Family Guy has always been very much fanboy-driven, which reached new heights when the show was giving the blessing of George Lucas himself to spoof Star Wars. Following the very funny spoof, called Blue Harvest, it is expected that both The Empire Strikes Back and Return of the Jedi will also be coming, starting next season with the Empire parody.

Now comes word that their fanboy love affair won’t be stopping there. The popular animated Fox series will also be branching out into the world of Star Trek with an episode called “Not All Dogs Go To Heaven,” set to air on March 29.

The difference here is that the episode will be a Family Guy episode with the integration of the cast of Star Trek: The Next Generation into that particular episodes storyline, which follows the Griffin family to Quahog’s annual Star Trek convention.

It also helps that Patrick Stewart has voiced the show before and he’s an actual cast member of show creator Seth MacFarlane‘s other show, American Dad.

Click over for a full episode description, expected names involved, and even a little taste of what this might be like via video clip of a previous Family Guy episode. [...]

Ben X
DVD
Directed by Nic Balthazar
Starring Greg Timmermans, Laura Verlinden, Marijke Pinoy
Film Movement
Released date: March 10, 2009

In the online role-playing game world of ArchLord, Ben (Greg Timmermans) is a warrior, a dedicated level-80 hero. For the past year he has developed a flirtatious friendship with beautiful fellow gamer, Scarlite (Laura Verlinden), and together they have conquered worlds. Online, in this vast fantasy universe, Ben is alive and free.

Despite his efforts to transfer the interaction and communication skills he so easily uses online, Ben’s autism means he faces a daily struggle in the real world. Singled out by his classmates he is relentlessly bullied and Ben soon reaches the point where he can take no more. To get revenge, Ben calls on Scarlite to help him initiate the ‘endgame.’

Even though Ben X won awards at various film festivals and was nominated for even more, this kind of came from nowhere. The more cynical part of my brain suggested that a (relatively) low-budget movie from Belgium which was ‘inspired’ by true events about a bullied autistic kid would never go home empty handed from such a ceremony [...]

Friday the 13th Uncut, Friday the 13th Part 2, Friday the 13th Part 3 in 3-D
Deluxe Editions
Directors: Sean S. Cunnigham, Steve Miner
Starring Betsy Palmer, Adrienne King, Kevin Bacon, Amy Steel, John Furey, Dana Kimmell, Richard Brooker
Paramount Home Entertainment
Released Date: February 3, 2009

Right in time for the release of the brand new Friday the 13th, I was given the great honor of reviewing the movies that set this unstoppable ball of masked murdering mayhem in motion: Friday the 13th Parts 1, 2, and 3.

It’s been nearly three decades since Jason Voorhees was born, so there’s little I can say about the movies that people aren’t well-aware of already. The most impressive thing is that even after three decades, the man won’t stop and he doesn’t want to slow down. Personally, I see absolutely no reason for him to.

We live in a time where movies get sequels and remakes without a second thought, which is really a bad thing. Almost to an epidemic to a degree. But certain genres don’t need to worry about that, because they’re built to be done numerous times, and one of these genres is the slasher horror. [...]

As we are all aware, there’s been some drama in regards to Seth Rogen‘s attempt at bringing The Green Hornet to the big screen. Stephen Chow was tapped to direct the movie and star as Kato, but things didn’t go so smoothly and he stepped down from the chair.

Now it’s being reported that a new director is in negotiations: Michel Gondry.

Gondry is best known for his brilliant Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, as well as The Science of Sleep and Be Kind Rewind. A superhero movie seems a little odd for Gondry’s style, but hell, Tsotsi director Gavin Hood is doing X-Men Origins: Wolverine, so have at it, sir.

Stephen Chow is still expected to star as Kato alongside Seth Rogen’s Hornet. Rogen is also writing the script with pal Evan Goldberg.

Hopefully this follows through so this movie can escape the evil clutches of development hell for once and for all and get itself rolling with pre-production [...]

It’s only been a couple of days since the Academy Awards, and returns are coming in positive for Hugh Jackman’s job as Oscar host. Seeing as how they like new hosts each year, though, who will get the job next year? Could it possibly be the best man of them all, and the ultimate master of ceremonies, Billy Crystal?

Being so early, and being as unlikely as it is (not to mention it’s Fox), this is to be taken with an entire salt mine but — Roger Friedman of Fox News is reporting that he has heard from multiple sources that Mr. Crystal might just be willing to talk about making a glorious return.

Crystal hasn’t hosted since 2004 and was seemingly done with the show that hadn’t been faring so well. Apparently Jackman’s positive performance may have just given it the boost that Crystal needed to consider.

Personally, I thought this past show was one of, if not the worst shows I’ve ever seen. While most of the awards worked out alright, the actual show was 90% unwatchable, with only three or four memorable, entertaining, and positive points in the broadcast. [...]

Gomorrah
Directed by Matteo Garrone
Starring Nicolo Manta, Gianfelice Imparato
Rated R
Release date: February 13, 2009

Towards the end of Gomorrah, a ruthless look at the Camorra crime network in Naples, Italy, a man sees on a television set Scarlett Johansson waltzing down the red carpet flaunting her dress. May not be the typical scene you’d expect from a brutally honest mafia story based on the 2006 book by Roberto Saviano,, now 29, that exploited the Camorra and how deep their tentacles stretch. But it’s the right scene.

Let’s praise director Matteo Garrone for injecting such an abnormal scene because it makes the movie work as a whole. It allows for Garrone’s audience to realize that entertainment, stardom, and freedom still roam free in luckier parts of the world. Parts of the world that encourages picnics, romances, and jobs that aren’t mafia related.

Gomorrah heavily, brutally, and unflinchingly buries its viewers inside Naples; a city populated by scum, drug dealers, and the occasional innocent bystander, all of whom literally see all hope diminish before their eyes. Very rarely does a film bury its audience in the same dismay, distanced so far away from any hope, than this one does [...]

Quite possibly the biggest movie of the summer may just be J.J. Abrams re-launch of the beloved Star Trek franchise. MTV was lucky enough to visit the set and chat with some of the cast and crew about the project.

After their visit, they released a small featurette with an intro from Zachary Quinto (Spock), which is basically the trailer we’ve seen intertwined with short statements from a bunch of the actors, including: Simon Pegg (Scotty), Chris Pine (James Kirk), John Cho (Sulu), and Zoe Saldana (Uhura), as well as Abrams. There’s also supposedly some new footage mixed in, but nothing stand-out. You’d have to look closely to see it.

Basically, the actors just chat about how cool the project is and how exciting it is and how Abrams is like “… a 10-year old kid who’s making movies in his backyard.”

As you know, this new Star Trek will give us a look at the early days of James T. Kirk and his crew on the USS Enterprise. The movie will be released in theaters on May 8, 2009.

Click over to check out the video! [...]

Friday Night Lights
Blu-ray Edition (2004)
Starring Billy Bob Thornton, Derek Luke, Tim McGraw
Directed by Peter Berg
Universal Home Entertainment
Release Date: January 6, 2009

Coming from a big city, I have yet to encounter true football country. Sure, when the New York Giants or the New York Jets have a great season, there is definite playoff excitement in the air but when the games are over, the city continues. It moves on and moves onto the next sport on the list. For some towns and some cities, the whole area lives and breathes football whether the season is on or not. The town of Odessa, TX, is certainly one of these types of towns and their Permian Panthers is the subject of the 2004 movie Friday Night Lights, now on Blu-ray.

The year is 1988 and the Permian Panthers with coach Gary Gaines (Billy Bob Thornton) are beginning their new season and things are starting out terribly. Their star player James “Boobie” Miles gets hurt at the end of a game and is unable to play for the rest of the season. Gaines’ decision to leave Miles in the game is questioned by the entire town and he slowly drops out of their favor. Gaines’ players have their own problems to deal with, ranging from drunk abusive fathers to unbalanced mothers who need care. With all this stacked up against them the Panthers still found something within themselves to produce a rather successful football season [...]

Considering that we’re the Geeks of Doom, video games are just as much a part of our world as movies, comics, and TV. Unfortunately, big time video game news is a little harder to come by and easier to miss, so it doesn’t quite get covered as often as we’d like.

Being as how my geek ass loves me some gaming as much as I love me some movies, when I saw that there was a new teaser trailer for Mass Effect 2 — the sequel to the hugely popular space opera action RPG — on the game’s official site, I just had to jump and share.

For those of you who played the first game, you know it was largely based on dialogue selection and the choices that you made. Those choices affected the story, as well as who among the characters survived. Word on the streets is that the studio behind the game, BioWare, has an ingenious plan to build the sequels around the first game. So when you pop in the sequel (hopefully in early 2010), it will read your information from the first game and your story will continue using the characters that survived your personal game, while other people who made different decisions will have a bit of a different game. [...]

American Gladiators Ultimate Workout
Starring Gina Carano, Monica Carlson, Michael O’Hearn, Tanoai Reed, Jennifer Widerstrom
Lionsgate Home Entertainment
Release Date: December 16, 2008

Are you ready to get your fit on with some of your favorites from the American Gladiators TV Show? Then get your oil and dumbbells ready because Jet, Titan, Wolf, Phoenix, Toa, and Crush are ready to pump … you up.

The American Gladiators Ultimate Workout DVD consists of 3 separate workouts for both men and women. I have confirmed this because my wife did each workout right alongside me and she really impressed the hell out of me! It also includes 3 short target zone sessions that each focus on a certain part of the body. Yes, they are the important ones… and each workout is performed by the Gladiators right on the set of the TV show!

In muscle Madness Strength 1, Titan, Phoenix, and Wolf each take turns pushing you with their own distinct style. The Gladiators have fun with you and each other in this muscle workout that winds up giving you some cardio as well. This is really a great combination of not only muscle building and cardio exercises, but there are calisthenics, stretching, and even yoga elements as well thanks to the lovely Phoenix. Most exercises employ dumbbells as the muscle resistance. This works out well because each person can customize their workout using the appropriate weight for their specific level and goals. My wife used 40% of the weight I used.

Muscle Makeover Strength 2 is similar but employs the talents of Toa, Crush, and Jet. They add new routines and exercises with their own spin on how to get in shape [...]

Well, ladies and gentlemen, tonight was the big night — the 81st Academy Awards ceremony and below we have the full list of winners for you.

This was notable because it seemed a large effort was being put forward to change things up a bit and make the show a lot more entertaining in an attempt to bring in more viewers. They went off the track and hired Hugh Jackman to host the show instead of the normal comedian, they shook things up by using different methods of presenters, such as five previous winners instead of just last year’s winner. They tried a new thing called the “yearbook” where various clips from various genres from the year were shown; this was a chance to show movies like Hancock, Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, and Death Race to try and appeal to younger crowds. They even changed up the In Memoriam section, having Queen Latifah sing live while our dearly departed were shown one last time on screens in the background.

Now I’m not sure if it’s just me, or what the overall consensus will be, but personally, I thought it was a massive failure. The show was severely boring and hard to watch at times. After promises of Hugh Jackman not doing “Hugh Jackman” things like singing and dancing, he surely did plenty of singing and dancing [...]

In keeping with their supreme spoiling of us, the fans. Warner Brothers has released a new set of clips from the upcoming Watchmen movie via Yahoo!

The first clip is titled “Escape” and gives us a look at Rorschach’s daring escape from a completely surrounded building. There looks to be about nine other new clips as well, including looks at: Jon Osterman trapped in the chamber that transforms him to Dr. Manhattan; Manhattan’s introduction to the world; Silk Spectre visiting her mother, Sally Jupiter; Nite Owl’s attempts to warn Ozymandias; The Comedian and Ozy having a little heated discussion; Nite Owl and Silk Spectre saving people from a burning apartment, Nite Owl confronting The Comedian, Nite Owl and The Comedian confronting an angry mob, and Nite Owl snapping at Rorschach.

As you can see, all sorts of fun to watch if you enjoy some clippage!

Be sure to click over to the other side to watch the first clip, and the link to the other clips as well as many other clips and trailers that we’ve seen, such as production diaries. [...]

A few new Watchmen items have surfaced. The first is a new post at The New Frontiersman, which contains an old-school MTV-style video segment from 1983 with a rundown of the members of the Watchmen superhero team called “Who Watches The Watchmen?” (You can watch the video in this entry.) The video countdown is in honor of the release of the perfume Nostalgia, created by Watchmen smart guy Adrian Veidt (aka Ozymandias), now a billionaire with tons of products to endorse. Veidt has his hand in everything, including the video network running the segment — VMN (Veidt Music Network).

A cool part of the video is the opening, which is a take on the 80′s MTV moon landing opening, but in VMN’s, you can see the reflection of Dr. Manhattan in the spacesuit helmet.

Also released this week is an old print ad from 1985 for Veidt’s aforementioned Nostalgia – click the image in the story to see a larger view [...]

Samurai Elf
Written by Miguel Guerra, Suzy Dias
Art by Miguel Guerra
Samurai Elf, Vol. 1: Set Apart
Release date: November 1, 2006
Samurai Elf, Vol. 2: Bulls Eye
Release date: November 4, 2008
Iberian Press

Samurai Elf follows the adventures of the last elf on the planet Tyr. Ardan knows nothing about his past, but he suddenly becomes a very popular being. Problem is, not all of his “fans” have his best interest at heart. Thus begins Ardan’s tale of self-discovery and world adventure. Volume 1: Set Apart, keeps it simple by introducing the main influences in Ardan’s life, from a master Samurai Dwarf, who’s training Ardan really finds draining, to Keegan, a feisty, female samurai who takes a liking to Ardan and realizes her life has been too boring for too long, decides to share his quest for answers and destiny.

Along the way we also meet some of the Hordes horrific minions. Enhanced robotic humans who have allowed themselves to be transformed into hideous killing machines in order to do their “Fury’s” bidding. Namely, capture Ardan. But some of them are willing to risk “recycling” to gain vengeance on the last elf.

We also catch a glimpse of a seemingly dark power inside of Ardan himself. Is this why all of Tyr seems to be after him? [...]

In the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Science’s soon to be 81 awards ceremonies, countless awards have been handed out. The most important of these awards is the coveted Best Picture.

Now, every single year there’s an award won that appears rather questionable. Sometimes it’s just something or someone we really wanted to win that wasn’t necessarily better than the eventual winner. Sometimes a movie or person so undeniably deserving of the prize is passed up and the award is thrown elsewhere, which usually sparks an uproar. Then there’s those innocent and rare occasions when an award is given out without a second glance; but after some time passes these choices may seem just a little more questionable. This is a list for those times.

In honor of this year’s Oscars ceremony taking place tonight, I’ve decided to offer a peek at the history of Best Picture winners — who won, who maybe should have won, and even who might have won knowing what we know today. Should The French Connection have beaten A Clockwork Orange? Should One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest beat out Jaws? Can you say today that E.T. is better than Ghandi, or not a chance? [...]