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I am fairly certain that most you tuned in to see The Walking Dead’s season four premiere on Sunday. If not, then I’m hoping you managed to catch it on your DVR, but if you have not, no worries. I have no intention of spoiling the episode. The reason I’m so confident that anyone reading this most likely tuned in Sunday night is because AMC has reported that 16.1 million people had their eyes peeled to see the return of the hit TV series.

Previously, the record for AMC’s zombie series was 12.4 million viewers for the season three premiere while the finale just barely cracked the 8 million viewer mark. There’s no doubt at this point that the show is doing something right even with some of the mixed views on the first two seasons and the climax to season three. Rick Grimes and his rag-tag group of zombie apocalypse survivors continue to draw record numbers and thus ensure the survival of the series beyond its fourth season.

Though it might be viewed as a vastly unpopular opinion, I actually love every season so far, which includes the first two. I recall reading and listening to a variety of widely negative views on season two, but I happened to find it to be very effective in spite of the lack of action for the majority of the episodes. Season three got off to an incredible start and maintained that quality throughout the season before the finale left a little to be desired.

So with the start of season four- without spoiling- I feel we are off to a pretty great start. The premiere episode had an abundance of zombie action and continues to deliver some spectacular gore effects. The new episode does suffer from all the jumping around from scene to scene given all the new characters that are introduced, but delivers a pretty mysterious and interesting new conflict that the characters will likely have to deal with for the remainder of the season. My hopes are indeed high and look forward to seeing how it all plays out!

What did you think of The Walking Dead’s season premiere? What are your thought’s on the previous seasons? Sound off below! (Those looking to avoid spoilers should probably expect the comment section to contain spoilers for all seasons including the season four premiere.)

Via: IGN

Greetings OOUie.netties! With NY Comic-Con flooding our geekmosphere, we are not short on exciting news. The panel that I WISH I could have attended was the Legend of Korra panel, because they showed the beginning of the 1 FULL HOUR episode that is scheduled for release this Friday! Maricela Gonzalez of Entertainment Weekly, describes the footage (don’t worry, I removed the spoiled half):

“…Within herself, Korra struggles to connect her two sides — the physical and the spiritual. Her spiritual self cycles through some notable past Avatars (Adult Aang! Roku!) before settling on Wan. Wan, the first Avatar, promises to help Korra find the mysterious Rava, once he shows her his origins. The rest of the episode continues in a vastly different time, before the Avatar brought balance between the spiritual and physical worlds. I won’t spoil Wan’s journey — at least the first part of it — but I can say some old fan favorites make appearances…”

It may come to a surprise to you, but I am a HUGE fan of Legend of Korra and the Avatar mythology. It was so refreshing to see a show that deals with the Eastern Asian philosophies of spirituality when ~~M. Night Shyamalan~~ Nickelodeon gifted it to us. When we transitioned in to Korra, the creator’s vision on how technology and society would advance, has created such a rich and detailed world that is just so fascinating and wonderful to explore (excuse my erection). I only had 2 criticisms of the first season which were: (1) I wished that in the first season, they would have delved a little more in to the social issues they set up of what a society of elemental benders and non-benders living together would arise, and a little less on the soapy relationship issues. (2) The ending of the season was a little lackluster and felt a little rushed. This is a little forgivable, because they didn’t expect the show to be a hit, and needed to end the story in this half season. However, it seemed as if the writers wrote themselves in a corner, and they had to solve it with a sort of deus ex machina.

This season I find to be in the same spirit (no pun intended I SWEAR) as the original, as we explore the spirituality of Korra. Similar yet different to the arc with Ang, in where he had to abandon all desires and materialistic needs in order to reach enlightenment and achieve the Avatar state, Korra’s arc seems to be more about how she needs to draw the connection of body and spirit. And now, it seems that by the description of this footage, I speculate that we are going to learn about how the Avatar came to be. This really excites me, because now the writers are going to expand on this already expansive rich and detailed universe they set up. So this footage description is getting me really Hyped!

So fellow OOUies, are you excited to see the newest Korra? What kind of bender would you want to be? (I would like to be a fact bender, just so I can win arguments all the time… or I could just lie) Whatever it is, comment below and let One of Us know!

Via Entertainment Weekly

This Marvel character may be small in size, but the star power of the actors attached to play him sure aren’t.

As reported by Variety, two actors are currently in contention to play the title role in Marvel’s upcoming Ant-Man film: Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Paul Rudd. The former recently directed and appeared in this year’s Don Jon, and the latter is known as being a regular collaborator with Judd Apatow. Kicking off Marvel’s “Phase 3” line-up of films following the release of The Avengers: Age of Ultron, the movie is heading into production now that director Edgar Wright has become available, as evidenced by a behind-the-scenes photo he had posted on Twitter. Ant-Man is set to be released July 31, 2015, in what is sure to be a packed summer for blockbusters.

I have to say, these picks are great. Both Gordon-Levitt and Rudd have the looks and charisma to play a superhero, and they’ve proven to be competent actors in their fields of work for the past few years. Seeing that someone of Edgar Wright’s stature is directing this, the film has the potential of having a comedic touch supplied by his snappy editing and humor, and both actors can easily be seen adapting to that style. Going by most of the Apatow productions, Rudd would be a fantastic choice to give off that sort of tone and be heroic, what with his delivery of lines and his likeable persona. As for Gordon-Levitt (or JGL, as the kids call him), I haven’t yet gotten around to films like (500) Days of Summer or even Don Jon to see how well he plays a comedic role, but I have so much faith in the rest of his acting capabilities that it hardly matters. Honestly, I’d be fine with either of these two being cast in the role, and they each would be another big-name actor worthy of being welcomed into the family of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

What do you guys think? Which of these two would you like to see as Ant-Man? Do you have anyone else in mind? Post your thoughts in the comments below.

Via Variety

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What’s that noise you hear coming from the attic? Why, it’s DIGITAL NOISE, of course, and yes, you should be afraid. Because it’s October, dammit, and we’ve got lots of spooky stuff that just came out on Blu-ray and DVD to talk about, as well as some classics, comedy, and just the usual veritable plethora running the gamut from awesome to awful that you expect each week from your Digi-noisecasting hosts!

Plus, a ghastly giveaway featuring an iconic pint-sized slasher!

Tune in…if you dare.

Thinking of purchasing any of the titles we discussed? Or anything from Amazon in general? Please access Amazon via our links to help support the site. We really appreciate it!

Follow Digital Noise on Twitter and make sure to review us on iTunes.

Hi! My name is Ashley, and I love crafts. Also? Movies. Especially horror. And comic books and video games. (Obviously.) Usually, I have to choose between these interests — but not anymore! (Not here anyway.)

Because on this blog, we’re going to work on nerd-inspired crafts, cooking, baking, brewing, and gardening projects. It’ll be like if Weird Al and Martha Stewart had a baby. But that baby was less funny, not rich, already 30, and spent her free time (which is ample) showing you how to crochet whatever came into her head that morning. KIDDING! I’m gonna plan a little better than that.

So, without further ado: WELCOME TO MIND CRAFTS! To get started, just click the play button on the video above. And afterwards, check out the information below for tips and supplies and how you can help me make this the most awesome craft blog ever!

Aquaman Bathing Suit: Tips and Supplies

For this Aquaman bathing suit, I used: Views A and D of Kwik Sew Pattern 3239, “Fishscales” fabric (#PS-3950) from Spandex House, and a standard sewing machine with a zigzag stitch

On a Justice League difficulty of, say, The Flash to Superman, this is, appropriately enough, about an Aquaman-level project. If you run into any challenges, feel free to ask questions in the comments below! And if you make one or any other awesome geeky craft, then we want pics. Share them here, or you can also hit us up on our Facebook page.

Now that We Know Each Other, Let’s Hang Out!

If you’re curious about what I’m crafting, then find me masquerading as “Sqwidy” on Pinterest or Twitter. Also, feel free to Tweet project ideas or crafting-related questions. Tweet @sqwidy or use the hashtag: #MindCraftMailBag. You can also reach us the old-fashioned way: MindCraftsDIY@gmail.com. We’ll share your awesome tips, post your sweet projects, and answer all your burning questions here.

Howdy Folks,

While toiling away to make their own audio drama Infinite Variations as badass as humanly possible, the Lords and Masters of OneOfUs have bestowed upon me the right to review Big Finish’s Doctor Who audio dramas. For any who don’t know, Big Finish is a company that makes full-length (and often full cast) audio dramas including Doctor Who, Blake’s 7, Judge Dredd, Highlander, Sherlock Holmes and a few inventions of their own.The Doctor is Big Finish’s bread and butter and their dedication to Who is boundless. For example, aside from being the current voice of the Daleks and other Who baddies on the TV show, Nicholas Briggs is co-executive producer of all of Big Finish’s projects and often lends his voice and writing talents to the various ranges. Now that’s love!

But enough with this preamble crap, on to the review.

Phantasmagoria (1999) is the second Doctor Who story Big Finish ever released. One thing they nailed is the feel of the show. Nothing feels out of place for Doctor Who tonally or structurally. Big Finish didn’t try to jazz things up and modernize elements. Instead they chose here (and in almost all of their Who work) to make it in as close to the style of classic Who as they could. The story focuses on the Fifth Doctor (Peter Davison) and his companion Turlough (Mark Strickson) as they investigate a mysterious set of disappearances and deaths of young men plaguing 1702 London’s streets. The Doctor and Turlough are separarated almost immediately and it is interesting to see the paths they both take take to investigate the mystery and try to find the other, only to get split up yet again. Both men track the case back to the Diabola Club, where someone is playing a much darker game than the usual games of chance.

It is interesting to go back and listen to Davison’s voice. In a few years time, his voice would change slightly and become more gravely but here before the change he was better able to adopt a tone and delivery similar to what he had in the TV show. Additionally, Strickson also slips back into both Turlough’s snarkiness and evasiveness with relative ease. Special commendation should be given to the frequenters to the Diabola Club. The actors deliver just the right blend of extravagance and foppishness that not only makes them a delight to hear, but adds an air of authenticity because while the Diabola Club itself is fictitious, places like it did actually exist and such characters as the ones in the story did frequent such establishments.

Despite a script from the likes of Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, various Doctor Who TV episodes) the simple story, music, mixing, and overall sound design leads to a product that isn’t quite up to the standards Big Finish would soon achieve only a few entries later in the series. The run time is also short of main ranges standard 120 minutes, clocking in at only slim 89 minutes instead. While the story is serviceable and there isn’t a bad performance across the board, it is just that, serviceable. Big Finish has been really cool and reduced Phantasmagoria (and in fact, the entire first 50 entries in the series) to a meager $2.99 for download, but even with this in mind I can’t recommend anyone save the biggest Who fanatics pick this one up. The whole thing is done well and the asking price is about as good as anyone could hope for, but nothing here elevates it to any form of greatness or required listening. Fans of the classic series will enjoy it, but otherwise it is entirely skippable.

He may have said to never tell him the odds, but it looks like our favorite space smuggler has his own measure of probability to share: 50/50.

During an interview on The Graham Norton Show promoting his upcoming film Ender’s Game, Harrison Ford revealed that he is still undecided about reprising his iconic role of Han Solo in Star Wars Episode VII. He simply said, “I’ve not quite made the choice”, keeping with the hush-hush attitude he’s been projecting ever since speculation of him returning, as well as Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher, started to run rampant. This comes after he dodged the question back in April on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, although that was during a staged part of the interview. Episode VII, directed by J.J. Abrams, is still slated for a 2015 release.

Now, for anyone who thinks that Ford will eventually cave in to coming back to what made him a star and that this is just a tease, this news might not be as easy to write off as you think. If you read up on the production of Return of the Jedi, you’ll find that Ford wanted Han Solo to die in the film to give the end of the saga a bit more ‘oomph’ as well as give Ford an excuse to retire the character, but the idea was shot down by George Lucas for marketing reasons. So really, if you think about it, Ford might want to stick to his thirty-year-old guns and not appear in Episode VII, which could be a major bummer for a lot of Star Wars fans, including me. But right now, seeing that he gave an ambiguous answer with no contempt, there’s still a chance that he’ll come back to play the nerf-herder we know and love. Let’s just hope an announcement happens within the month, because coming Halloween it’ll be a year since Disney announced their acquisition of Lucasfilm and the production of Episode VII, and I haven’t got my fill of details to ponder and get excited over!

What do you guys think? Do you think Ford will come back to play Solo once again? Would you mind if he didn’t? Post your thoughts in the comments below.

Via MirrorTV

Quentin Tarantino has always been a man that inspired controversy, but he’s always held a very special place in a lot of the geek community’s heart. However, recent comments from the acclaimed director gave very special place one heck of an earthquake. Tarantino mildly defended his love for The Lone Ranger, a movie he loved so much he put it as number 9 of his top 10 movies of 2013 so far, which came as a surprise to most people.

He had this to say in defense of The Lone Ranger (though he backtracks quite a bit in my opinion):

“The first forty-five minutes are excellent … the next forty-five minutes are a little soporific. It was a bad idea to split the bad guys in two groups; it takes hours to explain and nobody cares. Then comes the train scene — incredible! When I saw it, I kept thinking, ‘What, that’s the film that everybody says is crap? Seriously?'”

* Warning SPOILER Ahead*

“That being said, I still have a little problem with the film. I like Tonto’s backstory — the idea that his tribe got slaughtered because of him; that’s a real comic-book thing. But the slaughter of the tribe, by gunfire, from the cavalry, it left a bitter taste in my mouth. … The Indians have really been victims of a genocide. So slaughtering them again in an entertaining movie, Buster Keaton style… That ruined the fun a bit for me. I simply found it…ugly.”

*Spoiler Over*

If you think his opinion on The Lone Ranger was misguided, just read what he said about Ben Affleck’s upcoming role of Batman.

“I have to admit that I don’t really have an opinion. Why? Because Batman is not a very interesting character. For any actor. There is simply not much to play. I think Michael Keaton did it the best, and I wish good luck to Ben Affleck. But, you know who would have made a great Batman? Alec Baldwin in the ’80s.”

I actually don’t mind his love for The Lone Ranger. To me that just shows a bit about his taste in movies, and Tarantino has certainly always had some odd favorites. I think this movie speaks to him more from a director’s point of view then anything else. I wouldn’t be surprised if we saw a train scene in one of his film in the near future.

As for his opinion of Batman, I don’t think I could disagree with him more. I believe Batman is a fascinating character. Is he my favorite superhero? Not by a long shot, but I still love the character and to write him off as uninteresting just seems odd. The character has so much depth and complexity. Even now 74 years after his first comic book appearance we still haven’t seen all the sides of the character. To be able to have a character in the media for so long and still keep things fresh says a lot about just how interesting the character is.

Still, what Tarantino gave was his opinion and I won’t hate on him for that. I might not understand or agree with it, but I certainly won’t hate on the man for it.

Do Tarantino’s thoughts resonate with you or is he completely insane? Was Michael Keaton really the best Batman?! Sound off in the comments!

Source: IGN

More movie trailer madness, my lovelies! This time around, we see the return of Hercules to the silver screen in Hercules: The Legend Begins, directed by Die Hard 2 director Renny Harlin. I say Die Hard 2, because, well, that is the most memorable film in his entire résumé. So you can take that however you want, and keep it for yourself. Take a look at this trailer, and let’s sit down in our thinking chair and think. (That’s a Blues Clues reference for all you kiddies out there.)

The weirdest thing about the trailer is how expensively cheap this looks. You can see that the production value of this trailer is rather large, yet in the beginning I thought I was watching a video game. It’s like they were going for a discount Zack Snyder look, where the color palette is hyper-stylized. We see these epic sets and battles that seem to be on a pretty large scale, yet the special effects on them are shockingly amateurish, particularly the part where he calls upon his lightning powers. That part looks like it was done in Microsoft Paint. Also, the thing that bothered me the most was the lack of blood. In a movie about the son of Zeus, who is a demi-god with super strength that participates in brutal Gladiator-esque battles, you would want to see him rip people in half.

In terms of the direction, it just seems all too generic for me, to a laughable degree. It feels like this is a producer’s project rather than a director’s project. The producers probably have seen films like 300 and Gladiator, and decided to pull certain elements from them and bland them in (pun) to this film. 300 especially, because I want you to look me straight in the eyes, and tell me that their armor with the red capes doesn’t remind you of Spartans. For that task, they needed a director who will take a project because hey, you gotta eat right? When I mentioned that it was done by ‘Die Hard 2 director Renny Harlin’, it says a lot about his résumé. The only other film that I remember him doing was Deep Blue Sea, and I only remember it because of a great moment Samuel L. Jackson had, involving a shark interrupting his monologue. If your most memorable film, was a forgettable sequel made 23 years ago, doesn’t sound too promising.

As for the main actor playing good ole Herc, I’m not completely sold. Kellan Lutz has been around for a while on TV and other films, but his claim to fame (not really) was his role in Twilight, where he played a member of the Cullen family. If the twist in this film is that Hercules is a vampire… that would really suck (BREAKING NEWS: Brian Salisbury beats intern to a bloody pulp for atrocious humor). In all seriousness, he doesn’t seem like a leading man to me. There is also another Hercules that is coming out entitled Hercules: The Thracian Wars staring Dwayne ~~‘The Rock’~~ Johnson, directed by Brett Ratner. Dwayne seems like an awesome choice because he just has a lot of charisma, and I could see him play a demi-god because yeah, he’s freakin’ huge. That being said, I saw Kellan play an actual god, Poseidon, in the film Immortals, and admittedly, even though the film itself was alright, he was pretty badass in it. So he may not be as awesome of a choice as the Rock, but he might be good enough just to get the job done, and that’s what the producers need.

So fellow OOU.Netties! Who would you want to cast as Hercules? Are you going to see this film? Whatever it is, comment below, and let One of Us know!

Welcome to episode 3 of INTERN-net News, with your Host Chris Harrison!

There is a vast pool of exciting news every week, and in our effort to bring you brand new, engaging content join me as I discuss the weekly news and gossip in film, TV, comic books and anything else that gets us talking.

This week we’ve got Doctor Who Anniversary news along with copious amounts of Breaking Bad and Star Wars discussion. Beware of potential mild spoilers for the Breaking Bad finale!

Most importantly, this show is all about you. Get involved in the discussion, tell us what you think about these stories and if there’s a story you want to create conversation about then throw a question my way either on Twitter or right here each week.

Tell your friends to join The INTERN-Net!

Follow Chris on Twitter: @Chris_Harrison_

Ratings for ‘The Walking Dead’ Are More Alive Than Ever

‘The Legend of Korra’ Bends Our Anticipation at NYCC

Casting Call: Names attached to ‘Ant-Man’ are by no means small

Digital Noise Episode 15: The Nerds Are Running The Asylum

Plus, a ghastly giveaway featuring an iconic pint-sized slasher!

Tune in…if you dare.

Thinking of purchasing any of the titles we discussed? Or anything from Amazon in general? Please access Amazon via our links to help support the site. We really appreciate it!

Mind Crafts Episode 1: Aquaman Bathing Suit

Aquaman Bathing Suit: Tips and Supplies

Now that We Know Each Other, Let’s Hang Out!

Big Finishing Move: “Doctor Who: Phantasmagoria” Review

One of the Galaxy’s Heroes May Sit Out ‘Star Wars: Episode VII’

Tarantino has some surprising things to say about Batman and ‘The Lone Ranger’

‘Hercules: The Legend Begins’ Feels Mighty Familiar

YOUTUBE: INTERN-Net News episode Three

Welcome to episode 3 of INTERN-net News, with your Host Chris Harrison!

There is a vast pool of exciting news every week, and in our effort to bring you brand new, engaging content join me as I discuss the weekly news and gossip in film, TV, comic books and anything else that gets us talking.

This week we’ve got Doctor Who Anniversary news along with copious amounts of Breaking Bad and Star Wars discussion. Beware of potential mild spoilers for the Breaking Bad finale!

Most importantly, this show is all about you. Get involved in the discussion, tell us what you think about these stories and if there’s a story you want to create conversation about then throw a question my way either on Twitter or right here each week.

Tell your friends to join The INTERN-Net!