

Iron Sky The Nazis set up a secret base on the moon in 1945 where they hide out and plan to return to power in 2018. Supposedly a steampunk “action/comedy,” though it sounds more like a high-concept scifi flick. Trailer Official Website

April 6

The Cold Light of Day A young American (Henry Cavill) uncovers a conspiracy during his attempt to save his family, who were kidnapped while on vacation in Spain. Also stars Bruce Willis and Sigourney Weaver. Trailer Official Website

Detention A slasher movie about a slasher movie killer who scares a group of high school seniors. Wasn’t that the plot of Scream? Trailer Official Website

The Hunter A mercenary, played by Willem Dafoe, is sent by a mysterious biotech company to the Tasmanian wilderness to hunt down the last Tasmanian tiger. Trailer Official Website

April 13

Bad Ass Danny Trejo stars as a former war hero who gains fame a second time for saving a black man’s life from a group of skinheads. When his best friend is murdered and the police refuse to do anything about it, our senior citizen hero takes matters into his own hands. Trailer Official Website

Bullet to the Head Based on a French graphic novel, this one tells the story of a New Orleans hitman (Sylvester Stallone) and a young New York City cop (Sung Kang) who form an alliance to bring down the killers of their respective partners. Also stars Christian Slater and Jason Momoa. (Can’t help wondering how many steroids it takes to sport a body like that at 65. I’m sorry, but look at his arms! Those veins are about to explode!)

The Cabin in the Woods Joss Whedon and his former Buffy/Angel writer Drew Goddard, who also wrote Cloverfield, came up with this one, which is expected to take the stereotypical horror movie tropes and turn them on their heads. As the poster suggests, expect endless twists and turns, where the rug is swept out from under the characters (and viewers) time and again. It was filmed in 2009 but held back by the distributor for unknown reasons. Stars Chris Hemsworth pre-Thor and marks Goddard’s directing debut. Trailer Official Website

April 20

Lock-Out An odd scifi/action mashup about a man (Guy Pierce) wrongly convicted of treason against the U.S., who’s offered freedom if he can rescue the President’s daughter (Maggie Grace) from an outer space prison (that’s right) taken over by violent inmates. Hopefully will answer the nagging question of why Maggie Grace keeps getting kidnapped in movies. Trailer

The Moth Diaries A teenage girl at a boarding school suspects her roommate is a vampire. And you thought you were the only one!

April 27

Headhunters Subtitled action/thriller about an accomplished headhunter who risks everything to obtain a valuable painting owned by a former mercenary. Trailer

The Pirates: Band of Misfits Aardman brings us their one-of-a-kind take on the world’s recent pirate obsession, clamation style. Hugh Grant stars as the main character, who wants only to win the coveted Pirate of the Year Award. Boasts a great supporting cast that includes the voices of Jeremy Piven, Salma Hayek, Imelda Staunton, and David Tennant. Trailer Official Website

The Raven John Cusack playing Edgar Allan Poe? Awesome. Poe trying to stop a serial killer who uses Poe’s fictional tales as inspiration for his murders? Coolness. Seriously, what’s not to love about this? It’s just a flat-out great idea. But the worst idea ever can make for a great story if it’s told exceptionally well. How many amazing-sounding premises have turned out to be stinkers because of how clumsily they were handled? We’re hoping for something inspired, but there are no guarantees. Trailer Official Website

Safe Jason Statham, doing that “former elite agent” thing he does, must rescue a girl from the Chinese Triads and then use a unique — and highly sought-after — safe combination to somehow outwit the Russian Mafia and corrupt New York City officials. I don’t know why he does any of those things, but all that matters is that he’ll look cool doing it. Trailer Official Website

May 4

The Avengers By Hollywood standards, The Avengers should never have happened. Marvel Studios’ audacious plan to introduce a team of superheroes one-by-one in their own movies (Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Hulk, along with Nick Fury, Black Widow, and Hawkeye) and then assemble them dream-team style, is way too risky a proposition for Hollywood. Then there’s writer/director Joss Whedon, geek god extraordinaire, best known for Buffy, Firefly, Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog, and his bestselling run on Marvel’s Astonishing X-Men comic. Handing him the keys to this $220+ million kingdom is insanely ballsy — and ingenious — on Marvel’s part, since they’re allowing him to bring his vision to the screen with no interference. The Avengers is the kind of pie-in-the-sky project that fanboys drool about in their sleep. You could say our hopes are kinda high. Trailer Official Website

May 11

Dark Shadows A longtime passion project of Johnny Depp’s, I’m not sure what to make of Tim Burton’s revival of the gothic vampire soap opera. Depp stars as Barnabas Collins, a vampire buried for 220 years who finally resurfaces to discover his descendants even more twisted and secretive than the family he remembers. It’s unknown if Burton is paying homage to the tone of the original, or playing it for laughs. Also stars Michelle Pfeiffer, Helena Bonham Carter, Jonny Lee Miller, Chloe Moretz, and Jackie Earle Haley.

May 18

Battleship Yes, it really is based on the classic board game. It pits the American Navy against an alien invasion, which for some reason happens at sea. Despite this, there’s always a chance it could be good fun, right? Right? Peter Berg directs Liam Neeson, Taylor Kitsch, Alexander Skarsgård, and songstress Rihanna, in her acting debut. Trailer Official Website

May 25

Men in Black III The last film was ten long years ago. And Will Smith and director Barry Sonnenfeld have clashed on set, reportedly. The plot finds Agent J heading back in time to 1969 to visit a young Agent K (played by Josh Brolin, doing an uncanny Tommy Lee Jones impression). The film’s villain, Boris (Flight of the Concords‘ Jemaine Clement), travels back to kill Agent K, which will somehow set off a chain reaction that will bring about the end of the world. Trailer Official Website

June 1

Snow White and the Huntsman The more compelling of the dueling Snow White movies releasing in 2012, this one puts a Tolkien-esque twist on the fairy tale that (gasp!) dares to take its subject matter seriously. Sparkly-vampire lover Kristen Stewart stars as a kick-butt fairest of them all (hopefully she’ll reveal hidden depths we haven’t seen yet), Chris Hemsworth is well cast as the Huntsman sent to kill her but who decides to help her instead, and Charlize Theron looks menacingly lethal as the Evil Queen. Let’s hope for a thrilling surprise with this one. Trailer Official Website

June 7

The Rift Not much is known about this indie scifi pic, which cost a meager $20,000 to film. It comes from writer/director Robert Kouba, a Swiss newcomer with no prior credits, and an untested production company called Vantis Pictures. The plot has something to do with enormous rifts opening in the night sky, behind which something is watching the Earth. Trailer Official Website

June 8

Madagascar 3: Europe’s Most Wanted The first film had its charms, but no one involved with the sequel seemed to have seen the first one. The problem with the Madagascar franchise is that its four main characters (voices of Ben Stiller, Chris Rock, Jada Pinkett-Smith, and David Schwimmer) have never been as interesting as its supporting cast (namely, the penguins, the lemurs — heck, even the barely-seen monkeys). The only way to justify a third movie is if the core four finally become characters worthy of a trilogy. At least the premise is more interesting than Escape 2 Africa, and Frances McDormand is ready to steal the show as a tough-as-nails animal control officer. Trailer Official Website

Prometheus We have nothing but questions about Prometheus (is it Ridley Scott’s return to scifi form? a prequel to Alien? a space expedition to discover the origins of mankind??), but the one thing we know for certain about this top secret, big budget, science fiction thriller: we’re there. There’s the cast, which includes Charlize Theron, Michael Fassbender, Patrick Wilson, Idris Elba, Guy Pearce, Noomi Rapace, and many more. There’s the script, by Jon Spaihts and Lost mastermind Damon Lindelof (who knows a thing or two about secrets). And then there’s Scott, whose last few films have been neither buzz-worthy hits nor huge failures. Robin Hood, Body of Lies, American Gangster, A Good Year, etc. were filed by audiences under “Meh.” Plus, he hasn’t done science fiction in thirty years (not since Blade Runner). One gets the impression he has something to prove. We’re just glad Scott’s finally making something to get excited about. Trailer

June 15

The Woman in the Fifth Based on Douglas Kennedy’s novel, it involves an American who’s fled to Paris after a scandal that cost him his job as a university film lecturer. He takes up with a widow who might be involved in a series of murders. Trailer

June 22

Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter When President Lincoln’s mother is killed by a vampire, Honest Abe sets out to crush the entire vampire race — and their slave-owning helpers. Sounds awesomely crazy or maybe too ridiculous to prop a big-budget feature on. But that’s never stopped Hollywood before. Directed by Timur Bekmambetov (Wanted), which gives one hope that it might be something we’ve never seen before. Based on the novel by Seth Grahame-Smith.

Brave Still the greatest animation studio on earth (despite Cars 2), Pixar is set to continue its dominance with this new fairy tale set in the Scottish highlands. For the first time, Pixar has a female lead character (and co-director) in Merida, a princess who craves freedom and adventure. When Merida (Kelly Macdonald) defies her parents and makes an ill-fated wish to an eccentric witch, she accidentally unleashes a curse that wreaks havoc upon her kingdom. The wispy trailer looks positively enchanting. Also stars the voices of Emma Thompson, Billy Connolly, Kevin McKidd, Craig Ferguson, and Robbie Coltrane. Trailer Official Website

June 29

G.I. Joe: Retaliation Cobra returns in force, crushing the Joes and leaving just a handful of team members alive — only one or two of whom, conveniently, were in the first movie. A new, more visceral director and the surprise additions of Dwayne Johnson and Bruce Willis to the franchise means this will either be a bold new direction, or a should’ve-been-direct-to-home-video disaster. Trailer Official Website

July 3

The Amazing Spider-Man Probably the fastest reboot in history, The Amazing Spider-Man returns us to the beginning of the story — Peter Parker getting his spider powers in high school — and builds an entire film around that time in his life. The script is reportedly based more on Marvel’s hipper, younger Ultimate Spider-Man comics than the flagship series, and director Marc Webb looks to be going for a grittier approach to the material than Sam Raimi’s trilogy. Andrew Garfield stars as a taller, lankier Peter, with Emma Stone as not MJ but Gwen Stacey, Peter’s first love. Rhys Ifans is the flick’s big bad, the Lizard, and what little we’ve seen of the character’s design has left us unimpressed. The thrust of the new film — which is, of course, positioned as the start of a new franchise — is the journey of a young man trying to find his deceased father. Spider-Man’s popularity has weathered worse storms than a franchise reboot (do I even need to mention the musical?), so naturally we’re eager to see what Garfield and Webb’s take on the character is like. Trailer Official Website

July 13

Ted I’m including this one purely based on Seth McFarlane’s geek cred, because otherwise it probably wouldn’t have made the list. McFarlane makes his big-screen directing debut in this off-kilter story of a man (Mark Wahlberg) who owns a teddy bear that’s brought to life due to a childhood wish. Of course, this being McFarlane, the bear in question is brash and offensive, and complicates Wahblerg’s life considerably.

July 20

The Dark Knight Rises The most anticipated film of the year, after the critically-acclaimed, box office bonanza that was The Dark Knight. This third and final entry in Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy is set eight years after the caped crusader took the fall for Harvey Dent’s crimes. Things have been going pretty swell in Gotham City in that time, but nothing lasts forever. Enter Bane, the super-strong, brilliant, ruthless terrorist leader played by Inception‘s Tom Hardy, who wants to break Batman (which literally happened in the comics, in the famous storyline where Bane broke Batman’s back). Anne Hathaway is the latest to don the pointy ears of Catwoman, and you can count on her moral ambiguity to play an important part of the story; will she be Bruce Wayne’s nemesis or his ally? Rumors suggest that the film might bring the series full circle, with the top-secret resurrection of Liam Neeson as Ra’s al Ghul, or maybe his daughter Talia masterminding things as revenge. Gotham has never been in greater danger, but while we have no doubt Batman will save the day, the lingering question is… Will he live through it? Trailer Official Website

August 3

The Bourne Legacy A Bourne movie without Jason Bourne (Matt Damon). How’s that gonna work? The franchise attempts to reinvent itself under Tony Gilroy’s direction — who wrote the first three movies. Jeremy Renner, aka the man who is in every franchise film of 2012, is given the spotlight as a new operative with a similar background — and a mysterious connection — to Bourne. Renner’s supported by a great cast, including Rachel Weisz, Edward Norton, Albert Finney, and Oscar Isaac, but will audiences accept a Bourne-less Bourne? Trailer

Total Recall Len Wiseman remakes the Schwarzenegger classic with a revitalized focus on the Philip K. Dick source material. Colin Farrell takes on the Douglas Quaid role, Kate Beckinsale is his duplicitous wife, Jessica Biel the rebel fighter he falls for, Bryan Cranston the villainous Chancellor Cohaagen, and Bill Nighy the leader of the underground resistance. The biggest change from the original movie? No Mars. Everything happens on Earth this time.

August 10

Warm Bodies When a highly unusual zombie rescues a girl from imminent death at the hands of his cohorts, their unlikely romance sets in motion a chain of events that will transform him, his fellow dead, and maybe even the whole lifeless world. And if you’re thinking, “Um… WHAT??” You’re not alone. From writer/director Jonathan Levine.

August 15

The Odd Life of Timothy Green A family-friendly fantasy about a married couple who dream of starting a family but are unable to conceive a child. So they spend an evening dreaming up what their child would be like — and are stunned to find that very child on their doorstep one stormy night. But there’s more to magical little Timothy than it first appears. Stars Jennifer Garner and Joel Edgerton. Trailer Official Website

August 17

The Expendables 2 The team sets out for revenge when one of their own is cut down. Sylvester Stallone is back as writer and star, but hands off directing duties to Con Air‘s Simon West. Original actors Jason Statham, Jet Li, Dolph Lundgren, Randy Couture, Hale Caesar, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and Bruce Willis are all back, joined by new additions Jean-Claude Van Damme and Chuck Norris (!!), and a pair of new, young team members played by Liam Hemsworth (Chris’ younger brother) and Yu Nan. Trailer Official Website

ParaNorman Meet Norman. He’s considered strange by his friends and family, but in reality, he can speak with the dead. And when a centuries-old curse threatens his hometown, Norman must take on ghosts, zombies, and (oh no!) grown-ups, to save the day. From the stop-motion studio that produced Coraline. Trailer Official Website

August 24

The Apparition A parapsychology experiment conjures up a scary apparition that terrorizes a young couple played by Ashley Greene and Sebastian Stan. Their only hope: an expert in the supernatural, played by Tom Felton (aka Draco Malfoy).

Premium Rush Hollywood script doctor David Koepp must’ve seen bicycle messengers zipping through New York City one day, dodging all sorts of obstacles on their specialized, single-gear bikes with no brakes, and decided that there was an adrenaline movie in there somewhere. Koepp both co-writes and directs Joseph Gordon-Levitt as an agile, skilled cyclist whose last run of the day turns into a life or death chase through Manhattan. Trailer Official Website

Sinister Yet another “found footage” film — but with a twist. Ethan Hawke stars as a novelist who travels the country, researching gruesome murders for inspiration. When he and his family move into a house where another family was murdered, he finds home videos that reveal horrifying clues about how the family died. Writer/director Scott Derrickson (The Exorcism of Emily Rose) returns to horror after his scifi bout with The Day The Earth Stood Still.

August 31

7500 Thriller that follows a group of passengers from disparate walks of life who encounter a supernatural force while on a transpacific flight. From the director of The Grudge.

The Possession A fictional retelling of an LA Times article about an antique wooden box, purchased on eBay, that supposedly holds an evil spirit. According to the Times, the box brought terrible calamities down on everyone who bought it. The movie adds cursed family relics to the box, which present a mystery for the main character to solve before it destroys her family.

September 6

Shadow Dancer Talk about your fascinating team-ups. The X-Files‘ Gillian Anderson stars alongside Clive Owen in this tense story of a woman who’s entrenched in the IRA alongside her husband and brothers, who decides to become an informer for MI-5.

September 14

Resident Evil: Retribution This is the fifth movie in the Milla Jovovich action series that just keeps going and going, even though I don’t know a single person who’s seen any of them. Paul W.S. Anderson returns to the helm for this one, which goes deeper into Alice’s mysterious past, while taking her on a worldwide hunt for those responsible for the zombie outbreak. Impact Pictures promises a “mind-blowing revelation” at the movie’s climax.

Argo When 52 Americans are captured by Iran in 1979, six of them (led by Ben Affleck) slip away and devise a risky plan to escape the country. Based on a true story that was unknown by the public for decades.

September 21

Dredd The disappointing Sylvester Stallone adaptation wasn’t terribly faithful to the comic book, so director Pete Travis (Vantage Point) is bringing us a new movie that is. Karl Urban (who doesn’t remove his helmet for the duration of the film) stars as the title character, a futuristic cop given the authority to arrest, sentence, and execute lawbreakers right on the streets. And he has no problem doing so.

Hotel Transylvania Dracula (Adam Sandler) opens a lavish, “five-stake” resort, where monsters and their families are free to be who they are, in the lap of luxury. On his daughter’s 118th birthday, Dracula invites the world’s most famous monsters to the hotel to celebrate, when an ordinary guy stumbles across the hotel and falls for Drac’s daughter.

House at the End of the Street A mother and daughter move to a new town and find themselves living next door to a house where a young girl murdered her parents. When the daughter befriends the surviving son, she learns the story is far from over. Starring Hunger Games‘ Jennifer Lawrence, Elizabeth Shue, Gil Bellows, and more.

September 28

Looper A killer who works for the mob of the future recognizes one of his targets as his future self. Starring Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Bruce Willis, and Emily Blunt. A high-concept thriller from the writer/director of Brick and The Brothers Bloom. Official Website

Savages Pot growers Ben and Chon face off against the Mexican drug cartel who kidnapped their shared girlfriend. Directed by Oliver Stone, and starring Taylor Kitsch, Blake Lively, Aaron Johnson, John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Benicio Del Toro, Salma Hayek, Emile Hirsch, and Demian Bichir.

October 5

Frankenweenie Tim Burton’s second film of the year, a Disney production, is the animated tale of a boy who brings his beloved dog back to life — with a few “minor” adjustments. Filmed in stop-motion black & white, the voice cast includes Winona Ryder, Martin Short, Catherine O’Hara, and Martin Landau. Official Website

Taken 2 Liam Neeson’s Bryan Mills and his wife (played by Famke Janssen), are taken captive by the father of one of the kidnappers from the first film. This time, it’s up to his daughter Kim (Maggie Grace) to free her mom and dad, under her old man’s tutelage and with an assist from her boyfriend (Luke Grimes).

October 12

Parker Crime/thriller about a thief (Jason Statham) who lives by a code of honor that includes never stealing money from people who need it. Also starring Jennifer Lopez, Clifton Collins Jr., Wendell Pierce, Michael Chiklis. Written by John J. McLaughlin and directed by Taylor Hackford.

October 19

The Gangster Squad A noir thriller based on the true life of mob king Mickey Cohen (Sean Penn), who ran Los Angeles’ criminal underground in the 40s, even owning the police and local politicians. The only ones who dare to stand against him are a secret crew of LAPD outsiders led by John O’Mara (Josh Brolin) and Jeremy Wooters (Ryan Gosling).

Paranormal Activity 4 More paranormal, more activity. You know the drill.

October 26

I, Alex Cross Tyler Perry steps outside of his box to portray detective Alex Cross, hero of James Patterson’s bestselling empire. Lost‘s Matthew Fox co-stars as Cross’ psychotic nemesis, who murders the detective’s wife, leading to a one-on-one match between hunter and prey. Directed by Rob Cohen and also starring Rachel Nichols, Jean Reno, Ed Burns, Cicely Tyson, and more.

November 2

Red Dawn A remake of the Brat Pack classic, about young adults who take up arms and use guerrilla tactics to take back their hometown when it’s invaded. Instead of Chinese invaders, this time they’re the more timely North Koreans. This one’s been in the can for a while, but MGM has held back from releasing it for unknown reasons. Stars Chris Hemsworth, Adrianne Palicki, Josh Hutcherson, Josh Peck, Isabel Lucas, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan.

Wreck-It Ralph Disney Animation takes a break from fairy tales to produce this story of an arcade game villain (John C. Reilly) who’s spent decades being defeated by Fix-It Felix (Jack McBrayer) and grown tired of being the bad guy. So he hops through other video games in the arcade, which include titles from all eras of gaming, to prove himself as a hero. But when Ralph accidentally unleashes a deadly enemy that threatens the entire arcade, he has to realize his dream and save the day. Veteran TV animation director Rich Moore (The Simpsons, Futurama) makes his big-screen directorial debut.

November 9

Skyfall Daniel Craig returns at last in his third big-screen adventure as James Bond. The plot is being kept tightly under wraps, but here’s what we know: it involves M’s past coming back to haunt her, bringing MI-6 under attack. And Bond’s loyalty to M (Judi Dench) will be sorely tested along the way. Sam Mendes directs the 23rd Bond adventure, which features a phenomenal cast that includes Javier Bardem (as the bad guy), Ralph Fiennes, Naomie Harris, Albert Finney, and more. Skyfall is also noteworthy for being the first Craig/Bond movie not written or rewritten by Paul Haggis. Taking his place in that role is Gladiator‘s John Logan.

November 21

47 Ronin Keanu Reeves knows Kung Fu. Again. This time he’s the lone Caucasian actor in a cast of Asian martial arts masters (awkward!), playing an outcast named Kai who joins a group of outcast samurai, led by Hiroyuki Sanada. Together, these 47 ronin seek vengeance on the evil lord that murdered their master and banished them all.

Gravity Genius director Alfonso Cuaron is back in the director’s chair for the first time in six long years (dude, seriously, what’s the hold up?) for a scifi character piece — that might be more than it first appears. Sandra Bullock and George Clooney star as astronauts who are on a spacewalk when their shuttle is destroyed, leaving them tethered to nothing but one another and spiraling into the blackness of space. With no chance of rescue and dwindling oxygen, the two fall into panic. But get this bit, from the film’s official byline: “But the only way home may be to go further out into the terrifying expanse of space.” Methinks Cuaron has something up his sleeve with this one.

Rise of the Guardians Animated film based on a series of children’s books by William Joyce, which paints Santa Claus, the Easter Bunny, the Tooth Fairy, and Jack Frost as a group of immortal superheroes. The film finds the Guardians banding together to fight an evil spirit named Pitch, who tries to take over the mortal world. Starring the voices of Chris Pine, Alec Baldwin, Hugh Jackman, Isla Fisher, and Jude Law. Official Website

December 14

The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey For years, it seemed like it was never going to happen. After one big behind-the-scenes drama after another (the departure of director Guillermo del Toro, union woes in New Zealand), the stars aligned at last, and Peter Jackson is finally back behind the camera to take us all back to Middle Earth. Tolkien’s prequel to Lord of the Rings is a more lighthearted tale, which gives the filmmaker an opportunity to show us Middle Earth before the age of fear caused by Sauron’s return to power. Jackson & Co. have split the book into two films, and augmented it with material from Tolkien’s appendices (such as the convening of the White Council), and are bringing back many of the trilogy’s actors to cameo as their younger selves. But the real action surrounds Martin Freeman’s Bilbo Baggins, who’s dragged on a quest alongside Gandalf and thirteen dwarves — a fateful trip that includes the introduction of Gollum, a showdown with the dragon Smaug, and the enormous Battle of Five Armies. Can’t. Freaking. Wait. Trailer Official Website

December 19

Untitled Osama bin Laden Film After her critical success with The Hurt Locker, director Kathryn Bigelow returns to the Middle East for another story of modern wartime. But this one is based on some of the most important real-life events of our time: the covert U.S. mission to find and kill Osama bin Laden. It’s an unexpected choice for Bigelow, to go back to the War on Terror right after her last trip there, but her style lends itself perfectly to this true story. Her cast includes Joel Edgerton and Mark Strong.

December 21

Hunter Killer Guys’ guys Gerard Butler and Sam Worthington team up in this Crimson Tide-ish tale of a rookie submarine captain who has to work with a veteran Navy SEAL team to rescue a captive Russian president from a Russian general intent on starting World War III. Directed by Phillip Noyce, best known for his Tom Clancy adaptations.

Life of Pi M. Night Shyamalan was once attached to bring this beloved, bestselling novel to the big screen, but it’s Ang Lee who’s finally making it happen. The philosophical, nigh-allegorical story involves an Indian zookeeper’s son named Pi, who sets out to emigrate to North America with his family and a ship full of zoo animals. Disaster strikes and the ship sinks, but Pi survives in a lifeboat — along with a hyena, an orangutan, a wounded zebra, and an enormous Bengal tiger. When Pi reaches the coast of Mexico 227 days later, his encyclopedic knowledge of animal behavior has allowed him to survive while most of his animal companions are dead. He tells the authorities his story, but they refuse to believe it, so he tells a second, less fantastical version of his story. So which one is true?

World War Z Brad Pitt is a UN representative assigned to write a report on the great zombie war, which recently decimated the planet. He sets out to interview survivors all over the world, gathering stories and recollections of human survivors of the events leading up to the war and what happened during it. Director Marc Forster has reportedly been given a ginormous budget to film the script from fan-favorite writer J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5), who adapted Max Brooks’ revered novel. No easy feat, since the unconventional book has no straightforward narrative. There’s a ton of pressure to get this one right. So how do you create a movie out of a series of disconnected, first-person reports? We’ll find out this Christmas.

December 25

Django Unchained Quentin Tarantino writes and directs this story of a German dentist turned bounty hunter (Christoph Waltz) who frees a slave named Django (Jamie Foxx) from a brutal Mississippi plantation owner and trains him as his partner. With his newfound skills, Django teams with his mentor to search for his wife (Kerry Washington).

Airborne Mark Hamill (yes, that Mark Hamill) in this thriller set on an airplane that takes off in the midst of a severe snow storm. In the air, the plane suddenly tells the ground that both pilots are dead, and the passengers on board are dying one-by-one.

The Beasts of the Southern Wild A big award winning indie that got rave reviews out of Sundance, Southern Wild is an unusual coming-of-age story set in a sort-of-post-apocalyptic southern Delta community called “the Bathtub.” A six-year-old girl named Hushpuppy lives there with her father Wink, but when Wink contracts a strange illness, the whole world seems to react, with rising temperatures, melting ice caps, and the unleashing of a prehistoric army of creatures called aurochs. In the midst of all of this, Hushpuppy sets out alone to find her long lost mother. Official Website

Cloud Atlas The next big thing from the Wachowski’s, who are adapting the esoteric David Mitchell novel with a big-name cast headed up by Tom Hanks. The movie is broken into six segments that jump to differing eras and characters; half of these segments are being directed by the Wachowski’s and half are being handled by Tom Tykwer (Run Lola Run). The undercurrent idea is that a single soul keeps being reincarnated to appear in all these different times, so we kind of follow his journey over time and how his different “lives” interconnect. Also starring Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Jim Broadbent, Susan Sarandon, and others. (Don’t be surprised if its release is pushed back to 2013.)

Cogan’s Trade Brad Pitt stars in this tale of a mob enforcer named Jackie Cogan who investigates the heist of a mob-protected poker game. Based on a 1974 novel of the same name by George V. Higgins.

The Creed of Violence Based on a novel by Boston Teran, Leonardo DiCaprio has been circling this one for a while. In 1910, two men — an assassin and a government agent with a hidden connection to him — try to stop an organization behind an arms smuggling ring.

Grabbers Crazy alien invasion farce set in Ireland, where natives discover that the one thing their giant, bloodsucking, tentacled invaders can’t withstand is alcohol. In order to survive, the locals have to — you guessed it — get sloshed. Which, coincidentally, they’re extremely good at.

John Dies at the End The weirdest movie of 2012, guaranteed. It’s a metaphysical stoner concoction that has something to do with a pair of college dropouts who get hooked on a new street drug that allows users to drift across time and dimensions with each hit. Some kind of alien invasion threat is also involved, but I couldn’t tell you much more than that. Cast includes Paul Giamatti, Chase Williamson, Rob Mayes, Clancy Brown, Glynn Turman, and the brilliant Doug Jones. Trailer Official Website

Only God Forgives The star (Ryan Gosling) and writer/director (Nicolas Winding Refn) of Drive pair up again for the story of a Bangkok police lieutenant and a gangster, who settle their differences in a Thai-boxing match. The real buzz on this one surrounds Kristin Scott Thomas playing against type as “a merciless and terrifying mafia godmother.”

Red Lights Rodrigo Cortes, writer/director of the Ryan Reynolds thriller Buried, returns with another unconventional thriller about the world of paranormal investigation. Sigourney Weaver and her assistant Cillian Murphy play famous investigators who routinely disprove the paranormal claims of those who call on them. Robert De Niro is an infamous psychic who disappeared in the 70s and resurfaces now — and who people have a habit of dying around. A battle of wits ensues. Word out of Sundance is that Cortes made a solid thriller until its final moments, where he botched the ending. Trailer

Robot and Frank Another award-winning indie Sundance hit, this one was picked up by Sony and Samuel Goldwyn Films for distribution sometime this year. Frank Langella stars as a curmudgeon named Frank, a former jewel thief who gets his groove back with an assist from the robot his children buy him as a caretaker. Official Website

Seven Psychopaths The star (Colin Farrell) and director (Martin McDonagh) of In Bruges re-team for this film about gangsters, dogs, and psychopaths, where a screenwriter gets caught up in a friend’s plot to kidnap a dog. The eccentric cast includes Woody Harrelson, Sam Rockwell, Christopher Walken, Abbie Cornish, Tom Waits, and Kevin Corrigan.

Spaceless The story of an assassin who wakes up inside a spacesuit tumbling helplessly through space, with a computer designed to keep him company until his air runs out. He must try to solve the mystery of his death, which began when he broke into an orbiting space station to carry out a hit. But the man soon begins to question his reality, unsure if he is succumbing to madness or in an artificially created environment. Directed by Cary Fukunaga. Current status of this one is unknown; no actors have been announced or production started, so it very well could slip into 2013.

Under the Skin Jonathan Glazer, the director of Sexy Beast, heads into science fiction, taking a premise that could’ve come right out of the 70s and turning it on its head. Scarlett Johansson stars as a voraciously sexy alien in human form who preys on human men. The twist comes when she, over time, is fascinated and changed by the complexity of human beings. Her alien resolve weakening, she winds up as a kind of defender of mankind, standing against her own kind.

V/H/S A horror anthology with segments directed by six different directors. Involves a group of Jackass-style idiots turned criminals who are hired to retrieve a VHS tape from a rundown house in the middle of nowhere. There, they find huge stacks of video cassettes that must be sorted through to find the right one. But the tapes hold a series of horrifying videos. One particularly gruesome sequence caused a man to feint at an early screening.

In any case, this really might be the only classic cocktails chart that one will ever need. Created by Pop Chart Lab, the image puts together what looks to me hundreds of classic cocktails and breaks them down so that anyone who reads it has a reasonable chance of concocting each cocktail.

In the middle, you will see a myriad of liquors and spirits labeled accordingly. The classic cocktails are then arranged in a circle around the main ingredients, complete with the kind of glass to use, how many ounces, and name, of course. The main ingredients are connected to the appropriate cocktail via colorful lines. These lines will either confuse you or mesmerize you. Guess what they did to me?

It doesn’t end there. Other ingredients such as mixers (juices, sodas, condiments, etc.) and garnishes (fruits) are placed at the top and at the bottom of the chart, also with lines connecting them to the matching classic cocktail. The result is one comprehensive classic cocktails chart.

Classic Cocktail Chart

For $28, you can have a 27″ x 39″ print of the classic cocktails chart. Then you’ll only have to stare at your wall when you need to whip up a drink or two.

moreTvicar dubs themselves as the “Home of the cool tee since 2003″, and even a quick look will make tee enthusiasts happy. The site is UK-based, but don’t worry if you are in other parts of the world. These guys are so nice that they said the winner can be based anywhere!

This is what’s up for grabs.

Le Retour du Jedi Shirt

How do you join the contest? As usual, let’s keep it simple and do a “Tweet + Link” contest.

Step 1: Copy & paste the following, and then tweet it:

I want to win a Le Retour du Jedi Shirt from @geekforever & @moreTvicar! Enter here: http://spla.us/xIqfmo #WinStarWarsShirt

Step 2: Leave us a comment on this page (below) to let us know you tweeted, and paste the link to your Tweet in your comment. (Note that our comments are moderated, so your comment may not show up immediately after you click the “Post Comment” button.)

The winner will be selected at random from the commenters on or around 8:00 pm EST on Wednesday, January 25. The winner will be notified via Twitter, after which you’ll send your mailing address to the good folks at moreTvicar so they can send you your prize.

Important: You can enter the contest once per day between now and the 25th.

Good luck, everyone!

Star Wars is celebrating its 35th birthday this year, so just for fun, ForeverGeek has re-cast Episode IV: A New Hope as if it was being made today. What modern actors would be the most interesting choices for iconic roles like Luke Skywalker and Han Solo? Our choices may surprise you.

Seeking to re-cast the main characters of Star Wars is a dangerous thing. The actors and the roles they play are so engrained in our consciousness, that the thought of someone else stepping into their shoes might be downright blasphemous. To that I say: this is all in good fun.

The idea here is to approach the original Star Wars as if it never existed before, and modern actors were being cast in these roles. We’re not casting for a remake here.. So the main rule of thumb is that I wasn’t looking for impersonators. I chose actors who fit the roles and could make them their own — not people who could mimic or look like the 1977 actors we know and love. So my goal was to come up with actors that could inhabit these characters without altering who we know them to be.

(Yeah, I know, it’s a contradiction to pretend Star Wars doesn’t exist while acknowledging that we all know it does. You’ll have a lot more fun if you just roll with it.)

A few other rules I tried to stick to:

• no superstar actors (with a few exceptions)
• all actors should be of similar ages and ethnicities to the original cast
• bold, unexpected choices
• only actors that are alive today

Ready? Here we go.

Luke Skywalker

Luke Skywalker

Mark Hamill was around 26 years old when Star Wars first released, which narrowed down the possibilities considerably. I didn’t want to pick actors that we automatically associate with other roles, so people like Shia LaBeouf and Zac Efron were out. Likewise, Adam Brody would have been an interesting choice, but he’s too old for the role; Anton Yelchin, a terrific actor who could certainly pull it off, is too young.

Spencer Treat Clark

My choice is Spencer Treat Clark, a selection that may come out of left field, but hear me out. Clark is best known for roles he played as a youngster — namely Joaquin Phoenix’s royal nephew in Gladiator, and Bruce Willis’ son in Unbreakable. That second film really showed off what Clark can do in front of a camera, and his wide-eyed innocence was impossible to look away from. His physical presence is a great fit for the role, while those powerful eyes of his would give the character some soulful new depth and angst. Just look at the photo to the right and tell me you can’t see Luke Skywalker in there. He even has a shaggy ‘do that would suit Luke’s bowl perfectly.

Actors also considered: Jamie Bell (another solid choice who grew up acting, and could conceivably fit the part — plus, he’s comfortable around visual effects work), and a young man that would make a really interesting and provocative choice, Tom Felton (Draco Malfoy from Harry Potter). Clark won out in the end simply because I look at him… and I believe.

Princess Leia

Princess Leia Organa

Carrie Fisher was the youngest member of the original cast, at just 21 in 1977. Leia Organa is one of the most iconic female roles of all time, calling for an actress who can portray both strength and vulnerability, who’s regal yet sassy, and wholesome but seductive when called for (in 6 years, the actress would have to wear a gold bikini).

My choice is Mae Whitman, another child actor who’s all grown up now. She’s known to geeks as the “munchkin” daughter of Bill Pullman and Mary McDonnell in Independence Day, but she’s become a very talented and lovely adult actress. She’s got talent for both comedy (she was a recurring player on Arrested Development) and drama (currently co-starring on NBC’s Parenthood). She’s got the “wholesome” thing down, providing the voice of Tinkerbell in Disney’s popular DVD movies for kids. She and Spencer Treat Clark could easily pass for siblings. And she can kick butt with serious attitude, as she proved (while barely recognizable) in Scott Pilgrim vs. the World as evil ex-girlfriend Roxy Richter. Plus, she’s got a roundish babyface that would fit those buns like a glove.

Also considered… Carey Mulligan, Anna Kendrick, Michelle Trachtenberg, and Emma Stone.

Han Solo

Han Solo

Alright, let the flaming comments begin. I know some readers are going to hate this one.

As hard as I tried to separate “Han Solo” from “Harrison Ford,” it’s just impossible to think of one without the other. And replacing Harrison Ford can’t be done; he’s universally adored, and he perfectly embodied this character who’s one of the good guys, but rough around the edges, unapologetically selfish (at least when we first meet him), and has no problem shooting first. Ford’s checklist of qualities is too long to match, but Solo’s is more manageable.

My pick is Taylor Kitsch. He’s a charismatic actor with charm and masculinity, and I can see him in this kind of role. He’s believable as a take-charge action hero, and he’s young-looking enough to later make a plausible suitor for Whitman. You could argue that he’s better known now than Ford was when Star Wars was made, and I won’t dispute that. But he’s yet to have that big, breakthrough role on the silver screen (the upcoming John Carter might just be it), the way that Star Wars was for Ford. Kitsch fits the charming, gruff, “man’s man” qualities of Han Solo.

Are you as surprised as I was to learn that Ford was 35 years old when he first played Han Solo? I had no idea! Kitsch is four years his younger, at 31.

Also considered… George Clooney could totally pull it off, but he’s too old for the role now. I seriously considered Ryan Reynolds, a solid actor who’s too well known now and felt a little too goofy/slapstick in his comedy roles to suit Han’s self-confident, devil-may-care brand of wry humor (though I could certainly be wrong about that). Sam Worthington could possibly manage it, but I don’t see Han Solo when I watch him — I see an actor more along the lines of Russell Crowe. Joshua Jackson is charming and roguish enough for the role, as he proves weekly on Fringe, but his small frame doesn’t physically fit the role. (I still think he’d make a fun choice, though.) Tom Hardy, “it” guy of the moment, has loads of charisma and a commanding screen presence, but he’s too intense for Han’s easy-going persona. Lost‘s Josh Holloway would make for a fascinating choice, but he’s in his 40s now.

Obi-Wan Kenobi

Obi-Wan Kenobi

For Obi-Wan Kenobi, you need someone capable of a subtle, nuanced performance. Someone able to impart dire information with a deft touch and a nobility of character. Obi-Wan doesn’t get a ton of screen time compared to others, but he’s a pivotal character with so much more going on behind his eyes than what comes out of his mouth.

John Noble is my choice, and I see him as someone a casting director might consider as taking an unexpected and inspired chance. If you’ve never seen Fringe, then you should still know him as the vile Denethor, Steward of Gondor, from The Return of the King. But his layered performance on Fox’s cult hit show proves that he’s incredibly talented. He’s not known for this kind of mentor role, but I’d love to see him show others how it’s done. Put simply: I picked him because he’s the only person on my list of finalists that could make the character his own to the point that we would forget about Alec Guinness. And that’s an insane task.

Also considered… Jeff Bridges is the right age for the role, but since George Lucas chose a British actor, I felt obliged to pick someone who can at least do a British accent — sorry, Jeff. Ian McKellan would be terrific, as would Anthony Head, but they’re both so strongly identified already with prominent “wizard mentor” roles (Gandalf and Giles). I seriously considered Hugh Bonneville, because he’s super talented and a true chameleon, capable of disappearing into any kind of role. He came in a very close second to Noble. I think an interesting choice would be Bernard Hill, aka King Theoden from Lord of the Rings, who’s very capable of that “nobility with a light touch” that the character requires.

Darth Vader

Darth Vader

Vader is a unique case, because in the original film, he was played by two different actors — one who performed his physical presence (David Prowse) and another who gave Vader his unforgettable voice (James Earl Jones). So following this model, I can’t imagine better choices than Sala Baker and Benedict Cumberbatch.

Baker is best known for his work as the dark lord Sauron in The Lord of the Rings (pictured), as well as that creepy Uruk Hai from the first film that Aragorn fought at the end (the one who grabbed Aragorn’s sword and pulled it through his own abdomen). He’s got an incredibly intimidating physicality, so he would be perfect for embodying Darth Vader, one of the greatest screen villains of all time.

Cumberbatch is the tall, skinny Brit who stars as the Great Detective in BBC’s Sherlock, and anyone who’s ever seen him in action knows why I chose him: he’s got a deep and powerful voice. With Cumberbatch, Vader would have not only a voice, but a soul. And if you need further endorsement, how about this: Peter Jackson recently hired Cumberbatch to voice Smaug the Dragon in The Hobbit, a character many consider to be the definitive dragon of all time.

Grand Moff Tarkin

Grand Moff Tarkin

Peter Cushing chewed up every scene he was in with his refined but intense portrayal of single-minded Grand Moff Tarkin, overseer of the Death Star (and essentially A New Hope‘s stand-in for the Emperor). Only another bigger-than-life actor will do, so I’m going with Jeremy Irons. He’s a skilled actor with a real talent for playing single-minded baddies. And not to harp on this, but he’d put his own spin on the character that would be just as valid as Cushing’s.

Also considered… Michael York and Malcolm McDowell. York I still think would be an interesting choice, but he’s not known for playing a lot of evil characters. McDowell I ruled out because I think he’d make a better Emperor!

Chewbacca

Chewbacca

Is there really any other choice for a modern Chewie than Andy Serkis? His performance in Rise of the Planet of the Apes was by far the best part of that movie, and who can forget Gollum? Serkis has proven time and again that he knows how to inhabit a creature and intelligently create a physical performance, and I’m sure he’d be just as good at wearing a big fur suit as he is at wearing those motion capture tights. (Note: in no way am I suggesting Chewbacca should be a CGI character.)

C-3PO

C-3PO

Anthony Daniels made C-3PO a prissy, fussy little droid that talked too much but was adored by fans anyway. He was also the comic relief for all six films. Doug Jones could do this kind of role in his sleep. Jones is a trained mime and a fantastic actor (he was Pan in Pan’s Labyrinth, Abe Sapien in Hellboy, the Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four 2, and the lead Gentleman in Buffy‘s “Hush” episode), and he’s good at doing different voices, to boot. Plus, he’s comfortable in heavy makeup and elaborate costumes, which ought to make it easy for him to squeeze into C-3PO’s metal droid suit (though it would need to be stretched a bit taller to accommodate Jones’ 6’3″ height!). The role might as well have been tailor-made for him.

R2-D2

R2-D2

R2-D2 must be played by a live actor, not CGI. Kenny Baker gave the little droid a real, beating heart that came through with R2′s every movement. Squeezing another actor into R2-D2′s can ain’t gonna be easy, so I point to Deep Roy as a solid actor with a versatile range that includes all of the attitude and emotion that’s needed for this unusual character. You may not recognize him, but you probably know his work: he was all of the Oompa-Loompas in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, he was Scotty’s cheeky alien cohort Keenser in 2009′s Star Trek, along with dozens of other roles. He even had a tiny bit part as one of the band members in Jabba’s palace in Return of the Jedi! Plus, he’s performed stunts in everything from Hook to Van Helsing, so he could handle the grueling hours under R2′s dome.

Alright. You’ve heard my picks. Now give us yours!

vlock iPhone clock

We’re giving away 3 codes for vlock, which is being dubbed as the most beautiful video clock on the iPhone. If you are looking for more than what the default clock can give you, then vlock might just be what you have been looking for. It allows you to use any video as the background for your clock. Movies, music videos, podcasts, and album videos – no problem, they can all run in the background! Oh, and vlock works on the iPad as well.

If you have lots of videos that you like watching over and over again, you can simply create a playlist and set that to keep playing for as long you want. Alternatively, there are built-in videos which will mesmerize you. If you feel like upgrading, there are, naturally, in-app purchases for additional videos.

vlock costs $0.99 in the App Store, but you can get a purchase code for FREE if you join our contest!

How do you join?

Step 1: Copy & paste the following, and then Tweet it:

I want to win a promo code for vlock from @geekforever! Enter here: http://spla.us/AoLJYj #Winvlock #contests

Step 2: Leave us a Comment on this page (below) to let us know you Tweeted, and paste the link to your Tweet in your Comment. (Note that our Comments are moderated, so it may not show up immediately after you click the “Post Comment” button.)

3 winners will be selected at random from the Commenters on or around 8pm EST on Wednesday, January 18. Winners will be notified via Twitter, after which we’ll send you the promo code for vlock.

Good luck!

Thanks to Design Taxi, I discovered these really fun retro superhero pin-up posters. Take a look yourself.

Retro Harley Quinn

Retro Harley Quinn

Retro Poison Ivy

Retro Poison Ivy

Retro Cat Woman

Retro Cat Woman

Retro Batgirl

Retro Batgirl

Retro Wonder Woman

Retro Wonder Woman

You can get these prints – and more – from Danalakis’s Etsy shop for only $10. I think that the artist is also open to having other characters drawn if you ask her nicely.

Unless specific dates are given, all release schedules are estimates.

Assassin’s Creed III

Ubisoft
Release Date: November 2012

Ubisoft is notorious for playing its cards close to the vest when it comes to its most profitable franchise, so no one really knows what 2012 will bring for Assassin’s Creed. Here are the few things we do know: there will be a new AC game in 2012, and the story of Ezio Auditore ended with Revelations. Since II, Brotherhood, and Revelations constituted essentially three parts of AC‘s second chapter, logic dictates that it’s time for Assassin’s Creed III. But who knows? Maybe Ubisoft will surprise us.

Assassin’s Creed is due for a revolution. Revelations pushed the Renaissance setting to its limits; the next game in the series has more riding on it than any other, requiring a reinvention that brings us a new assassin, a new setting, and lots of new gameplay mechanics. Personally, I’m pondering  what it would be like to play as a modern-day assassin (aka, Desmond Miles). Imagine an assassin running along the rooftops of a modern metropolis, climbing the sides of skyscrapers with a retractable grappling hook. Cars and trucks on the streets that Desmond could leap atop as they speed by. Modern weaponry like pistols and sniper rifles added to the mix. Plus, Desmond’s story arc needs to wrap up by the end of this year, to beat the whole “end of the world in December 2012″ deadline.

All eyes are on Assassin’s Creed‘s next move, because it has to be the biggest, baddest entry yet. [Image credit.]

BioShock Infinite

Irrational Games
Release Date: TBD

Easily the most anticipated game of 2012. BioShock seemingly popped up on everyone’s radars from out of nowhere, produced by a company that had never had a major, triple-A hit game. By the end of 2007, everyone knew who and what Irrational Games was, and fans watched with baited breath to see what they would do next. While a second BioShock game was produced by another studio, Irrational plugged away at its next big title that furthered its philosophical commentaries on culture while introducing brand new ways of playing modern video games.

The world was stunned when Irrational unveiled BioShock Infinite, which traded the murky underwater city of Rapture for a steampunk city in the sky called Columbia. Irrational isn’t saying how Infinite is connected to the original game, beyond thematic elements, but the in-game footage they’ve shown off so far has been absolutely stunning, revealing entirely new depths of emotional development and player immersion than anything the medium has before produced. It’s also got some crackling, original gameplay mechanics that completely defy description.

If there’s a bigger or more universally buzzed-about game in 2012 than BioShock Infinite, I don’t know what it is.

Diablo III

Blizzard
Release Date: March 31, 2012

Eleven years. That’s how long fans have been waiting for the next chapter in the bestselling, acclaimed Diablo series. Blizzard may have taken its time to get back to the world of Sanctuary, but it looks like the perfect mixture of the familiar elements that fans love, and a whole slew of new features that bring the series into the new millennium.

Diablo III’s new features include, among other things, fully destructible environments, drop-in/drop-out co-op, an enhanced quest system, random level generator, and lots of re-imagined interface elements that are intended to speed up gameplay. With five character classes (barbarian, demon hunter, monk, witch doctor, and wizard), two auction houses, three artisan types, skill-modifying items called Skill Runes, and loads more, Diablo III is certain to be the source of many sleepless nights.

Right now, the game is planned only for Windows and Mac OS X — the two platforms Blizzard makes most of its games for. But this gamer is wondering if, when, and how Blizzard might jump to the console world by streamlining the controls of some of its most popular titles. Do you think it could be done?

Dishonored

Arkane Studios
Release Date: May 2012?

Just when you think there are no more original ideas in gaming, along comes Dishonored, one of the most “out there” concepts I’ve ever heard. The fictional city of Dunwall, where Dishonored is set, is part of a parallel reality where the main fuel source is whale oil (yeah, I really just said that), an oppressive government is entering its industrial revolution, and man-eating rats are ready to feast on wayward travelers. This is just the tip of the iceberg, though. There’s also an engrossing storyline; a mysterious being called “The Outsider,” who gave Corvo his abilities; and a persistent open world where events take place whether you’re there to witness them or not.

As protagonist Corvo, an infamous assassin, you’ll have access to a strange array of powers and weapons, including teleportation, time manipulation, possessing the bodies of animals, and a collection of blades and guns. Despite these powerful tools at your disposal, the game values stealth above all else.

The biggest headlines surrounding Dishonored have revolved around the talent behind it. The game’s masterminds include Harvey Smith (Deus Ex, Thief), Raf Colantonio (Arx Fatalis, Dark Messiah of Might and Magic), and art director Viktor Antonov (Half-Life 2‘s City 17). The deeper you dig into Dishonored, the more you see how Smith and Colantonio are creating nothing less than an entirely new fantasy myth, with the potential to have the breadth and scope of Middle Earth or Westeros.

Gotham City Impostors

Monolith Productions
Release Date: February 2012

With no new entry in the Arkham Asylum series planned for 2012, how will gamers get their Batman fix this year? Gotham City Impostors to the rescue!

A purely online multiplayer game, Impostors imagines a Gotham City where wannabe Batmen and Jokers battle it out night after night, not so much for the ideological stances of their idols, but more out of a Fight Club kind of catharsis. The difference is that Impostors‘ players use guns. The game blends a colorful, over-the-top art style with serious blood and violence. Players will get to customize their on-screen avatars, and fight in teams of up to eight players against opposing teams in all-out deathmatch, though there are other modes as well, such as “Fumigation” and “Psychological Warfare.”

Gotham City Impostors, which is a download-only title for Windows, Xbox Live Arcade, and PSN, is expected to be as fun as it is controversial. For its part, DC Comics is embracing the idea fully, with a series of comic books releasing to support the new game.

Halo 4

343 Industries
Release Date: October 2012

343 Industries is an internal studio, created by Microsoft specifically to carry on the Halo franchise after Bungie made its exit. Which makes Halo 4 the first game in the series to have zero involvement from Bungie. 343 hit all the sweet spots with Halo: Anniversary, and their downloadable multiplayer maps have been solid. But those were just their warm-ups.

For their opening act, 343 must convince gamers everywhere that Halo is bigger than its creator. One can only imagine the sweat dripping from the brows in 343′s offices, with the pressure they’re under to not screw up Xbox’s signature franchise. Halo 4 finds a newly awakened Master Chief — with Cortana, ever at his side — taking on a brand new threat (read: not the Covenant or the Flood) that could devastate the entire universe. Scuttlebutt says the new threat comes straight from the Forerunners (the mystical creators of the Halos) and a massive, hollow, artificial world (a Dyson Sphere). Might Master Chief stumble upon the Forerunners’ homeworld?

Halo 4 is expected to up the ante with a huge, epic scope, and a stronger focus on storytelling and exploration. It’s also the start of a new trilogy. The stakes for 343 Industries could not possibly be higher.

I Am Alive

Ubisoft Shanghai
Release Date: February or March 2012

A year after some mysterious cataclysm decimated the Earth, a male survivor wanders the desolate cityscape of what was once a metropolis called Haventon, scavenging for supplies, fending off malevolent attacks from surviving gangs, and searching for his missing wife and daughter. But the hero’s biggest antagonist is not the surviving humans, it’s the city itself, which has become one big death trap, filled with toxic dust and dilapidated structures that collapse dynamically around him.

I Am Alive got my attention due to its unusual gameplay (for a third-person title) that puts its focus on survival more than gunplay, and because of its unique setting. Haventon’s city streets are filled with dust that can’t be breathed, so the player will need to acquire a gas mask and climb up skyscrapers to get some fresh air. It’s also a wide open playground, where you can search and scavenge, and where you’ll be faced with lots of hard moral choices. What do you do when, after spending significant amounts of time getting your hands on needed medicine or food, you encounter a sick child who can’t fend for herself and needs the supplies more than you do?

Another download-only title, this one is planned for XBLA and PSN.

Journey

Thatgamecompany
Release Date: May 2012?

Jenova Chen, the creator of Flow and Flower, will this year deliver his next mind-altering drug game, Journey. You “play” as a nondescript robed figure in the desert, walking ever onward toward a mountain in the distance. Along the way, you’ll find bits of cloth you can use to fly, briefly, as well as various magical objects and mysterious ruins. All of this is expected to play into the story somehow, but no one but

As with all Thatgamecompany titles, Journey is more of an experience than a game, meant to induce a particular state of mind. The crux of the game lies in the other player(s) you’ll encounter as  you walk. The twist is that while these other lonely, robed figures are real players connected to you via multiplayer, you will never know who they are or anything about them. You’re both identified only by a symbol on the front of your robes, and no form of communication is possible. This anonymity intentionally strips players of all but the most basic of human connections, giving you only the choice of whether to help one another or not.

Yet another download-only title (noticing a trend?), this one will be a PSN exclusive.

Mass Effect 3

Bioware
Release Date: March 6, 2012

The end has come, and the fate of Earth itself lies in the balance. Only Commander Shepard and his/her elite crew can raise an army from civilizations all over the galaxy to fight the Reapers and stop Earth’s total annihilation. Yes, variables from your saved files from the first two games will work directly with the new game to determine how your own personal storyline is completed. But there’s another wrinkle: Cerberus, the secret organization that Shepard worked for in Mass Effect 2, has turned against you, and is now actively hunting you down.

Combat in Mass Effect 3 has been greatly refined, allowing for a much faster-paced, more intense experience. You’ll travel to a host of all new worlds, including a massive city on Earth. The difficulty level will increase and adapt to you as you play. And for the first time, multiplayer is being added, allowing for four-player co-op in a specialized missions.

Mass Effect was planned by BioWare from the beginning as a trilogy, so at last we’re going to see how the whole thing ends — or rather, we’ll determine for ourselves how it ends (it’s even possible to lose to the Reapers) — in March.

Metal Gear Rising: Revengeance

Platinum Games
Release Date: TBA

This spinoff of the Metal Gear Solid series puts you in the cyborg ninja shoes of Raiden, several years after the end of the fourth game. Unlike the flagship series, where stealth is the main focus, this new title instead is about action. You’ll wield a special sword that can cut through literally anything — including your enemies, in a variety of ways. You can select which direction you want to slice, and the on-screen action will show the result of cutting in that exact direction. Expect loads of blood and gore.

Other details are scarce, as Platinum — who famously took over from Kojima Productions, though Kojima is still producing — is keeping plot details under wraps.

Prey 2

Human Head Studios
Release Date: July 2012?

Prey was an interesting, if rather old-school, scifi shooter, but it was hardly memorable. So gamers everywhere were scratching their heads when Bethesda announced that a Prey 2 was on the way. And then came the explanation, screenshots, and a trailer.

Ain’t nobody scratching their heads anymore. Prey 2 departs from the original game so completely, it might as well be a new IP. The new game is set on the alien world Exodus, which is basically Blade Runner with aliens. Lots and lots of aliens. You play as Killian Samuels, a U.S. Marshall who found himself on Exodus after a mysterious airplane-vs.-UFO event, and years later now works as a bounty hunter on this alien world. What has me excited is the darkly stylish, moody atmosphere of the living, breathing open world you play in, and the fast-paced combat that’s every bit as vertical as it is horizontal.

If Human Head pulls it off, Prey 2 could set a new standard for “sandbox” shooters. If not, it could turn out to be just another Doom 3 or F.E.A.R. clone. I know what I’m rooting for.

Tomb Raider

Crystal Dynamics
Release Date: October 2012

If any gaming franchise is in desperate need of a makeover, it’s Tomb Raider. The character is beloved by gamers everywhere (her high class pedigree and her… other assets… made for an unexpected combo), but her games have been extremely hit-and-miss. Developer after developer have tried new takes on the character again and again, shifting her adventures in wildly varying directions. But it looks like this full reboot might have finally found the magic formula to reviving Lara.

A far darker, more serious take on the character’s origin is presented in the new Tomb Raider, where Lara finds herself in survivor mode while shipwrecked on a dangerous island. It looks like a frightening, intense experience that promises to mold this young Lara into the adventurer we know, and early impressions have been downright glowing. The newly serious tone has removed the tongue entirely from cheek, and you need no more evidence than to look at Lara’s visage in the new game: she’s dirty, she’s tough-but-fragile, and her proportions are remarkably normal.

This is the Lara Croft you’re looking for, and she’s coming to a screen near you this Fall.

Honorable Mentions

Borderlands 2 (Gearbox, July 30, 2012)
Bigger, badder, more more more. Borderlands 2 takes everything gamers loved about the original and gives it new complexities. Gearbox is smart enough not to fix what wasn’t broken, so fans of the first game are sure to devour this one.

Max Payne 3 (Rockstar, March 2012)
An older, even more world-weary Max shaves his head, develops a spare tire, and heads to exotic Brazil, where he’s (surprise!) double-crossed and out for revenge. Upgraded graphics will deliver more realistic physics for bullet time than ever before.

Twisted Metal (Eat Sleep Play, February 24, 2012)
Looks like a fun update of the original manic driver/shooter, but I’ve not seen much evidence of it doing anything particularly new or innovative.

Coming… When?

Grand Theft Auto V
It goes without saying that anytime Rockstar releases a new iteration of its juggernaut series, it’s a big honkin’ deal. But other than announcing GTA5‘s existence, Rockstar is keeping mum on when players will get their hands on it. This year? Next year? Considering all the work that goes into developing the massive open worlds that GTA is known for… it could be a while. Depends on how long it’s already been in development.

The Last Guardian
Team Ico’s expected third masterpiece about the relationship between a human and a colossal creature has been delayed so many times, who really knows when it will finally see the light of day? Perfection doesn’t happen overnight, people. We just have to be patient. A lot.

The Last of Us
No idea if Naughty Dog’s brand new IP will release in 2012 or 2013, but it looks terrific. And since Naughty Dog has expanded its staff to accommodate two teams, this game doesn’t mean that there can’t be an Uncharted 4 (though U4 has yet to be announced).

Forget paint. Forget watercolor. Forget pencils. Just get some packing tape – the brown translucent kind – and flexible Plexi-glass, and a cutter, and you might just be able to replicate the packing tape art of Max Zorn. According to the artist, he got inspiration for his work from a friend who was working as a car designer. If you have experience in this area, you probably know that car designers use slim tape as a start to creating their sketches. The artist says that he was amazed at how quickly the designers were able to come up with beautiful sketches using the slim tape. The rest, as they say, is history. Packing tape art was born.

Take a look at some of his work, and I bet that you will agree just how awesome this guy’s work is.

Can you believe that is all just packing tape? I have to be honest and say that I have never given packing tape a second thought – unless I am moving and making sure all the boxes are sealed properly. The fact that this guy was able to take something that we all take for granted and turn it into wonderful works of art is simply admirable. I wouldn’t have thought that one could create the myriad shades and shapes you can find in the portraits using only packing tape. Can you imagine just how painstaking the work is?

If still portraits are not enough to impress you, check out this time lapse video of Max Zorn at work.

For more about packing tape art, visit Max Zorn’s web site where you can see even more of these impressive artwork.

via My Modern Met

It’s a new year. Isn’t it time to update your Twitter profile with a cool new background? Here’s an awesome trick for geeking up your Twitter background with any kind of theme you can imagine. The best part: it automatically updates every day!

A cool Twitter background can tell people a lot about yourself, instantly showing your personality and interests. Here’s how to make a one-of-a-kind Twitter background that proclaims your geekhood to the world. It’s quick and painless — and you may be surprised at how powerful it is.

1. Point your web browser at instabg.com.
2. Click the big “Sign in with Twitter account” button at the bottom.
3. Twitter will appear and ask for your permission to let InstaBG to access your account. Click “Allow.”
4. A configuration page will come up. This is where the magic happens:

InstaBG Options page

Instagram’s entire database of images is now at your command. The first and most important option is “Target Photos.” There, select “Tags” and then enter a geeky keyword. It can be anything you want, but be sure to enter it as a single word with no spaces. For example, you could enter “xbox360,” “dcnew52,” or “gameofthrones.” These represent tags that Instagram users have labeled their photos with.

Make sure “Auto Update” is on; this will automatically rotate your background daily with a whole new set of Instagram pics. I recommend the following further settings, although this is entirely at your discretion:

• “Order”: new
• “Layout”: small
• “Spacing”: small
• “Background” : “FFFFFF” (aka, white)
• If you want to see the date a picture was posted to Instagram, or how many IG users have “liked” a pic, you can set those under “Option.”

Feel free to play around with any of these settings and see what different kinds of results you get. InstaBG is a powerful tool, and changing the “Target Photos” options can let you do things like set your personal IG photos as your Twitter background.

The “Preview” button will show you what your background will look like. From there, you just activate it when you find one you like. And remember, since you selected “Auto Update: on,” you’ll get a whole new set of IG pics as your Twitter background every single day.

Take a look below at some backgrounds I made using keywords from a few of my favorite geeky things.

#doctorwho

#thehobbit

#darkknightrises

#spiderman

On behalf of geeks everywhere, in 2012…

1) We want The Hobbit to live up to The Lord of the Rings.

Peter Jackson’s back, most of the original cast is back (the ones that should be, to serve the story) along with loads of new characters, Howard Shore is writing the score again, Weta is handling the effects. Warner Bros. could not hope for all of the pieces to fall into place more perfectly. And title character Martin Freeman is the perfect choice. If the trailer is any indication, it looks like Jackson & Co. are about to hit a home run.

But here’s the worry. The Hobbit is a very different kind of story than The Lord of the Rings, so to make a compelling film, the team at Wingnut Films have had to fill in a lot of blanks and flesh out characters and plot points that are barely a blip in the book. In fact, they’re filling in so much that they’ve stretched what could easily be one film into two. Or, depending on which reports you read, the second film may be an entirely new story, drawn from Tolkien’s appendices and lesser-known works, and constructed to bridge the gap between The Hobbit and The Fellowship of the Ring. Which basically sounds like a prequel to the trilogy, showing us a lot of the backstory that was only mentioned in the original films.

I have faith in Peter Jackson to knock this out of the park. I just hope the second film doesn’t wind up being an unnecessary exercise in self-indulgence.

2) Enough with the crappy iPad knock-offs.

Apple took the gadget market by storm with the original iPad, causing the industry to dub 2011 “the Year of the Tablet.” Meaning, 2011 was supposed to be the year that every electronics maker came out with its own challenger to the tablet throne. The reality turned out to be anything but competitive. Apple solidified its hold on the market with the triumphant iPad 2, and almost a year later, only one device stands a chance of taking a bite out of Apple have surfaced.

Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of contenders. Android tablets were a dime a dozen in 2011, and just like Android phones, a new one seemed to pop up every other week and then be forgotten soon after. HP attempted to launch a tablet based on its own WebOS, and then quickly dumped the platform altogether. Samsung can’t seem to make anything that doesn’t look like a total Apple ripoff. Why is it so hard for electronics manufacturers to grasp Apple’s guiding principle that if you don’t have an original take on a product, get off the frickin’ stage.

Amazon finally created a real iPad challenger with its bestselling Kindle Fire tablet, a fine (and remarkably affordable at just $200) alternative for users who just want to consume popular books, movies, music, and games. iPad is still the superior product, but with the Kindle Fire, somebody finally brought another worthy option to the table.

3) No more musicals based on superheroes.

Spider-Man: Turn Off the Dark may be packing in ye olde theatre now, but getting to this point was an unmitigated disaster. After endless delays, one cast member injury after another, the biggest budget of any production in Broadway history, a change in writers, a change in directors, and even a change in music, Spidey finally made his Broadway debut. And the reviews were abysmal — though much better than they were from the earliest previews.

The lesson to be learned here is clear: superheroes and Broadway just don’t mix.

4) We need a new YA Fiction box office hero.

Harry Potter made it to his grand finale. There’s only one more installment of Twilight still to come (thank God). What will movie theaters fill this gigantic void with? Right now, the best contender is The Hunger Games trilogy, Gary Ross’ adaptation of Suzanne Collins’ dystopia-meets-Logan’s Run bestsellers. One film is in the can and hitting theaters in late March, with the second (Catching Fire) already in pre-production.

The first trailer sold this fan completely on the brilliant cast (especially Jennifer Lawrence as series protagonist Katniss Everdeen — one of the best female roles to hit a Hollywood blockbuster in eons), and while Ross was an unexpected choice as director, everything I’ve seen so far hits all of the sweet spots from the novel. Hopes are running very high for this one.

Beyond that, there are no prospects to take the YA crown. Although we do (finally!) have Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game to look forward to — but that’s not until 2013.

5) We want Nintendo to release a complete video game console.

Nintendo’s fallen into a rut lately of releasing consoles to market before they’re ready. Wii came to market but a few years later we got the Wii Motion Plus controller, which made the whole thing work the way it should have to begin with. The 3DS was released earlier this year — and then Nintendo realized that the handheld device needed a second thumbstick, so they’re even now preparing the “3DS Extended Slide Pad” add-on.

Now before anyone starts arguing about add-ons for other consoles like Kinect and Move… It’s not the same. It’s one thing to add brand new functionality to an existing console, the way Kinect and Move added motion control to Xbox 360 and PS3. It’s another thing entirely to refine existing functions that should have been perfected before the blasted console was released in the first place!

Nintendo, please take the time to get Wii U right before you ship it.

6) Comic book publishers: Make some major line-wide events/miniseries that are worth reading — or don’t bother.

The annual “events” that Marvel and DC put out each year are an important part of their year-long publishing schedule, boosting sales and setting their editorial agenda for the year going forward. Time was, the big two created truly terrific events, like Civil War and Crisis on Infinite Earths. But 2011′s mega-series made “event fatigue” a meaningful reality. Marvel’s Fear Itself was a snooze and a disappointment. DC’s Flashpoint was a total misfire, though DC made up for it (and dominated the sales charts) with a reboot of the entire DC Universe.

2012 brings us Avengers vs. X-Men from Marvel, a 12-part, bi-weekly series that focuses on the fallout from the Phoenix Force returning to earth and trying to take on Hope Summers as its latest host, putting Marvel’s two biggest hero teams on opposing sides. DC (to my knowledge) has announced no major event for 2012, but one may yet be coming. Or, maybe they’ll just keep the momentum from the “New 52″ going by pumping out more solid sales figures.

We want just want some good stories in 2012. Is that too much to ask?

7) TV networks: Mine more indie comics for your next great series.

The lesson of The Walking Dead is that indie comics rock. And they make tremendous TV shows. AMC learned this over the last year with a critically-acclaimed first season and an even better second.

So what’s next? Fox came very close to putting Locke & Key on TV earlier this year. Marvel is making big plans for a TV adaptation of Brian Michael Bendis’ Alias, which is being retitled AKA Jessica Jones for sister company ABC (via Disney). Bendis’ indie hit Powers is also in production for FX.

Can there ever be another Walking Dead? Absolutely! There are tons of great indie comics out there, just waiting for their chance at the spotlight. Cable networks in particular should start looking at some of the stellar stuff out there.

8) For crying out loud, open Pottermore already!

No more books. No more movies. We need something to fill the Harry Potter-shaped hole in our lives. It was supposed to have opened in October of this year, but developer Sony says they need more time to prepare because they “underestimated the fan interest.” Are you kidding me? How is that possible?

Pottermore is a brilliant idea. Not as good as a new book by J.K. Rowling, I’m just sayin’. But a great one, nonetheless. It’s conceived as an entire community built around the Potterverse, featuring the long-awaited novels-as-ebooks and never-before-seen additional information about the characters, objects, and locations of the series. There will be games, artwork, users get sorted into houses, and lots more.

So why isn’t it here yet! Come on, Sony. Chop chop.

1. iTunes

iTunes Gift Card

Buy Gift Card
iTunes has everything you want — music, movies, TV shows, games, apps, ebooks, and more. The smartphone is the most important gadget of all time, while the iPad is the most desired gift of the year (ever?). Do you really need me to explain why an iTunes Gift Card is at the top of this list? Plus, you can totally rub this card in the nose of your Android-loving friends. Bless ‘em, they just don’t realize they’re using inferior products. But your card is all the proof you need; the Android Marketplace doesn’t offer gift cards!

2. Xbox Live

Xbox Live Gift Card

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If you’re serious about gaming, then you own an Xbox 360. Xbox Live is like Xbox’s very own iTunes, offering most of the same movies, music, and TV shows, along with the biggest video game selection of any download service — some of which are even Kinect-friendly. But the real reason most players want an Xbox Live Gift Card is to get a year’s subscription to Xbox Live Gold membership. So if you really want your gift card to be a hit, make sure it’s for at least $60 (or just buy an Xbox Live 12 Month Gold Membership card; some places, like Amazon, have them on sale for $49 at the time of this writing).

3. Amazon.com

Amazon.com Gift Card

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There’s nothing Amazon doesn’t have. Seriously, need a carburetor? They got that. Lava lamp? Well, duh. Dixie Cup? Mm-hmm. Fake handlebar mustache? Are you kidding — of course! They also have a killer selection of all the things we geeks love: games, movies, graphic novels, toys, electronics, ebooks, and on and on. An Amazon Gift Card is the next best thing to giving a blank check.

4. Best Buy

Best Buy Gift Card

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If you really need an explanation for why geeks love Best Buy, clearly you’ve never been in one. There’s something about walking into a Best Buy… it’s like the Chocolate Factory for geeks. They’ve got everything electronic: computers, smartphones, flat-screen TVs, game consoles, cameras, and loads more. They’ve also got a darn good selection of Blu-ray and DVD, video games, and music CDs. And if you’re not sure what you’re looking for, Best Buy’s sales staff is knowledgeable and helpful.

5. LEGO

LEGO Gift Card

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No other toy in the world has as many child and adult fans as LEGO. We geeks are particularly fond of the LEGO Star Wars sets, though there’s an enormous contingent of adult fans of LEGO (AFOLs, as they call themselves) that are true pioneers of the utterly jaw-dropping things you can do with those magical plastic bricks. 2012 promises to be a big year, too, with partnerships from major properties coming to LEGO that include The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, superhero franchises Marvel and DC, new dinosaur-themed sets, and tons more. LEGO Batman 2: DC Superheroes, the next big LEGO video game, is also expected sometime in 2012.

6. Regal Cinemas

Regal Cinemas Gift Card

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Some people will tell you that movie theaters are dying. The rising cost of movie tickets certainly doesn’t help matters. But I’d contend that people are just waiting for something worth going to the cinema for. And one look at the 2012 movie calendar shows that there are going to be tons of great reasons in the months to come: The Hunger Games, The Avengers, The Dark Knight Rises, Brave, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and plenty more. Regal is the nation’s biggest theater chain, but you’ll want to check your local area for a dominance of other chains like AMC, Cinemark, or Carmike.

7. ThinkGeek

ThinkGeek Gift Certificate

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As the biggest and best online retailer for the fun, the unexpected, and the just plain awesome, there really is nothing else like ThinkGeek (though we’re also fond of X-treme Geek). They carry thousands of products that you never knew you needed — until you see it on their website. ThinkGeek’s ace in the hole is that every product they sell is hand-picked by their own staff of hardcore geeks. So if you’re looking for geeky gifts, you can’t go wrong with anything in their catalog. Where else can you find plush bacon, Han Solo-in-carbonite ice cube trays, or caffeinated marshmallows?

8. GameStop

GameStop Gift Card

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For the gamer geek, there is no better gift card than a GameStop card. Not only do they have probably the most extensive collection of video games in any bricks-and-mortar retailer, every store also has a fantastic selection of used games. And they accept trade-ins. The only downside? Video games are all they sell, so don’t bother if your geek recipient isn’t into gaming (which seems impossible, but there are exceptions to every rule).

9. Threadless

Threadless Gift Certificate

Buy Gift Certificates
There are a ton of great online retailers out there for cool, original t-shirts. Teefury is another big favorite, and we love Splitreason, too. But the biggest and best has to be Threadless. They create new t-shirt designs every week, and most of them are extra geek-friendly, featuring mash-ups of popular franchises. Most of their shirts are just $12, so the price is right, too. Want to stand out at your next comic book convention or LAN party? You can’t go wrong with Threadless.

10. Openbucks

Openbucks Gift Card

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Openbucks is a new kind of gift card for a new kind of shopper. Created by the Gift Card Payment Network, you pick up one of these cards at Subway, Circle K, CVS, Citgo, Sports Authority, or Hess, and then redeem them inside some of your favorite online games. Titles that support Openbucks’ cards include Battlestar Galactica, Need For Speed World, Dark Orbit, Parallel Kingdom: Age of Thrones, Metin 2, Cross Fire, Adventure Quest, and more. Additional games are being added all the time.

11. Sideshow Collectibles

Sideshow Collectibles Gift Card

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Their products don’t come cheap, but for good reason — they’re incredibly well made. Whether you’re looking for a life-sized bust or a collectible figurine, they’ve got items from all of your favorite properties, including Star Wars, Harry Potter, Disney, Marvel, Lord of the Rings, Terminator, and many more. Don’t see your geeky friend’s favorite franchise? You should also try Gentle Giant and Weta.

12. Facebook Credits

Facebook Credits Gift Card

Gift Card-selling store locator
Sneer all you want, but Facebook has become a major part of all of our lives. (Even John Romero made a Facebook game.) Millions of Facebook members play games there every day, so a Facebook Credits Gift Card might be just the ticket. Your recipient will be able to spend it on premium in-game items in Mafia Wars and the like. You can only buy these gift cards in the real world, but you’ll find them almost everywhere. Walmart, Target, Best Buy, GameStop, Radio Shack, and 7-Eleven all carry them.

If you’re looking for the perfect gift for the geek in your life, look no further. Here are the must-have gifts, the absolute best of the best from 2011, in gadgets, movies, TV, video games, and more!

Best All-in-One Device: iPad 2

iPad 2

Nobody needs an iPad. If we’re being perfectly honest, it’s a completely superfluous device. But come on. Who doesn’t want one? The thing gets better all the time, and the apps being made for it are showing ever greater creativity. Sure, there are other tablets out there to choose from, and many of them do cost less than Apple’s “magical and revolutionary device.” But they’re just wannabes. Apple singlehandedly defined the computer tablet with the original iPad, and then refined the concept with the significantly faster, slimmer, and sexier second edition. Seriously, the only reason not buy an iPad 2 is because you’re waiting for iPad 3′s debut next year, which is rumored to sport Apple’s higher-resolution “retina display” and upgraded specs. Want to gift an iPad 3 now? Buy an Apple gift card so the recipient can use it next year. iPad 2 starts at $499.

Best Gadget: Belkin Wireless Travel Router

Wireless Travel Router

Wireless Travel Router bag

You know it, I know it: hotel wifi sucks. Belkin’s Wireless Travel Router is perfect for all of your geeky travel needs next year, such as that annual jaunt to San Diego Comic-Con. This sleek plug-and-play device creates a personal wifi hotspot in your hotel room for all your wireless needs. It’s about the size of an old cassette tape, and it comes with everything you need, including an ethernet cord and power cord (numerous adapters are available as extra accessories for power outlets around the world). It even comes with its own little zip-up carrying case that’s smaller than your [travel kit]. To work it, just plug the router into your hotel room’s modem, and then plug it into a power outlet. Passwords are already set and can be found in the installation pamphlet. Will be particularly useful if you’re rooming with a friend, and you both need to be online simultaneously. Retails for $79.99.

Best TV: Doctor Who – Season 6 Blu-ray

Doctor Who: Season 6

Its detractors call it “too kid-friendly.” But fans know the truth: Doctor Who boasts some of the best writing, acting, and good old fashioned science fiction on TV. Season 6 of the show saw one of the most mythological seasons of the show ever with the long-awaited story of River Song. River is undoubtedly one of the show’s best characters ever, and it’s wildly entertaining to watch her history play out over the course of the entire season. Matt Smith came into his own as the title character, creepy new enemies were introduced (the Silence! Headless Monks! the mustache-twirling, eye-patch wearing Madame Kovarian!), and the Doctor faced mortality like never before. The extras on this crisp, gorgeous six-disc set include some awesome behind-the-scenes Doctor Who Confidential episodes, the final edition of which is required viewing because it includes the complete story of River Song from beginning to end, told from her point of view as narrated by Alex Kingston herself. There’s also prequels, new scenes that show what happened on the TARDIS between episodes, a pair of surprisingly good Comic Relief 2011 mini episodes, audio commentaries, and more. Season 6 on Blu-ray retails for $89.98, or DVD for $78.98, and it’s worth every penny.

Best Game: The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

Everybody has their pet favorite (this blogger’s love for Assassin’s Creed knows no bounds), but I don’t think any game this year generated as many kudos, conversations, and marathon play as Skyrim. Bethesda’s epic fantasy RPG was heralded by critics and fans both for its staggeringly vast, open world — and what a vibrant, living world it is. A place of tremendous beauty and never-ending quests, the land of Skyrim encourages players to explore its endless secrets like no other game I can remember. All of the fantasy trappings are here, including elaborate histories, races, locations, hundreds of names, and more. Few fantasy series can claim as complex a mythology as Lord of the Rings, but Elder Scrolls is one of them. (For another, see the next entry.) The many improvements Skyrim made over Oblivion — graphics and physics chief among them — not to mention its incredibly believable game world, make Skyrim the most compulsively playable game of the year. Is it the series’ finale? Who can say? If so, it’s a grand one. Retails for $59.99.

Best Book: A Dance With Dragons

A Dance With Dragons

I was sorely tempted to pick Steve Jobs, the riveting and unflinching biography of the late Apple CEO, but the real book of 2011 was George R.R. Martin’s fifth A Song of Ice and Fire novel. Weighing in at more than 1,000 pages, the lengthy tome found the Seven Kingdoms of Westeros in more peril than ever. Main characters died, the War of the Five Kings rages on, and Westeros is brought ever closer to the brink of devastation. A Dance With Dragons seemed to leave fans evenly split over its quality and necessity; some found it every bit as gripping as past entries, while others accused Martin of stretching his story to accommodate more books, and therefore, generate more profits. The one thing they all could agree on was that A Dance With Dragons was the book of 2011 that simply had to be read. Retails for $35.00.

Best Movie: The Muppets

The Muppets

It’s gotten a bad rap as a poor year for box office returns, but 2011 has nonetheless boasted some truly great movies — for “serious” film lovers and popcorn viewers alike. This was the year that brought us the revelation of Ryan Gosling as an action hero in Drive, Martin Scorsese’s brilliant adaptation of Hugo, the head-spinning scifi concoction Source Code, the sublime animated fun of Rango, the thinking person’s spectacle that is X-Men: First Class, the so-much-better-than-it-had-any-right-to-be origin story Rise of the Planet of the Apes, J.J. Abrams’ scifi love letter to moviemaking Super 8, and the superhero movie perfection of Captain America (my personal favorite). But towering over all of these achievements was the triumphant return of The Muppets, the one movie guaranteed to put you in touch with your inner, geeky child more than any other. You knew going in that Jim Henson’s beloved troop of puppets will win the day and save their beloved theater from Chris Cooper’s evil, rap-loving oil tycoon. That’s not the point. The fun is in the journey, and the Muppets’ life-meets-art reunion is jam-packed with inside jokes that only parents will get, lowbrow fart jokes that kids are still laughing at, and genuine heart. The home video version’s release date isn’t yet known, but there’s still time to take your favorite someone to see it in theaters as a special Christmas gift.

Best Comic Book: Daredevil

Daredevil #1

Letting Mark Waid write the Man Without Fear was just what the doctor ordered. As great a character and a series as Daredevil has always been, we’ve seen Matt Murdock plunge further into darkness than ever before in the years prior to Waid’s run (Shadowlands, et. al.) so a writer coming in and deciding to show some new and different colors on Daredevil’s emotional palette was smart, daring, and utterly refreshing. Daredevil has always been a superhero, but his most riveting moments of drama have always stemmed from his terrible losses and inner guilt. Waid’s decision to turn that on its head and have DD show off more of the “hero” side of his superhero persona was incredibly bold, and could have easily fallen flat on its face, particularly among the hardcore fans. But Daredevil instead became the most consistently enjoyable read on comic book stands in 2011. Waid somehow managed to hold onto the title’s “street-level crime” sensibilities while pushing Murdock into far more inspiring, heroic territory. And yet all the while, eagle-eyed viewers are secretly wondering if Murdock’s turning-over-a-new-leaf sincerity… isn’t playing with a full deck. Waid’s Daredevil is this medium at its most engaging and its most fun. Issues #1 through #6 of Waid’s run are in comic book stores now, as well as Marvel’s digital comics store; the trade paperback collection arrives in February.

Superman III (1983)

A cautionary tale of studio meddling if there ever was one, the legend of Superman III is known far and wide. Let me sum it up: Richard Donner, director of the first two Superman films, was forced out late in the process of Superman II and replaced by Richard Lester who would go on to direct the third installment as well. Though he was acclaimed in his own right, Lester didn’t share Donner’s take on the character, resulting in the campy, cringe-worthy Superman III (followed by the nearly unwatchable Superman IV, directed by Sidney Furie). But the disastrous consequences didn’t end there. Margot Kidder complained to the franchise’s producers about Donner being fired from the second film, and subsequently found herself with little more than a cameo in number three. Bryan Singer chose to stay in continuity with the early films with his Superman Returns, but he snubbed Supermans III and IV entirely because of their lackluster quality and reputation. I think we can all agree that Richard Prior was a very funny comedian — but belong in a Superman movie he did not.

Batman Forever (1995)

Warner Bros. tried its best to convince us that Batman Forever was part of the same continuity as Tim Burton’s Batman and Batman Returns. But one sit-through of this candy-colored flick, as directed by Joel Schumacher, proved it was anything but. Gone was the dark pathos of the Burton films, replaced by a cheesy sensibility and a plastic aesthetic. Jim Carrey, at the height of his popularity, as the Riddler with unapologetic, manic glee, came close to saving the day but the whole thing just buckled under the weight of its over-the-top superhero costumes and their infamous nipples. Batman Forever was a box office success, but that came from riding on the coattails of the first two films. It’s become infinitely more kitschy over time (whereas many a moviegoer still thinks fondly of the Burton films). Batman & Robin, the fourth film, magnified the camp factor to unprecedented proportions and killed the franchise outright. But I suppose we can thank Schumacher for making terrible movies so that Warner Bros. would eventually green light Christopher Nolan’s triumphant reboot of the Batman universe.

Blade: Trinity (2004)

Blade’s first movie wasn’t bad. The second one, directed by Guillermo del Toro, was a lot better. But the third movie was just dull. Reportedly, scribe David Goyer, who wrote all three movies and directed the third, had much bigger plans for Blade’s sendoff involving an older Blade attempting to save a world where humans have been enslaved by vampires. But he was forced to make cutbacks, resulting in this bland, styleless third and final film that even star Wesley Snipes disliked. On the other hand, it did introduce Ryan Reynolds and Jessica Biel as believable big-screen stars (and butt-kickers), so I guess it wasn’t a total waste.

X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)

Oy… You already know what happened. Bryan Singer dropped out to take on Superman Returns and Brett Ratner was hired to direct an X-Men three-quel that was rushed through production on an accelerated schedule and an unpolished script. The Last Stand is utterly devoid of the soul and humanity of the first two films — particularly the great storytelling and characterizations of the second. It tries to make up for this with a ginormous visual effects budget that filled the screen with eye candy in practically every shot. But I think even Ratner knew he wasn’t making a very good movie, because his solution was to introduce as many mutants as he possibly could — and radically change them from their comic book origins. X-Men 3 should have been the epic Dark Phoenix Saga; instead it was a shameless riff on Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men “mutant cure” storyline (only not nearly as good), with a black-eyed and conflicted Jean Grey on the sidelines as little more than an afterthought. (They had to give her Multiple Personality Disorder to explain the Phoenix Force? Are you frickin’ kidding me?) Lame!

Spider-Man 3 (2007)

The first two Spider-Man movies were enormous successes, so the third one should have been a sure thing. But it became a case study in “trying to please too many people.” Director Sam Raimi wanted to focus on Sandman as the villain of his third movie, but Sony Pictures pressured him into including the fan-favorite (and considerably more modern) Venom as well. When you add in a homicidal Harry Osborne, you’ve got a top-heavy movie with two too many big baddies. Spider-Man 3 fares better than most other third movies on this list, even as busy as it is. The real problem isn’t the huge budget or all those bad guys. Most viewers just weren’t down with seeing Tobey Maguire turn cruel and Saturday Night Fever his way down city streets, flirting with every woman in sight. Also, the decision to have Peter become a superstar in the eyes of New Yorkers was an interesting one with the potential to take the character in new directions, so I applaud the risk taking. But it proved to be a bad call in the end, because Spider-Man is meant to be an underdog. It’s ingrained into the DNA of the character. When Peter stopped being someone we could root for, audiences simply didn’t understand who he was anymore.

That’s the past. Will the future improve the reputation of the third superhero film? Well…

Men in Black III

Will Smith and director Barry Sonnenfeld reportedly clashed on set. Tommy Lee Jones barely appears because Smith’s character travels back in time to meet Jones’ younger self, played by Josh Brolin (who admittedly does look the part). The second movie was underwhelming, and this one has been plagued by rewrites and delays. Textbook case of disaster in the making? We’ll find out in May.

Iron Man 3

A third Iron Man movie — without director Jon Favreau? Okay, so the second movie was a little bloated, but the first one is a modern classic. Shane Black (writer & director of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang) is taking over, which should make for a grittier tale for what we assume will be Iron Man’s big-screen swan song. Some fans are applauding Black as an inspired choice. But I’m getting a serious deja vu back to X-Men: The Last Stand… New director for the finale of an enormously successful film series? Oh please oh please, Iron Man 3, try really hard not to suck. Currently scheduled for May 2013. [Image source.]

The Dark Knight Rises

If anything can break the Curse of the Third Movie, it’s this. Christopher Nolan is a genius who hasn’t made one bad move yet. The anticipation level is off the charts after the unprecedented success of The Dark Knight, and what little we know about Rises — Batman’s retired some eight years after the events of the last film, but he suits up again to fight a brilliant but ruthless new crime lord called Bane — suggests that Nolan is still willing to take risks if it’s what the story calls for. I have faith in Nolan. The Dark Knight Rises is the one. Releases July 2012.

Harshness, the guy who created the X-Men minimalist posters, is based in Portland, Oregon and describes these poster prints:

• This print was created using archival pigment inks, and is printed on archival, heavyweight, matte paper.
• Print is signed and ready for framing.
• COLORS: Please Let Me Know Your Color Choice In The “Notes To Seller”. If No Choice Is Made, Print Will Come In The Color Shown.

As you can expect, all the posters have a dominant X in the background, with each character’s symbol incorporated into the image. I particularly like how the colors look for the Rogue and Wolverine posters.

Rogue

Wolverine

Sure, there is the fact that these two characters just might be the most popular ones in the franchise, but there is something about the blending of the colors that make them stand out from the others. Nightcrawler kicks butt, too, with the way that the character is portrayed.

Nightcrawler

As for Cyclops, I am not too sure about the poster. Aside from the shades, which I do not really like at all, there is something that tells me the poster doesn’t quite measure up to the others.

Cyclops

Here are the other X-Men Minimalist Posters.

Storm

Iceman

Gambit

Angel

Xmen Minimalist Posters

For the past several years we’ve seen concept cars rolled out by the Americans, Europeans and Japanese. From designs inspired by the Batmobile and Tron, these cars embodied the “sleek” design of the future making me wonder how every civilian will be driving a car that looks like something straight out from a movie.

Now Toyota did a bit of the reverse and was inspired by the philisophy of our everyday, people-friendly touch screen smartphones to dictate the future of the automobile. The movement towards cars being platforms has been taken an almost literal step further with the Toyota Vii Concept Car.

The “Vii” sounds like it could have been a model for a smartphone. And in a way it is, it’s a smartphone with four wheels on it. Watch the video.

Observations and Learnings

1. Modern day platforms seem to take the formula of apps into ubiquity. In this case, customization and OTA downloads are really staples, just like with computers and mobile phones. You can change the color of your car. You can download and update apps. You can navigate with GPS. It’s pretty much the same thing mobile phones do under a different ecosystem. I dare say the same thing with appliances and furniture.

2. These smart cars will only be fully actualized when the paradigm of the road infrastructure shifts as well. If you noticed, the car makes use of different navigation technologies embedded into the road to safely navigate its way around the city and not collide with any other car. Recharge stations should also be in abundance; like paying for the mere parking of your car isn’t just rent space but also space for refueling. And the Internet. You’ll need a well thought out Internet plan to get this thing going as being connected forms part of the overall experience. If these work, they’ve got a new revolution.

3. It’s a concept car. Nothing we will see in the next 5 years. Maybe even after 10 years. It’s too revolutionary that the infrastructure needed to support the system barely exists. Try driving this in the countryside and you’ll end up with a car out of fuel after a bit.

'Mirror Mirror' (left) and 'Snow White and the Huntsman' (right)

It’s happened before in Hollywood history. Two movies about the same (or incredibly similar) subject matter, filming simultaneously. Deep Impact and Armageddon. Volcano and Dante’s Peak. The Prestige and The Illusionist. Antz and A Bug’s Life. It happens as a quirk of the convoluted nature of studio productions, but at the box office, there can only be one winner.

First out of the gate in this case is Mirror Mirror, from director Tarsem Singh (The Cell, The Fall, and Immortals). Its one above-the-title star is Julia Roberts, who takes on the role of the Evil Queen. As you can see in the just-released trailer, this one has a very playful vibe, and isn’t afraid to throw 21st Century jargon into its characters’ dialogue. It’s written by virtual unknowns Jason Keller and Melissa Wallack, so we have very little to base expectations on, aside from Singh’s typically over-the-top, wildly colorful aesthetic.

Mirror Mirror also stars The Blind Side‘s Lily Collins as Snow White and The Social Network‘s Armie Hammer as the Prince. In this movie, the seven dwarves are Robin Hood-esque bandits who live in the woods, and they come to her aid and help her learn how to defend herself from the Queen. But this is really Julia Roberts’ movie, and the trailer sells this above all else. Mirror Mirror hits theaters March 16, 2012.

Snow White and the Huntsman is the first full-length film for director Rupert Sanders, but he’s directed some short films and music videos, and more than a dozen effects-heavy commercials, including the popular “Believe” spot for Halo 3 and that cool “There’s a Soldier In All of Us” ad for Call of Duty: Black Ops. (You can view most of his work here.) It stars Twilight‘s Kristen Stewart as the title character, Thor‘s Chris Hemsworth as the other title character. But the movie’s buzz is all about Charlize Theron’s inspired turn as the wicked Queen Ravenna, one nasty piece of work that you really don’t want to cross.

Huntsman remakes the fairy tale as a medieval epic, where the Huntsman ordered by the Queen to take Snow White into the woods to kill her takes a shine to the lovely lady and decides instead to train her in the art of war, so she can take on the Queen herself. There’s also a handsome prince (Sam Claflin), but who knows why the story even needed him when it’s got Chris Hemsworth looking all Old Spice rugged? Will he get the girl? Will everyone else be overshadowed by Theron chewing up scenery? Can Kristen Stewart project anything other than sour and surly? We’ll find out when Snow White and the Huntsman hits theaters as a summer tentpole on June 1, 2012.

Predictions, anyone? Which appeals to you more, and which do you think will win? I mean, I like Julia Roberts as much as the next guy, but Theron’s queen would win any fight.

Bioshock

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Call of Duty

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Crysis

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Dead Space

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Fallout

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Gears of War

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God of War

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Half-Life

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Halo

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inFamous

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Limbo

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Mario

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Mass Effect 3

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Portal

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Red Dead Redemption

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Shadows of the Colossus

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Sim City

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Splinter Cell

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Team Fortress 2

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World of Warcraft

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Still image from 'The Muppets'

It’s official: the new Muppets movie is a hit! Not only that, but critics and audiences seem to unanimously agree that it’s the movie that returns the Muppets to their former glory. But despite our nostalgic adoration of Jim Henson’s beloved characters, the Muppets have starred in some pretty appalling stuff. Like this.

The Muppets: Sex and Violence

Yes, you read that title right. The Muppets have always straddled the line between kiddie fluff and adult satire with surprising agility, but this 1975 prototype for The Muppet Show hadn’t found its balance yet. It had rapid-fire gags a plenty, but it also had inappropriate jokes and pop culture commentary that would horrify parents even by today’s standards. The seven deadly sins were represented by their very own Muppets, for a weird “Seven Deadly Sins Pageant,” which the Muppets were preparing for throughout the half hour show. The curious can find it included as a special feature on the 2005 release of The Muppet Show: Season One on DVD.

The Muppets Go Hollywood

This so-bad-it’s-good 1979 TV special was made to promote the original Muppet Movie. Where else can you see the Miss Piggy dance alongside Raquel Welch and Cheryl Ladd, or Janice dance with Levar Burton? The usual cameos abound, but the guest list includes stars as all over the map as Christopher Reeve, Dick van Dyke, and Liberace. It might just be the Muppets’ very own “Star Wars Christmas Special.”

The Muppets at Walt Disney World

This TV special’s not actually all that bad, but it’s most memorable for being the last Muppet project from Jim Henson, who died a few days after it premiered on ABC in 1990. It’s watchable because Henson was behind it. It’s on this list because it was created so the Muppets could pimp Disney to its fans. You see, it was commissioned as Disney and Henson’s company were about to merge, making it essentially a “good faith” showing on Henson’s part, demonstrating how Disney and the Muppets were a good fit. But Henson’s untimely death caused negotiations to stall and later fall through. If that’s not embarrassing, I don’t know what is. (14 years later, after the Henson Company passed through several hands, Disney bought it outright from Henson’s children. They remained on staff to continue running the studio.)

Muppets Tonight

An attempt in the late 90s to revive The Muppet Show that lasted only one season. It followed the same basic format as the original show, but was set at a TV studio instead of a theater, and was hosted by new character Clifford (voiced by Kevin Clash, aka Sesame Street‘s Elmo) instead of Kermit. Despite an endless influx of human guest stars like Billy Crystal, Sandra Bullock, Pierce Brosnan, and Garth Brooks, and some decent comedy bits, most Muppet fans felt it never achieved the heights of the original.

The Muppets Wizard of Oz

Apparently trying to channel The Wiz, Ashanti stars as Dorothy Gale in an abysmal new take on the classic film. With the Muppets filling in supporting players like the Scarecrow (Kermit), the Cowardly Lion (Fozzie), and all four witches (all played by Miss Piggy), this 2005 TV movie — which inexplicably premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival — was the last time the gang would release a (non-Christmas special) movie until 2011. And if you saw it, you know why.

It’s a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie

It took $20 million to make what’s probably the Muppets’ worst production of all time. This 2002 clunker stars David Arquette as an angel (seriously) who gives a downcast Kermit the Frog his own It’s a Wonderful Life, enabling him to help his friends save the Muppet Theater (yep, the very same thing that’s in jeopardy in the new movie). Joan Cusack almost does okay for herself as a way-over-the-top villainess, but Whoopi Goldberg plays God as if God was exactly like Whoopi Goldberg. The real problem is the dreadful writing.

A Muppets Christmas: Letters to Santa

This 2008 TV movie finds Gonzo accidentally preventing three letters from reaching Santa Claus, and roping his friends into traveling to the North Pole to deliver those letters himself. Just marginally better than the 2002 Christmas movie, which isn’t saying much. But instead of Whoopi Goldberg dragging the whole thing down (she cameos briefly in this one as a cab driver), it’s Nathan Lane, who’s simply impossible to swallow as a policeman bully. (If you’re itching for a good Christmas special, you won’t find a better one than 1987′s charming A Muppet Family Christmas.)

Our friends at ParamountZone are giving away 3 of these amazingly fun remote controlled helicopters that you operate from your iPhone, iPod Touch, iPad, or Android device, exclusively to ForeverGeek readers! Winning one is easy — enter here!

Lightspeed i-Helicopter

The Lightspeed i-Helicopter is a cutting-edge new gadget/toy that you control via a free app called Copter Controller, in conjunction with an included IR transmitter. Your device’s built-in gyroscope allows you to tilt to move the copter up/down, left/right, and forward/back. There’s a “Turbo” button that gives the chopper extra speed, and the touchscreen’s virtual throttle stick can be locked into position so that the helicopter will maintain its height. (Scroll down to see some additional pictures.)

IR Transmitter

A “Flight Recorder” mode is planned for the app, which is going to let you “record” a series of tilt moves with your iPhone, and then press a button to make your helicopter perform the exact same sequence.

This is a “Tweet + Link” contest.

Step 1: Copy & paste the following, and then Tweet it:

I want to win an iPhone-controlled helicopter from @geekforever & @paramountzone! Enter here: http://spm.me/ihelicopter #WiniHelicopter #contests

Step 2: Leave us a Comment on this page (below) to let us know you Tweeted, and paste the link to your Tweet in your Comment. (Note that our Comments are moderated, so it may not show up immediately after you click the “Post Comment” button.)

In case you don’t know how to find a Tweet’s individual URL, you’ll find it at Twitter.com. It’s the date just below your Tweet, as seen here:

3 winners will be selected at random from the Commenters on or around 8:pm EST on Thursday, December 15th. Winners will be notified via Twitter, after which you’ll send your mailing address to the good folks at ParamountZone so they can send you your prize.

Important: You can enter the contest once per day between now and the 15th. Enter more than once daily and all your entries will be disqualified.

Note that this contest is open only to residents of the United States and Europe.

Happy Tweeting + Linking!

Lightspeed i-Helicopter

i-Helicopter iPhone app

Buy-N-Large

Buy-N-Large mosaic

The logo of the corporatized world from WALL-E, cleverly made out of brand logos. [Source]

Darth Vader

Darth Vader mosaic

Comprised of images from all six Star Wars movies. [Source]

Harry Potter

Harry Potter mosaic

Made using images from the first seven Harry Potter movies, to celebrate the eighth. [Source]

Indiana Jones

Indiana Jones mosaic

Uses only images from Raiders of the Lost Ark. [Source]

iPhone

iPhone mosaic

10,000 app icons make up this image of a first-generation iPhone. [Source]

Mario

Mario mosaic

Created using 7,000 screenshots from Super Mario 1, 2, & 3. [Source]

Space Shuttle

Space Shuttle mosaic

To celebrate the 25th anniversary of the first space shuttle launch, NASA commissioned this mosaic, which uses pictures of the people, projects, and technologies that contributed to the shuttle program over its first 25 years.[Source]

Star Trek

Star Trek mosaic

The new Star Trek movie’s logo made using images from the classic TV series. [Source]

Steve Jobs

Steve Jobs mosaic

The late Apple CEO is recreated here using Apple logos, products, and portraits of the man himself. [Source]

Summer Glau

Summer Glau mosaic

This mosaic of the geek goddess (Firefly, Sarah Connor Chronicles, Dollhouse) uses over 400 existing photos of Glau. [Source]

Cable boxes, cell phone chargers, television sets, gaming consoles, computers and laptop stations, speakers – all of these things create a tangle of wires that are an eyesore.

But you can declutter your house using recycled objects that are likely just laying around. Look at these six creative and fun ways that people have been able to reduce their unsightly wire tangles around the home.

1. DIY Headphones Organizer

This person made an awesome owl wrap for their iPhone earbuds using a piece of wood and a laser cutter. This could be done in any standard woodworking class, and any material would suffice. Notice the way it wraps and then settles, nice and clean. It is an immediate fix to the evils of daily headphone untangling that we all know and dread.

2. Long Cord Toliet Paper Roll

Can you imagine a simpler idea for cords? This one was done using a toilet paper roll, but it could also be done with a paper towel roll. That would keep multiple cords bunched together and in place, without tangling all over the place.

3. Cable CD Spindles

This is one I have been using for years. Now that everything has moved to flash drives and external hard drives, CDs are less popular. But the plastic cases the spindles come in are useful for a number of things, this being one of them.

4. Fork and Cream Sauce Cable Organizers

An adorable idea, this is as much a decorative choice as it is a functional one. The plastic fork has been used to twist the cord like spaghetti, and the “plate” allows it to stand so as to be easily removed when the cord is needed. It would only work for thinner cords, such as for media players and mobile phones, however.

5. Credit Card Organizers

I rather like this idea. You take a credit card or old store/gift card and drill holes at different areas with space between each. Then thread the cords through to keep them separate from each other – simple but useful and free.

6. Binder Clip Cord Holders

This is my favorite cable-sorting idea. They took a simple binder clip and put it on the edge of the desk. Then they looped the cables through each, letting it keep them separated. This would have unlimited potential and be very cheap to do.

There are plenty of ways you can use average household items to declutter your office, living room or bedroom. What are some of your own ideas? Let us know in the comments section.

Annie is a geeky blogger for Life Insurance Finder, the free resource of free Life Insurance Calculators and other finance-related tools.

In the end who will save mankind from the Zombie Apocalypse? It is our belief that artists, designers, and architects will need to weigh in heavily to provide Safe Houses that can stand an assault on civilization. Don’t be caught unprepared, sign up today and register for the 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition, you may be our last hope.

Sure, I have no hopes of joining the contest, but the results are amazing. The first prize of the 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition (as deemed worthy by the jurors) went to what is known as the Vagabond Mobile Safe House Device.

Vagabond Mobile Safe House Device

The cool thing about the winner of the 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition is that it is portable. You can carry it with you in a small bag wherever you go. After all, we do not know how and when the zombiecalypse will happen. With this safe house device, you can equip yourself and be ready whenever it occurs! And if the portability weren’t impressive enough, this safe house also is quick to set up. Within 3 minutes, you can seek safety in the device, which also has cloaking properties that will get the undead off your scent.

The second prize winner, which was decided by the general public, is the Oil Silo Home. It is an independent ecosystem, which provides three necessities: energy, defense, and food/water.

Oil Silo Home

If you are not so mobile, and you like sticking to your comfort zone, the Oil Silo Home is the perfect zombie safe house for you. Obviously, it is disaster-proof and self-sufficient. What else do you need to survive in the event of a zombiecalypse? This structure is awesomely designed, and I wouldn’t be surprised if the producers/writers of zombie shows will pick it up in one form or another.

If you think these two designs from the 2011 Zombie Safe House Competition are cool, wait till you see the rest.

Geek Dad Mad Scientist

Everyone kid wants to be a mad scientist, right? Maybe not, but I think it is safe to say that there are many parents who will not hesitate to encourage their kids if they want to be geeky. Or want to be a mad scientist when they grow up.

I remember the delight and excitement that was palpable in the air every time science fair period came around when I was a kid. While I was not the most innovative or creative person in class, it was always interesting to research projects that seemed cutting edge back in those days.

If you are now a parent, and you want to hone your child’s scientific skills, I have got the perfect book for you. We were fortunate enough to have been given a review copy of “The Geek Dad Book for Aspiring Mad Scientists”, and boy, did I have fun going through it. While I am not a parent, I do have nephews and little cousins left and right; and I know that if I were their parents, I would not hesitate to grab a copy of this book.

What’s in there that gets me all excited? Memories of working on science projects aside – not to mention MacGyver moments – this book has tons of experiments that can be done by parents and children together. It’s not all about school stuff, too. The cool thing is that many of the projects detailed in “The Geek Dad Book for Aspiring Mad Scientists” can be done just because you can!

From the get go, I was impressed. I don’t know about you, but wouldn’t a project to extract your own DNA excite you as well? The book has four major sections:

• Experiments for Moonbase Alpha
• Inside the Mad Scientist’s Kitchen
• Apocalypse Survival Science
• Fun With Fire and Electricity

From mind control to themodynamics to calories to a MacGyver radio to potato guns – there is no doubt that this book will keep you and your kids occupied for a while. And don’t worry if you think that you might not know everything. You’re guaranteed to look cool in front of your kids because the book provides practically everything you need to know to carry out the experiments. You might even be surprised and learn a new trick or two!

Learn more about “The Geek Dad Book for Aspiring Mad Scientists” and where to get it from their web site.