‘Ops’ doesn’t answer call of duty

Originally published in the Dec. 1, 2010 issue of the Coast Report
By Parker Shannon, Staff Writer

 Photo courtesy of Activision

“Call of Duty: Black Ops” isn’t all that it was cracked up to be.

Most of the single-player campaign is spent watching in-game cut-scenes that take control completely out of the player’s hands and the rest offers wave after wave of generic foreign bad guys.

The story revolves around a large conspiracy involving Russian plans to attack America. The main playable character, Alex Mason, is at the heart of Russia’s MK-ULTRA-esque plan and spends most of his time recalling memories for his mysterious interrogators.

Take a look at the 'Green Lantern' trailer

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Well how about that, the "Green Lantern" trailer has finally been released online, check it out after the jump.

First look at 'Green Lantern' movie

 
Logo courtesy of Warner Bros.

Check out Entertainment Tonight's preview of a preview of Green Lantern. According to /Film.com the movie's full trailer will be attached to Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1 on Nov. 19, but ET will debut it beforehand on Nov. 16.

The preview of the preview and some thoughts I have are after the jump.

‘The Walking Dead’ comes to life

Originally published in the Nov. 10, 2010 issue of the Coast Report
By James Vu, Coast Report Staff Writer
*Editor's note: "The Walking Dead" has been renewed for a 13-episode second season by AMC* 

Andrew Lincoln stars as Rick Grimes in "The Walking Dead"

Photo courtesy of AMC

From the director of “The Shawshank Redemption,” Frank Darabont, comes AMC’s newest drama series, “The Walking Dead,” an exploration of the human tensions and struggles in a zombie apocalypse.

The story, adapted from Robert Kirkman’s comic book series of the same name, is centered around County Sheriff Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln (“Love Actually”), who wakes up from a coma in an abandoned hospital.

Get your head out of the game

Video game addiction is seen by experts as a growing trend
Originally published in the Nov. 3, 2010 issue of the Coast Report
By Parker Shannon, Coast Report Staff Writer

Photo courtesy of Google

Most would consider video games a harmless hobby but for some people it grows into a life-altering addiction.

Although video game addiction is not recognized by the American Psychiatric Association, the condition is becoming widely recognized as more people reveal that their pastime has begun to consume their lives.

Watch a scene from "The Walking Dead's" first episode

 Photo courtesy of AMC TV

AMC has provided a small glimpse into their new series “The Walking Dead” with a five minute clip from the first episode, “Days Gone Bye.” Check it out after the jump.

First look of Chris Evans as Captain America

Logo courtesy of Marvel Studios
 

Marvel has released the first official image of Chris Evans as Captain America, which will be featured on the cover of November's issue of Entertainment Weekly. Check out my thoughts on the costume and the cover itself after the jump.

Too old to go out trick-or-treating

Originally published in the Oct. 28, 2009 issue of the Coast Report*

In addition to dressing up as the Red Ranger, I also dressed up as

the White Ninja Ranger. That's me on the right (hehe).

I gave up trick-or-treating a few years ago when I was 11 or 12. I hung up my red Power Ranger costume and resigned myself to passing out candy.

Each year I play witness to a number of trick-or-treaters, children and parents for kids too young or shy to do it themselves. But it wouldn’t be Halloween without high school and college students also out trick-or-treating.

New 'Tron: Legacy' footage gives a taste of the film's soundtrack

 

Image courtesy of Walt Disney Pictures

 

Disney has released the first real look at Daft Punk in "Tron: Legacy"  through a short music video that shows off some new footage from the movie in addition to a new track from the film's score. Check it out after the jump.

Watch all 20 micro-episodes of The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes

 Illustration courtesy of Marvel.com
 

Marvel began airing "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" on Disney XD in a two-part premiere that aired on Oct. 20.

But before you start watching the series, check out the 20 micro-episodes that they posted online.

According to Marvel, the micro-episodes actually make up the first five episodes of the series.

Bellow are all 20 micro-episodes split into 2 pages. "The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes" airs Wednesdays at 8:30 p.m. on Disney XD.

Part 1

Part 2

He came, he saw, he kicked ass

Logo courtesy of Spike

Spike TV's 2010 Scream Awards were held Saturday night, and will air on Oct. 19 at 9 p.m. for whatever reason, and "Zombieland" won an award in the Best Horror Movie category.

Accepting the award was Bill Murray (if you saw the film you would know why) and, well, something magical happened. Check it out after the jump.

Second Annual Long Beach Comic Con will bring Tron and the Punisher

Originally published in the Oct. 13, 2010 edition of the Coast Report
By Parker Shannon, Staff Writer

Illustration courtesy of Google

If you missed out on the San Diego Comic-Con this year, you’re in luck because there is another comic book convention coming up right in your backyard.

Marvel and DC to lower comic book prices

 Illustration courtesy of Google

In a move that probably have surprised many people, myself included, both Marvel and DC announced at the New York Comic-Con that they were lowering the prices on a number of their titles from $3.99 to $2.99 starting in January 2011—but it’s a mixed bag.

Great Krypton! Superman has found its director and villain

Photo courtesy of Google

“Watchmen” and “300” director Zack Snyder will be directing the new Superman film from Warner Bros. with Christopher Nolan as a producer.

Get a taste of the new 'Avengers' cartoon *UPDATED*

Photo courtesy of Marvel.com

Lately, the folks at Marvel have been posting micro-episodes online that features characters from their upcoming cartoon, “The Avengers: Earth's Mightiest Heroes,” which will debut Oct. 20 on Disney XD.

After the break, read my thoughts on the micro-episodes and watch the ones that are currently out.

Author to guest-star on 'Arthur'

Image: ©2010 WGBH / Cookie Jar Entertainment Inc.

Well this is going to happen. During the week of Halloween, English sci-fi and fantasy author Neil Gaiman (“Coraline” and “The Sandman”) will make a special visit to Elwood City on the Oct. 25 episode of “Arthur.”

Reach for ‘Halo’ Tuesday

Originally published in the Sept. 8, 2010 issue of the Coast Report
by Parker Shannon

Photo courtesy of Google

The latest installment of “Halo” will be released on Sept. 14.

Gamers the world over will be shirking responsibilities to play “Halo: Reach” when it’s released on Tuesday, Sept. 14.

The latest installment in Microsoft’s behemoth game franchise is set to be one of the year’s biggest releases. Those picking the game up at launch will get everything they’ve come to expect from a “Halo” title as well as several new features and game modes to enjoy.

AMC's Walking Dead Trailer

Here's some bits and pieces from the official press release:

New York, NY - August 2010 - AMC's newest original series, "The Walking Dead," will premiere on Halloween night, Sunday, October 31 at 10 PM ET. The Sunday night series will debut with a 90-minute premiere episode, airing at 10 PM, October 31st. Subsequent episodes will be one-hour long presentations.

"The Walking Dead" is based on the comic book written by Robert Kirkman and published by Image Comics. The six-episode series tells the story of life following a zombie apocalypse. It follows a group of survivors, led by police officer Rick Grimes, played by Andrew Lincoln ("Love Actually," "Teachers," "Strike Back"), traveling in search of a safe and secure home. Jon Bernthal ("The Pacific," "The Ghost Writer") plays Rick's sheriff's department partner before the apocalypse, Shane Walsh, and Sarah Wayne Callies ("Prison Break"), is Rick's wife, Lori. Supporting cast include Laurie Holden ("The Shield"), Jeffrey DeMunn, Chandler Riggs and Steven Yeun.

Three-time Academy Award-nominee Frank Darabont ("The Shawshank Redemption," "The Green Mile") serves as writer, director and executive producer. Chairwoman of Valhalla Motion Pictures, Gale Anne Hurd ("The Terminator," "Aliens," "Armageddon," "The Incredible Hulk"), creator of the original comic series, Robert Kirkman, and David Alpert from Circle of Confusion serve as Executive Producer. Charles "Chic" Eglee ("Dexter," "The Shield," "Dark Angel") and Jack LoGiudice ("Sons of Anarchy," "Resurrection Blvd") are Co-Executive Producer.

Check out the trailer after the jump.

E3 2010

You can just feel the creativity being unleashed

For the longest time, at least when I had G4—a channel that was formerly focused primarily on video games, I’ve always wanted to attend the Electronic Entertainment Expo (E3), one of the largest industry only gaming conventions.

Leaked "Captain America: The First Avenger" concept art

No this isn't the concept art, I just thought it looked cool.

According to Mike Sampson of JoBlo.com, he was able to see concept art from the upcoming Captain America movie of Cap's costume:

The first thing I noticed is that the trademark wings that flank the side of Cap's hood are gone. In fact the "hood" is gone entirely. In its place is a more traditional M1 Army helmet though this helmet does come over the eyes to give Cap a traditional "domino mask" look. Still present is the white "A" in the middle of the hat (nothing fancy, this is the traditional font), though like the rest of the costume, the blue of the helmet is much more muted than the blue in the comic costume. A thick black strap comes down over the ears and connects under the chin.

You can read his full description of the costume here.

Now Ain't It Cool News reportedly has the alleged concept art (which, according to Sampson is legit.)

Take a gander at what Captain America is suppose to look like after the jump.

New "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" movie trailer

As a result of gaining 100,000 fans on Facebook, the official "Scott Pilgrim vs. The World" fan page released the newest trailer for the movie. Check it out after the jump.

Iron Man 2 Review

All he wants is a high five.

“Iron Man 2” is quite possibly one of the best movies I have seen that’s able to capture the essence and attitude of its source material.

The movie, coming months off of Tony Stark’s (Robert Downey Jr.) admission to the world that he is Iron Man, deals with the aftermath of this admission and how it affects modern peace keeping and warfare.

Modern comic books are darker than those of yesteryear

Batman's the exception. He's always the exception.
 Photo courtesy of comicsalliance.com

The argument by a few people I know, especially by my parents, for not reading comic books is that it’s for kids. Apparently they haven’t been reading comics lately.

First official look at Futurama premiere

Futurama TM and © 2010 Twentieth Century Fox Film Corporation

What you're seeing is the first official still from the first new "Futurama" episode airing on Comedy Central called "Rebirth."

A Week in Comics: Free Comic Book Day

Well, while I could do an "A Week in Comics" for this week's comics. Today is a special day. So instead of the usual, here's a special Free Comic Book Day edition of "A Week in Comics!" Spoilers may or may not be ahead, depends on my mood.

Chris Hemsworth as Thor

Courtesy of Yahoo Movies, Marvel has released the first official image of Chris Hemsworth (Papa Kirk in "Star Trek") as the Norse-god Thor.

Free Comic Book Day is this Saturday!

If you didn’t know already, tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day.

A Week in Comics: April 21, 2010

It's a new week with new comics. Let's get straight to business!

Stargate Universe Season 1.5 Review

 

Cast of "Stargate Universe."

Photo courtesy of Google

When “Stargate SG-1” was canceled in order to support “Stargate Atlantis,” many fans weren’t happy about the situation. When “Stargate Atlantis” was canceled to begin work on “Stargate Universe,” fans were very concerned.

A Week in Comics: April 7, 2010

This week was light on a few good comics – comics I can afford at least. But in any case, let's just get on to the reviews. I don't have to tell you that there's going to be spoilers!

Doctor Who: "The Eleventh Hour" review

 "The Eleventh Hour" will premiere April 17 on BBC America.

Karen Gillan (Left) and Matt Smith (Right) photo courtesy of the BBC

I haven’t seen any episodes of the old “Doctor Who” series except for a few clicks here and there on YouTube and only started with the revival of the series that starred Christopher Eccleston as the ninth incarnation of the Doctor.

A Week in Comics: March 24, 2010

There were a lot of great comics that came out this week, unfortunately I couldn't buy them all. But for the few that I did buy, here are my thoughts on them. Oh yes, there will be spoilers!

New Doctor Who clip and trailer

Illustration courtesy of Google

I still have some reservations about Matt Smith playing the 11th incarnation of the Doctor - like where the hell are his eyebrows!?

The clip and trailer are after the jump.

New Tron Legacy Trailer

Wow, first Iron Man 2 now Tron? This week is looking to be geek-tastic.

New Iron Man 2 Trailer

That is all

A Week in Comics: March 3, 2010

Welcome to the first installment of our “A Week in Comics” column, where we reviews some of this weeks comics. Now, since this writer is buying comics on a college student’s budget – which is practically nothing – most of these comics will be from the big two publishers Marvel and DC, with occasional reviews of comics from alternative publishers like Image or IDW. Now, on to the reviews and spoilers ahoy!

Comics provide a source of escapism away from the real world

I may be a college student, but I am a giant comic book geek.I have the first comic I ever bought, or my dad bought I mean, when I was 7 or 8-years-old.

It was a comic book adaptation of that horrible “Batman and Robin” movie that starred George Clooney and it was written by comic book legend Denny O’Neil.