First Look: Do the Awesome New CAPTAIN AMERICA Pics Match Concept Art?

We get our first official look at Chris Evans in the amazing Captain America costume thanks to the latest issue of Entertainment Weekly. It looks pretty spot on with the concept art.Of course, we don't see the controversial helmet, but it looks awesome.

Captain America: The First Avenger (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.
Release Date: July 22, 2011
-IMDB

So, what's different? The colors match and the pattern on his tunic around the star looks the same. The only difference is the straps on his shoulders have more straps and buckles.

Overall, its as functional as you're going to get for a superhero costume. The director, Joe Johnston, said he wanted it to look accidental as a costume and he got his wish.

I'm really looking forward to it. I had my doubts when they cast Evans, but it looks like he's really filling into the character.

Here's some more concept art from the film.

What do you think of the Captain America costume?
Source: Ain't it cool news, EW via FirstShowing.net

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"Enemy Mind" Now on DVD

We at Geek Twins were recently made aware of a very low-budget movie that's nonetheless causing a splash in the sci-fi community. Written and directed by Brennan Reed, Enemy Mind was shot for just nine thousand dollars, and most of that budget was really spent hiring Ernest Borgnine to voice one character, Commander. The rest was spent filming two unknown actors in the Salton Sea area of Southern California's Imperial Valley.


Enemy Mind tells the story of two men, the only survivors of a spaceship crash, forced to grapple with each other on a remote planet. One man is an accused terrorist bomber, the other is a soldier tasked with delivering the suspect to trial for the crime. The movie is really more like a two-man play, heavy on dialogue, exploring themes of religion, reality, and belief.

You can order the Enemy Mind DVD at Amazon.com.

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Top 17 Grossest Fat Cosplay Fails - UPDATED

After reading the comments this has engendered I've decided to remove the images and apologize to any who has been offended. It was meant as a joke, but sometimes jokes go too far.

 

National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance
www.naafa.org/

 

"Founded in 1969, the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance (NAAFA) is a non-profit civil rights organization dedicated to ending size discrimination in all of its forms. NAAFA's goal is to help build a society in which people of every size are accepted with dignity and equality in all aspects of life. NAAFA will pursue this goal through advocacy, public education, and support.‎"

 

It takes guts to wear a costume. Some, however, go too far and squeeze their fat bodies into a little costume and parade around for the world to see.

Grab a barf bag and check out the grossest of the gross fat guys (and girls) in a little costume.

Which is the worst Cosplay?

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Has "Lost" Ruined Serialized Sci-fi Television?

The Event already has a few episodes under its belt, and while it's not too bad, I don't think it will last. The problem lies not with the show itself, but with the shows that have come before it. The Event is a show that is all about finding the answers to mysteries, but the declining ratings show that sci-fi fans aren't willing to give it the benefit of the doubt. I think we can place the blame squarely on Lost. Lost has ruined serialized science-fiction television in the US, possibly for good.

It began in 1993 with Babylon 5, an underrated series that was one of the first major attempts at doing multi-season story arcs in American science-fiction television. The five-year storyline for the series was carefully planned by the show's creator, J. Michael Straczynski. In fact, though he kept the ending a secret, Straczynski had it stored in a safety deposit box, so that if he died, the show could be finished without him.

At the same time, another show seemed to be moving in the same direction: The X-Files. From the very first episode, the show planted seeds about a mysterious conspiracy involving extraterrestrials and rogue government agencies. Over the years, the show seemed to be building towards a final revelation about the mystery. However, viewers became concerned by the seemingly bizarre direction that story arc seemed to be taking with black oil-based aliens, faceless humans, and multiple enemy factions. In the end, fans concluded (and the creator Chris Carter admitted) that the story arc was not planned in advance, but made up as they went along, causing it to collapse into a disappointing lack of resolution.

The disappointment left by X-Files was so acute that the creators of Lost had to defend themselves in 2005, insisting that they did have a master plan, and wouldn't fall into the same lack of direction. Unfortunately, all their claims led to a confusing five-year run with an ending that was (in my opinion) even more disappointing than X-Files. In the case of X-Files, they at least had a coherent explanation for things that happened. Lost seemed to be intentionally confusing the audience with things like polar bears, a four-toed statue, and a fake arm, all leading to a finale that raised more questions than answers.

The result is that shows like The Event have an uphill battle. At least with Lost, viewers were willing to give the show the benefit of the doubt. Lost's enduring legacy may be as a show that betrayed its fans, leaving viewers less trusting of shows that followed, which could lead to genuinely good shows with a true direction ending up getting canceled before their time. The only way to erase that legacy will be for a sci-fi TV show to come along with story arcs that raise mysteries, then answers them with a truly satisfying resolution. Hopefully, that show will come soon, but I think it's a few years away.

UPDATE 11/06/10: Apparently, some readers of this post assumed it was us opinion alone that watched The Event with an eye towards disappointment from Lost. Here are some quotes from early reviews of The Event that show it's not just us.

"Every year, audiences and pundits wait for a series that will become the next Lost. However, even Lost tested its fans to their limit, especially at the end, although it is still held up as the TV benchmark for mystery and character." - Associated Content

"But can you keep audiences intrigued using a formula already well honed by Lost, particularly when that show didn't exactly end with a gratifying slew of answers to the million and one mysteries thrown out like cookie crumbs over the course of several years, but rather devolved into a hazy heavenly conclusion filled with hugging and learning?" - Salon

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Poll: Spiderman vs Iron Man

The poll results are in, and Marvel should be nervous. When presented with the question "which Marvel superhero movie are you most looking forward to, Captain America or Thor, most of the voters chose "neither." But when forced to choose between the two, Thor came in second. This doesn't bode well for Captain America, but that could have to do with the fact that we haven't seen much of Cap's new movie, and he's a character who's been screwed up twice in movies.

Our new poll will tackle a comic book question: Spiderman versus Iron Man - who would win?

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Store Recalls Super Hero Flashlight Death Rays. No Injuries Reported

Kids looking to become Wolverine, Spider-Man or Iron Man may end up as the Human Torch if they're not careful.

The discount store "Dollar Tree" has issued a recall on several Marvel flashlights that can overheat, melt and catch fire. While some kids might say this is the coolest toy ever, most parents would disagree. Unless your name is Britney Spears.

Stores sold 275,000 of these explosive Chinese children's toys in Atlanta. The problem is in the batteries. Reports include a flashlight that melted and a flashlight battery that caught fire. Thankfully, no one was hurt.

Here's the official description from the Consumer Product Safety Commission:

The recalled projector flashlights are about 6 1/2 inches in length and have the Wolverine, Spider-Man and Iron Man characters and names printed on them. The flashlights come with five extra mini discs that attach to the flashlight to project various images. The back of the packaging contains the number 16879-20012-003-1003 and UPC 6 39277 16879 5.

If you own one of these flashlights, take the recalled flashlights away from children immediately, remove and properly discard the batteries and return the flashlights to the store where you got them for a full refund.

For additional information, contact Dollar Tree Stores Inc. at (800) 876-8077 between 9 a.m. and 5 p.m. ET Monday through Friday, or visit the firm's website at www.dollartree.com.

As a related note. I'm off to Dollar Tree to buy some flashlights.

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Almost 1001 Things Wrong With "Avatar"

Believe it or not, there's other people who dislike Avatar even more than me. One of them is Nate Winchester, who created a post called "1001 Things Wrong With Avatar." It's not 1001, but it's quite a few. I've actually been helping him add to the list, and some of my comments evolved into my "Flawed Science of Avatar" posts. Check out his very astute observations at his Hunting Muses blog [warning: strong language].

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Movie vs Comic: Justin Hammer

In honor of the release of the DVD for Iron Man 2, we'd like to take a look back at some of the background of the movie. Today, we'll be profiling Iron Man 2 and comparing the comic book version and the movie version.

Justin Hammer in the movie Iron Man 2 was an incompetent and awkward rival who was mainly there to provide resources for the real villain, Whiplash. In the comics, Hammer was much, much more.

Ruthless and cunning, Justin Hammer was one of Tony Stark's greatest enemies, even though he had no powers or weapons of his own. Hammer was a billionaire industrialist who was driven more by the need for profit and power in the business world than any high ideals or desire for world domination. In his first appearance, Hammer was revealed as the man funding and providing technology for many of Iron Man's greatest enemies, like Whiplash and the Rhino. That gave Hammer an army of powerful super-villains at his command that he frequently launched en masse to attack both Iron Man and Tony Stark. Though Hammer was not a technological genius himself, he had some of the world's greatest scientists and engineers on his payroll. His labs could do almost anything, including seize control of Iron Man's armor, causing Stark to fire his repulsor and kill an ambassador. In short, Hammer was both Tony Stark's rival in business and crime.

I was disappointed that Iron Man 2 didn't make Hammer the powerhouse that he was in the comics. But I thought Sam Rockwell was hilarious.

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Darth Vader Learns The Disgusting Truth : Pic of the Week

Eventually, the Sith Lord found out the awful truth about his twin son and daughter..

Here's your chance to contribute: What would Darth Vader's next words be?

Source: Icanhascheezburger.com

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Poll Results: Which is the best sci-fi franchise?

Well, the votes are in and the result? Star Trek is better than Star Wars. Now this was an official poll, so geekdom, let's have no more debates on the matter.

Looking forward, our newest poll is on the upcoming movies that will set up The Avengers. Which Marvel superhero movie are you looking forward to more, Captain America or Thor?

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The Flawed Science of "Avatar": Floating Mountains (Infographic)

With my recent series of articles on the flawed science in the movie Avatar, they tended to be a bit long-winded. On the principle of "less is more," we decided to see whether they would be better as infographics. Here's the first one, based on our discussion of floating mountains, and your response will determine if there's more.

What do you think?

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5 "Best" Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Parodies

Back in the eighties, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were huge, and I'm not talking about the lame kiddie show. I'm talking about the original comic books. The independent comic book that inspired a media franchise was a runaway hit the likes of which the industry hadn't seen in decades. Like every success, there was also a mountain of imitators. These comics positioned themselves as parodies of TMNT, but since the Turtles were themselves parodies of martial arts and superhero comics, they didn't come off too well. In fact, the independent black-and-white comic industry was so flooded with martial arts furry animals that it caused a collapse. To honor those long-forgotten wanna-bees, here are the top ten Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle parodies. As you read these, remember...these were real comic books.

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The Ironettes: A Tribute

Iron Man 2 had a lot of awesome stuff: Whiplash, Samuel L. Jackson as Nick Fury, the suitcase armor, War Machine, drone Iron Man robots. But what I loved almost as much as all that were the Ironettes. In case you don't know their name, you know who they were - the dancers wearing Iron Man-inspired costumes in the introduction of the StarkEXPO. I was laughing my head off at the over-the-top performance of that whole scene. While there's been a lot of buzz about the Ironettes, I thought we should bring it all together so you can find out everything you ever wanted to know (and more) about the Ironettes. You're welcome.

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