Angry Birds

Angry Birds pumpkin carving

Who can explain the phenomenon that is Angry Birds? Maybe this amazing pumpkin carving can. [Source]

Captain America

Captain America pumpkin carving

In case you can’t place it, this is modeled after the “Marvel Heroes” line of kids’ toys and cartoons — not the terrific Marvel movie from this Summer. [Source]

Deus Ex: Human Revolution

Deus Ex: Human Revolution pumpkin carving

Behold Adam Jensen, the protagonist of one of our favorite games of 2011. [Source]

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games pumpkin carving

With the movie only five months away, Hunger Games fever is at an all-time high right now. Pictured: the all-important “Mockingjay” symbol from the books and the film. [Source]

The Smurfs

The Smurfs pumpkin carving

God help us all, The Smurfs was one of this year’s biggest box office hits — for kiddie flicks, that is. Here’s Smurfette, the one and only girl Smurf. (Seriously, how does the species procreate with only one female? Must be a “queen bee” kind of thing…) [Source]

Steve Jobs #1

Steve Jobs pumpkin carving

I couldn’t resist including two Steve Jobs tributes after seeing how amazing both of these are. First up: a spot-on recreation of the late Apple creator, all lit up at night. [Source]

Steve Jobs #2

Steve Jobs pumpkin carving

The second tribute I came across uses the same photo as its source, but generates a completely different result by applying the methods of a true sculptor. Here’s how it looks in the dark. [Source]

Thor

Thor pumpkin carving

Fantastic rendition of Thor’s hammer, from this summer’s blockbuster movie (and the comic book, of course). Also see this photo of it glowing. [Source]

Transformers

Transformers pumpkin carving

Not sure, but I think that’s Shockwave, who was of course one of the big baddies in this summer’s Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Somebody correct me if I’m wrong. [Source]

The Walking Dead

The Walking Dead pumpkin carving

The infamous “Bicycle Girl” from the pilot episode of AMC’s mega-hot zombie apocalypse series, which just entered its second season. Not the greatest picture, but impressive work on the pumpkin. [Source]

Hearing Joss Whedon’s witty dialogue coming out of Robert Downey Jr.’s mouth is a match made in Heaven. Writer/director Whedon does get lots of accolades for his written words, but the average viewer might not realize that he’s got an incredible eye as a director, always creating killer action scenes. Go back and watch some of the episodes of Buffy that Whedon directed, and you’ll see the most original, dynamic action scenes from the entire series. I noticed several of his visual trademarks in these quick-cut scenes: iconic/heroic poses (some of these shots look like they could be comic book covers), lens flares (hi there, Firefly fans!), and lots of moving cameras (which made it hard to get clear screengrabs).

He just gets “cool” (check out that wave of destruction rolling through an NYC street early in the trailer — that’s not CGI!), while never losing sight of the emotional heart of a story. And his instincts as a storyteller are always spot-on. So seeing him get to play in a playground this big is something his fans (yes I’m a Whedon fanboy and proud of it) have been waiting a long time to see. Based on this trailer, I’m ready to get in line now.

Enjoy the screens! Click on any image for a high-resolution (1440×790) version.

Based on this leaked in-game footage, it looks like a studio owned by THQ was hip-deep in development on a video game tie-in to next summer’s The Avengers movie. But the game has been seemingly canceled since THQ shuttered the studio last month. Sad news made all the sadder once you watch the awesomeness on display in the video.

The footage, based on a pre-Alpha build of the proposed game, shows some fairly detailed looks at the fighting styles of Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, and the Hulk. THQ’s Brisbane, Australia studio was going to put gamers in the first-person shoes of these most powerful of superheroes, but since none of them use guns, the interface was translated with their hands and arms on-screen a la Mirror’s Edge.

It looks like it would work a lot better than I may be making it sound. Cap carries (and throws) his shield, Thor has his trusty hammer, Iron Man shoots blasts from his fists and all sorts of other gadgetry, and Hulk uses those beefy, green arms of his to smash everything in sight. The video also shows off a number of environments, including the streets of New York, the SHIELD Helicarrier, the Avengers’ “Triskelion” homebase, a Skrull mothership (longtime alien enemies of the Avengers who are rumored to be in the film), and more. Everything you can see in the vid looks pretty sweet. I guess we should make that bittersweet if the game’s been canceled, though.

Watch this video quick — it’ll be pulled from YouTube any time now. (When it does disappear, you may be able to find mirrors by searching YouTube for “THQ Avengers.”)

Williams-Sonoma's Marvel Kitchen Collection

Marvel’s Disney-fied empire just keeps on growing. The latest frontier in their quest for global domination? The kitchen, courtesy of high-end cookware maker Williams-Sonoma.

Williams-Sonoma’s new line of Marvel-inspired products include cookie cutters, pancake molds, aprons, spatulas, and iced cookie kits — all themed around classic incarnations of Marvel’s most popular superheroes. The products are primarily based on Spider-Man, the Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, and Wolverine, and range in price between $12.95 and $39.95.

You can view the entire cookware catalog online here. Marvel has even produced a special 12-page Spider-Man and the Avengers comic book for kids just for the occasion, written by C.B. Cebulski with art by Todd Nauck. You can view the comic book online here. It stars Avengers butler Jarvis cooking a special meal for the superheroes and a bunch of kids. Seriously. Oh, and the Avengers also fend off an attack by the Frightful Four.

Williams-Sonoma's Marvel Kitchen Collection

Take a look.

Hot Toys decided to make figures from three movies, with two characters from each movie. Iron Man and Tony Stark, Loki and Thor, and Red Skull and Captain America. It’s a no brainer which ones I like the most!


Even at 1/6th scale, Iron Man’s (and Tony Stark’s) appeal is not diminished one bit! If anything, these cosbabies just make the characters more adorable!

Here are Thor and Loki.

And Captain America and Red Skull.

Hot Toys – a Hong Kong-based company – has not announced the date of release and pricing yet, but monitor their Facebook page to find out when their worldwide distributors will carry the figures.

Get ready to geek out to two-and-one-half minutes of pure, comic book movie bliss. Plus, check out these awesome stills from a few of the trailer’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-’em shots.

Everything about this Captain America trailer just hits all the right notes. Chris Evans has ditched any sign of the snarkier characters he’s known for, and channels his most earnest for the iconic WWII supersoldier. The effects of digitally putting his head onto a skinny body double looks (for the most part) flawless. The rest of the cast looks spectacular as well. Bucky’s in the mix, and if you watch close, you’ll see Dum-Dum Dugan kicking butt in his bowler hat. Oh, and hello there, “Mr. Stark.”

Is that an early version of the Stark Expo at the :34 second mark? And I love how Steve Rogers “grows” inside the supersoldier chamber when he’s given the serum. And how about all that retro-futuristic technology? I’m tickled pink that Cap actually gets a gun in the movie, but that shield toss at the end kills.

What’s your favorite part? Want to bypass the YouTube version for some Quicktime-y goodness? Click here.

Captain America: The First Avenger hits movie screens July 22nd.

Chris Evans as Captain America and Sebastian Stan as James "Bucky" Barnes

Hugo Weaving as Johann Schmidt, aka the Red Skull

Okay, bring on the first trailer, Marvel.

Sega is working on a Captain America video game to coincide with next year’s big-screen movie, but Sega says it’s not an exact “game of the movie,” though it is set within the world of the movie. Which means these great-looking screenshots and conceptual artwork are indicative of the look and feel that the movie will have. Of particular interest to the faithful should be the renderings of Arnim Zola and the war machine of Hydra.

Captain America: Super Soldier is described as a third-person platformer that uses “a highly athletic combat system” where Cap’s iconic shield will be the key to his attack, defense, puzzle-solving, and wall-scaling maneuvers. Comic book writer Cristos Gage has penned the game’s original story, which finds Cap infiltrating a Wolfenstein-like castle that’s being used as a secret Hydra base during World War II. The Red Skull is expected to put in an appearance, as is Iron Cross and lots of other well-known enemies.

Sega will release Captain America: Super Soldier next year for Xbox 360, PlayStation 3, PSP, Wii, and Nintendo DS. There’s no word yet on whether or not cast members from the film like Chris Evans and Hugo Weaving will voice their video game counterparts.

On set photos continue to surface for Captain America: The First Avenger and the newest photo from the set features the Captain’s futuristic looking submarine. Honestly I think it looks much more cool than the Bat Submarine Bruce Wayne has been seen cruising around in.

According to The Echo the photo (shown above) was taken on a closed set in the UK where the streets and waterfront had been dressed up to look like 1940s New York.

On Friday I revealed Peggy Carter’s look and a while back we revealed the artist rendering for the new Captain America outfit, so far the movie looks to keep true to the original comic book, without looking too much like a cartoon or out of touch.

What do you think about the Captain’s submarine?

As the Captain America movie draws ever closer, more stills from various sets have begun floating around. Today’s pic was brought to us by Comic Book Movie Fansites and features none other than Margaret ‘Peggy’ Carter.

In case you need to brush up on your Captain America trivia, Peggy was the love interest for the Captain during WWII and is featured here as played by Hayley Atwell.

A little more info about Peggy, she was an American Agent who fought beside Steve Rogers in World War II before he became Captain America. Unfortunately once back in America they couldn’t date anymore, so Peggy spent the good part of a few decades telling her niece Sharon Carter about Captain America and his good deeds. As the stories went on so did Sharon’s love for Captain America as she awaited for him to awaken and eventually became his new love interest.

Yeah it’s all a little cheesy, but the set looks great and I’m a sucker for a hot chick firing a weapon.

What do you think? Are you getting excited about the movie? So far I haven’t seen any weird out of place sets or costume designs. I even reported a while back on the Captain America movie outfit, which actually doesn’t look half bad.

Marvel has released some new imagery from the Thor and Captain America movies in honor of Comic-Con 2010, which is just about to get underway in San Diego. Check out these awesome pieces of concept art, along with a jaw-dropping new still image of Chris Hemsworth as Thor from USA Today (you won’t believe the size of Hemsworth’s arms!).

Oh how I hope that the movies can live up to these images…

When I heard so very long ago that a Captain America movie was on the horizon my first thought was “oh dear god don’t let them destroy the outfit” after all the red, white and blue coloring is a symbol of what Captain America stands for. I’m happy to announce that a mock-up of the outfit has been spotted (pictured above) and it’s not hideous.

It may be the one time I actually like the remake of the outfit more than the original. AICN broke the mock-up of the costume which features a combat sensible design and keeps true to the original shield design from the comic book, a smart move considering the shield was the most “real world ready” aspect of the original design.

Mostly though I’m pleased the stupid ear wings from the comic book are gone, I always expected Captain America to flap his ears dumbo style and fly away and it would have translated awfully to the big screen.

This mock-up alone gives me great hope for The First Avenger, what do you think about the design for the upcoming movie?

Not satisfied with only one mock-up photo? Here’s some more:

This might be the greatest news to ever come out of geekdom. Joss Whedon, one of the most celebrated and respected (and geeky) wordsmiths of our time, is going to be directing Marvel Studios’ big-budget superhero mashup, The Avengers. As you probably know, The Avengers is combining the stars of Marvel’s various superhero pics — Iron Man, Captain America, Thor, Hulk, and Nick Fury — into star-studded blockbuster film. Whedon landing this gig is on the same level as JJ Abrams being handed the keys to the Enterprise, and everybody knows how amazing that turned out.

Whedon is best known as the creator of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Firefly, and writer of Astonishing X-Men, though he also served as a bigshot Hollywood script doctor before hitting it big with his own properties, doing uncredited rewrites on films like Speed, and helping to give voices to Woody and Buzz Lightyear in the first Toy Story. His singular talent for writing original, clever dialogue has helped give his work its distinct flair, and he’ll be doing a rewrite on the existing Avengers script. As a director, he handled many episodes of his own TV shows, as well as the big screen filmSerenity. Anyone who saw Whedon’s directorial efforts on his TV shows knows that he has a profound talent for using the camera as another communication tool, as well as a strong eye for wicked cool action sequences.

Just imagine hearing Whedon’s dialogue coming out of the mouths of Robert Downey Jr. (Iron Man), Chris Evans (Captain America), and Samuel L. Jackson (Nick Fury)! Also joining the cast will be Chris Hemsworth as Thor and Edward Norton reprising his role as the Incredible Hulk. It almost seems too good to be true that Marvel would entrust its most important property and biggest stars to someone like Joss Whedon; he has infinite amounts of geek cred, but no established box office bankability.

But you can take this to the bank: Whedon doesn’t know how to tell a bad story, so assuming there’s not too much studio interference or bloated actor egos on the set, The Avengers is going to be something special when it arrives summer 2012.

The long hunt is finally over. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the next person to play Captain America in Marvel’s latest project is Chris Evans. How do you know him? Well, he’s “that guy” from Not Another Teen Movie, the lead character in Push, and of course, the Human Torch in the Fantastic Four Series. From the article:

Sources tell us the actor has not only accepted Marvel’s offer, first detailed on Friday, but that the dealmaking moved so fast it’s now all about dotting the i’s and crossing the t’s.

Marvel would not comment on the development, and CAA, which reps the actor, declined comment.

Evans was offered the role in Marvel Studios’ production last week, but there was some question of whether he would accept. Factoring in to the choice was the fact that Evans played Johnny Storm, the flame-covered superhero known as the Human Torch in Fox’s “Fantastic Four” movies. Was he ready to play another superhero and take on the trappings that come with such a high-profile part?

This is a big casting, because the good ol’ Cap is going to be the lead in Captain America and the Avengers movie, so we’ll be seeing a lot of this guy. In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest if he made a cameo at the end of the credits for Iron Man 2.

So how do they handle the Human Torch/Cap America situation? Personally, I hate when people cross over comic books, a la Ryan Reynolds in Wolverine and the upcoming Green Lantern flick, because it takes us out of the universe. It makes it much less real, when ultimately, that’s what Marvel is trying to do – create a movie universe in parallel with the comic multiverse. On the other end, the Fantastic Four movies sucked pretty hard, and there’s little hope that they’ll be coming back to do a third flick. If they do, they’re going to have to recast Johnny Storm, but I’d be willing to bet that Jessica Alba wasn’t coming back either.

What’re your thoughts? Think this is a good casting or should they have gone with someone else like Ryan Phillippe?

I never read Iron Man as a kid. I was more into Batman, the X-Men and related teams, as well as Spider-Man to read about an alcoholic rich guy with a suit. As a result, I went into Iron Man the movie with just a few basic expectations, and came out ecstatic about the series and the direction it was going. Robert Downey Jr. did a spectacular job as Tony Stark, and everyone else involved did great, too. With the ending, I saw what Marvel was really trying to put together, and saw just how cohesively it was going to happen. Iron Man, Captain America, the Hulk, Thor … The Avengers movie was going to be awesome.

Here we are, 2010, and the next few years are looking good for Marvel’s franchise. Thor is 2011, as is Captain America, and the following year, The Avengers. First though, we have Iron Man 2, which is going to lay some more of the groundwork for the Avengers movie. And of course, there’s a new trailer online. Two words: Suitcase. Armor. Download it in 1080P for full HD viewing, or just check out the smaller iPod versions. Either way, take a peek, because it’s awesome.

Are the Martians coming?

So, despite the fact that the real Captain America has been wandering around the Marvel Universe for a couple of months now, this week has finally seen the conclusion of the Captain America Reborn mini, and it had everything that we could ask for. Wrap-around cover, the Red Skull possessing a giant robot body, an army of baby M.O.D.O.K.s….

I mean, who can argue with an army of baby M.O.D.O.K.s?

Right, fan-boy gushing aside, there was little in this series that grabbed me. After about the second or third issue the story was predictable, and so all I was waiting for was the series to conclude. And is it me, or was it very very late?

I’ve come to expect from a story at least a few elements of what is featured on the cover. Now I appreciate this would have been a big story had it shipped on a reasonable schedule and the cover is highly symbolic, but I would have preferred a cover that didn’t feature practically everybody.

There were a few nice touches, such as Sin being hideously disfigured like her father. (Euwwww, that is not a thing to call a nice touch!)

Even more enticing was the vision of the War Of The Worlds type scenario, with giant tripods walking through the ruins of New York. Only these tripods look more like something that would come out of the Fault.

Maybe my hopes for the Realm Of Kings storyline reaching earth will come true after all.

Ever since I read the original Guardians Of The Galaxy, or maybe even dating back to the ancient days of Amazing Adventures, I have always wanted to read a skilfully executed version of the Martians invading the Marvel earth. Unfortunately the GOTG never provided that, the best I can think of is actually the Wisdom mini-series, but that invasion was cut short. (And of course, the Martians first strike in that series was where it should be, London.)

Does this one panel make up for a rather lacklustre series? No, but it does whet my appetite for what comes next.

I read somewhere that Batman is also bouncing through time. Well considering he was killed in a space-time well caused by Darkseid’s descent and should really have been resurrected alongside the rest of the universe by Superman’s use of the Miracle Machine at the culmination of Final Crisis, I suppose that makes sense. More sense than a chronal bullet in an assassination attempt. Let’s hope the return of the Bat is a little more spectacular than Cap’s.

So Captain America is alive again. Or will be. Or was somewhen and is coming back.

Who does he think he is? Jean Grey?

Actually I love the idea of the bullet locking his body in time and space at the point of his apparent death, causing him to come unstuck from the normal flow of time. Though how that causes his awareness to bounce around his personal timeline, well, I’m not sold on that yet, but I suppose it will enable him to leave messages for his teammates in the future. I’ll have a double helping of Deus Ex Machina please, hold the Exiles. We don’t want Cap working with the dirty mutants, just because he may be ‘unstuck in time’.

Despite the fact that I honestly think Cap could have stayed dead for a lot longer than this IMHO. Still it serves to balance what I have seen as a symbolic deficit with Marvel.

Now I’ve stated that the Secret Invasion issues were weak, concentrating on action at the expense characterisation in the main series. However, the story itself was a good one, as indeed is Dark Reign.

But come on. The ‘Embrace Change’ flyers going out during the Democratic Primaries and during the US election itself? Followed by the Dark Reign? Hell no, can’t read any symbolism there.

That’s either very clever (and nasty) marketing, or someone has a very evil sense of humour. So, Obama’s not the Anti-Christ after all, he’s a Skrull! (The fact that Stan Lee was a contributor to Hilary Clintons campaign has nothing to do with it all.)

Politics not withstanding, the Dark Reign storyline is proceeding along nicely, giving us looks into various dark corners of the Marvel universe. It’s good to see Dormannu taking a hand in earthly politics though the Hood. But what is really rocking my boat is Emma Frosts involvement in the Cabal.

We are led to believe that Emma has finally shown her true colours. However, as with anything to do with the White Queen, I truly doubt it is as simple as that. The Dark Avengers/X-Men Utopia-X crossover, coupled with the new ‘Dark’ X-Men series finally promises to do what only the Decimation did, and finally change the face of mutant politics.

I’m holding out for the hope that Emma is still on the side of the angels. After all her agenda has never been that far from Xaviers, protect mutanity at all costs.

Still, we’ll just have to wait and see.

It seems that every year more and more comic books and graphic novels are making the passage from the page to the big screen. Hollywood has cottoned on that not only are these art forms quite often full of great stories but they come complete with an already made fan base who will flock to the silver screen to see their heroes brought to life.

It is with this passion in mind that I’ve pulled together a list of forthcoming (and in one case now out) movies that originated in a comic book or graphic novel.

Punisher: War Zone

Date: Now

The only film in this entire listing that is now available for viewing (it was only released here in the UK on Friday); it’s safe to say that unless you’re a die-hard fan then you are probably going to be okay about missing this. It isn’t to say that Ray Stevenson does a bad job at being Frank Castle or that jigsaw doesn’t look cool, but the action is fairly derivative and to be honest I preferred Thomas Jane’s outing as the man with the black t-shirt featuring the white skull motif.

Website – Trailer – Rotten Tomatoes Review

Watchmen

Date: 6 March 2009

Arguably one of the most eagerly awaited titles for all geeks this year, Watchmen brings to the big screen a graphic novel featuring an epic story, flawed characters, moral dilemmas and superheroes without powers. The story is set in the 1980’s and the ‘Doomsday Clock’ is set to 5 minutes to midnight, so tensions are running high between the US and the USSR. Rorschach (a masked vigilante) investigates the murder of hero, only to discover the plot gets much thicker.

Alan Moore’s graphic novel of the same name should provide excellent material – but my top tip for this one is to read it in its original form before going to see the film. Whilst Moore won’t have anything to do with the movie adaptation, I’m fairly certain that everything we’ve seen so far is showing that this is going to be quite faithful in look and feel – but perhaps most importantly will offer a lot even for those who don’t know of the graphic novel.

website – Trailer

X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Date: 1 May 2009

Wolverine proved very quickly to be one of the most popular characters following the screen adaptation of the X-men comic book, so it should be no surprise that his movie comes out first. Hugh Jackman reprises his role as the eponymous character, meanwhile we see a host of other characters appear from the Marvel/X-Men universe including Deadpool, Sabretooth (Liev Schriber), Silver Fox, Gambit, The Blob and more. Should you be excited? Oh yes, the action looks great and I’m expecting big things after the frankly poor X-Men: The Last Stand

Website – Trailer

Thor

Date: 16 July 2010

I’m a bit baffled why Kenneth Branagh is going to be directing Thor, but there we are. The plot is apparently going to feature Dr Donald Blake – a disabled physician who has an alter ego inside of him – none other than The Mighty Thor! For me, this one could go either way. I’m hoping that it isn’t too far out there, but as it is quite a while away I didn’t find too much info out on it. More info as it comes but I’ve heard a range of names mentioned for the role of Thor, including wrestler Triple H!

Sin City 2

Date: 2010

Unfortunately still listed in preproduction (so whether it will make 2010 is debateable) but the best received graphic novel to hit the big screen barring 300 was Sin City. Should the sequel live up to the original then this should definitely be a film on your list. This title is also known as ‘A Dame To Kill For’ and covers the story of the same name along with an unshelved Nancy Story and some short stories. It will return with the same look and feel and no doubt excellent action set pieces. Definitely one to see.

The First Avenger: Captain America

Date: 2011

After being deemed unfit for military service, Steve Rogers volunteers for a top secret research project that turns him into Captain America, a superhero dedicated to defending America’s ideals. There’s talk of this being a period piece, which could be quite interesting. The title indicates that this may well be the first of several Avenger films – though whether you like your superheroes on their own or all together may decide on how you’ll view such a film. I’m not a big fan of Cap but I am going to withhold judgement until we’ve seen a little more.

Iron Man 2

Date: 2010

Marvel Studios completely self-financed Iron Man, and I’m fairly sure that they are quite happy that they did so, given that it was such as resounding success. In the sequel, Robert Downey Jr returns to play Tony Stark in what appears to be a role he was born to play. Still not sure on the plot of this one, but there has been talk of Whiplash/Backlash as well as Crimson Dynamo. Don Cheadle is in whilst Terrance Howard is out for the role of War Machine/Jim Rhodes.

Other Films Of Note Coming Soon:

Super Max (2010) – Green Arrow
Green Lantern (2010)
Ant-Man (2010)
Dead of Night (2009) – Dylan Dog
Spider-Man 4

Some of the names being thrown about by fans include Brad Pitt (not a bad choice, actually) Serenity star Nathan Fillion, Matt Damon, Aaron Eckhart, Ryan McPartlin (the guy who plays Captain Awesome in Chuck), and Cole Hauser.

I myself am partial to Brendan Fraser.

What about you guys? Who do you think should play Captain America?