A new Led Zeppelin app has been released and is available now for the iPhone and iPad.

The app details thousands of facts about the influential British rock band which featured Jimmy Page, Robert Plant, John Bonham, and

For as long as we’ve heard about The Walt Disney Company’s Oz, The Great and Powerful, the plan has been for Robert Downey Jr. to star as the Wizard.

The movie, being directed by Sam Raimi, is based on the classic L. Frank Baum tale, The Wizard of Oz, but more of a spinoff of sorts, telling the story of the Wizard before he became the Wizard — back when he was just a young illusionist. Eventually, after running from the circus he was working with, his hot air balloon is caught in a storm and whisked off to Oz, where he creates a new life and establishes himself as an all-powerful wizard.

As much as everyone wanted to see Downey Jr. in the role, however, it’s being reported that the actor has had to step away from the project for unknown reasons. Thankfully, an equally respected actor is in the beginning stages of discussions with Disney to take on the role, and that actor is none other than Johnny Depp, naturally. [...]

Two goliaths of rock and heavy metal music celebrate their birthdays today. Paul Stanley of KISS is 59 and his contemporary in rock, Ian Hill of Judas Priest, reaches a milestone of 60 years of age.

Paul Stanley has been rocking for almost forty years as lead singer and guitarist with KISS. His KISS ‘persona’, Starchild, is one of the most iconic images in rock; the painted white face with a black star over his right eye.

I don’t think I exaggerate when I say Stanley is one of the most naturally talented, charismatic, and captivating performers in the music business. A KISS live show is truly a thing to behold; I saw them in concert just a few months ago and the Starchild belies his 59 years. Scroll down to see video of a typically exciting KISS performance [...]

Through the end of January 2011, Amazon is offering up classic rock albums for only $5.00 each in MP3 format. If you purchase MP3s through Amazon, it downloads into your iTunes account, so it’s as simple as purchasing directly through iTunes. Also, you can now gift these MP3 purchases – just click the “Give album OR song as gift” button on the right on the product page.

I’ve written about my love of Pink Floyd tons of times already, so I have to mention that one of the albums on sale for only $5.00 is Dark Side Of The Moon, so if you don’t already own this album, definitely grab it now, it’s insanely amazing.

Other albums available for $5.00 each are John Lennon‘s Power To The People – The Hits, which has 15 of Lennon’s solo hits like “Imagine,” “Instant Karma,” and “Woman”; Free‘s Fire And Water, singer Paul Rodgers’s first band and contains their hit “All Right Now,” and Styx‘s Crystal Ball [...]

When the first image we’ve seen from director Matthew Vaughn and producer Bryan Singer’s upcoming comic book adaptation, X-Men: First Class hit the web recently, the response was pretty deep into the negative.

The one hope was that the image, as it appeared, was either leaked early or a rush job that led to its lackluster debut, and that anything after that would be more promising. And here we are now!

Three new images have come to the surface courtesy of Hero Complex, and they might just make you feel a little bit better about X-Men: First Class. That’s because they don’t concentrate on the mutants so much as they do the 1960s time period the movie takes place in. Fans should particularly enjoy a glimpse at James McAvoy as a young Professor X and Michael Fassbender as a young Magneto head-to-head in a game of chess.

You can see the full poster (courtesy of AICN) and three new images by heading over to the other side now! [...]

DC Universe Online
Sony Online Entertainment
PlayStation 3/PC
Price: $59.99 with a $14.99 monthly subscription
Released January 11th, 2011

DC Universe Online is not the first superhero Massively Multiplayer Online RPG to be released, but it is the first to have a major license behind it and it has been widely anticipated by its audience. Thanks to this game, players have the chance to fight alongside some of their favorite characters as well as interact with other fans. The game doesn’t stray too far from the formula perfected by World of Warcraft, which is a good thing, because the setting is really the selling point of the game. Never before have players been able to explore a living, breathing DC universe in this way. However, the game is not without its flaws, and those looking to check it out may want to wait a few weeks while the inevitable bugs are worked out of the system.

The story sets up the flavor of the DC universe right from the start. Lex Luthor has traveled from a future in which he has defeated Superman, but met defeat at the hands of Brainiac. [...]

Russian band Pushking have joined forces with an onslaught of major musicians and vocalists from heavy metal and hard rock to create an impressive line-up on a collaborative album. The release has been titled The World as We Love It, and compiles 19 re-recorded songs from Pushking’s past efforts, with special guests ranging from Paul Stanley (KISS) and Nuno Bettencourt (Extreme) to Alice Cooper and Steve Vai!

If you think those four guests listed above is enough, think again. Check out the track listing and the guests on each song by continuing on below.

01. Intro

08. God Made Us Free
Graham Bonnet (Rainbow, Alcatrazz) – Vocals [...]

We’ve all heard of military schools and camps where kids are sent to become more disciplined, but rarely do we see a glimpse of what actually goes on at these establishments.

Now we have some rather disturbing images from one such place in South Korea where kids who fall in with gangs, skip school, and perhaps most difficult to understand, are considered “addicted” to video games are sent to get some hardcore discipline beaten into them until their future plans are of a respectable sort.

You can understand someone who falls in with a gang needing some extreme measures like this to get straight, but when a kid who plays video games is put through what you’ll see in these images? That’s just plain hard to understand. And what’s worse is that it’s the parents who sends them to these places to bear this pain.

You can see some of the images below, and you can find a few more images by clicking over to the source. Be warned: because these involve kids, certain people may find it hard to look at these images. [...]

A new trailer is catching a lot of eyes, and for very good reason.

The movie is called Love, and it’s produced by Blink 182 and current Angels & Airwaves band member, Tom DeLonge, who also created the music used in the film.

The reason the trailer is catching so many eyes is clear quite quickly — there’s some astounding visuals going on here, presenting what could be a remarkable new edition to the science fiction genre when it’s all said and done.

The movie is about an astronaut who’s stranded in space, fighting to stay alive while trying not to go insane from the ultimate seclusion and loneliness. He then finds a diary dating back to the 1864 and the Civil War, which instills in him a new hope.

You can read a synopsis for the movie and check out the fantastic trailer for Love by heading on over to the other side now!

The movie is directed by William Eubank, making his feature debut, and will be in limited release on February 2, 2011. [...]

Game developer Treyarch has announced via their Twitter page, that the first map pack for Call of Duty: Black Ops , dubbed “First Strike,” will be coming February 1st. The video below introduces the four new multiplayer maps. The fifth map in the set, specially made for zombie mode and titled Ascension, has not been revealed.

The first map is called Kowloon and takes place in Kowloon, China, much like the mission you encounter during the single player campaign with things adjusted a bit for online play. The stand out of this map is that it has zip lines, which you can use to move quickly around the map. Unfortunately, you can’t use your gun while you’re on them, making you an easy target. I’m sure I’ll use this once, get shot and never use it again.

The next map is entitled Discovery. This map is split in half with a chasm running through the middle. There are bridges that run over the chasm, some of which are made of ice and snow. these bridges can be blown up, which I think is great for some of the objective modes to the game. [...]

Lights Out
Season 1, Episode 1 – Pilot
Directed by: Norberto Barba and Clark Johnson
Starring: Holt McCallany, Stacy Keach, Catherine McCormack, Pablo Schreiber, Meredith Hagner, Ryann Shane, Lily Pilblad, Billy Brown, Christopher Shyer, Reg E. Cathey, Seamus Davey-Fitzpatrick, Pedro Pascal, and Ben Shenkman
FX
Air date: January 11, 2011

When Lights Out begins, Patrick ‘Lights’ Leary (Holt McCallany) isn’t a man that is going to go through life with his hands tied behind his back. Five years after a career-ending fight, the former heavyweight champion is out of the game, but is content with living a life in suburbia with his wife (Catherine McCormack) and three daughters as he plays house dad in what seems to be the picture perfect post-career life.

However, as the series premiere progresses, we learn this is far from true. Lights has more problems than a simple boxing match. The poor economic situation has eroded away most of his fortune, his brother is getting into various debts, and his gym is a monetary sinkhole.

But one thing hasn’t changed throughout all this: Lights isn’t going to quit. He’s a fighter and he’ll do what needs to be done. [...]

Love him or hate him artist Ed McGuiness is back on Hulk starting with issue #30. He’ll be teaming with writer Jeff Parker to continue the smashing and grumbling that is the life of the green giant. In this new story arc the Red Hulk and classic Green must put aside their differences to face a new foe that only they can stop together: THE COMPOUND HULK!

“Thanks to his amazing run with Jeph Loeb, Ed’s become THE definitive Hulk artist of our time,” said Senior Editor Mark Paniccia. “HULK #30 is pure McGuinness madness, introducing new characters that are bound to be instant classics, and some Hulk villains that fans have been frothing for. All this and the Impossible Man, too.”

OK, so I’m not sure about the name of this new foe, but what I am sure of is there will be beat downs a’ plenty. So if that’s your thing this may be worth a look.

Check out some advance images from Hulk #30, which hits funny book shops all over on February 16, 2011, by continuing reading on now! [...]

HBO has released a brand new promo trailer for their upcoming epic fantasy series, Game of Thrones, which is based on author George R.R. Martin‘s popular book series, A Song of Ice and Fire.

The new promo is brief but pretty dramatic, presenting the ongoing fight for power that’s central to the show’s storyline as well as the iconic Iron Throne they’re all fighting for (which you can see in the awesome new image for to the right; click to go big).

Also released a few months back (but not yet here) is a special 11-minute inside look at Game of Thrones, which anyone who’s excited about the show should watch. It will give you a great feel for the world they’ve created as well as the characters and how well the actors pull them off, along with interviews with the cast, crew, and George R.R. Martin himself.

You can see both videos by clicking over to the other side now. [...]

Warner Bros has announced that the role of Selina Kyle (aka Catwoman) will be going to our national treasure Anne Hathaway, while Tom Hardy‘s role was revealed as Bane in the highly anticipated third and final installment of Christopher Nolan‘s vision of Batman in The Dark Knight Rises.

When asked about the addition of Hathaway, director Nolan stated, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story.” Nolan went on to give his opinions on Hardy as Bane, “I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies.”

I am very excited by this news as Anne Hathaway has been one of my favorite actresses since I’ve been in high school, and I think she has unique characteristics that will be beneficial to the character of Selina Kyle, especially if we’re looking at a Long Halloween/When in Rome take on the character, which would not be surprising, considering that the team of Christopher Nolan and David Goyer have looked towards The Long Halloween as a major influence on their films [...]

Guys, I’ve never been more excited about 10 pages of comics before in my life. Today, Vertigo announced that, not only will We3 get its first hardcover treatment, but that it’s also getting an extra ten pages from Grant Morrison and Frank Quitely. And if you realize that this is the same team that summed up all of Superman’s origin in one page, then ten pages can do a lot.

We3: The Deluxe Edition is set to be released on June 21, 2011, and you can pre-order your copy here.

We3 is easily one of my favorite comic book stories of all time, and I’m a huge fan of the the oversized Deluxe Edition hardcovers that DC/Vertigo has been doing over the past few years, so I’m really excited to get my hands on a copy of this book [...]

Infinite Vacation #1
Writer: Nick Spencer
Artist: Christian Ward
Published by: Image Comics/Shadowline
Price: $3.50
Release Date: January 12, 2011

After two of my favorite comics from the past two years, Existence 2.0/Existence 3.0 and Morning Glories, writer Nick Spencer brings us the next book in his line of ambitious creator-owned series with the brand new comic, The Infinite Vacation.

The book starts out semi-normally with the introduction of the main character, Mark, but at the same time, it is also already full of question marks by the end of the first page. The opening page shows us several great things, like hooking up with a beautiful woman, becoming a hero by stopping and apprehending a child molester, and becoming President, all of which happen to Mark, and they are all accompanied by a price tag. The next page, however, presents the exact opposite events of the first page. At this point, Nick Spencer’s writing, accompanied by the water colored, psychedelic art of Christian Ward, starts taking a strange turn as we learn that, with the help of a handy mobile device application, you can switch lives with yourself throughout infinite worlds so that, with a price, you can live any life that you choose [...]

As Google’s front page reminds us, today is the birthday of famous painter Paul Cézanne. While Google decided to use Cézanne’s still life of fruits and tableware for their Doodle, I chose to feature one of the artist’s darker pieces, Pyramid Of Skulls (1901), because, well, I just think it’s so metal. The artist did plenty of other still life paintings of skulls, some of which have skulls and fruit in them.

The 19th-century French Post-Impressionism painter was born 172 years ago on January 19, 1839. His work influenced other great artists, such as Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse, and art movements like Cubism [...]

The digital version of Danny Elfman‘s score for Disney’s Alice In Wonderland, the film directed by Tim Burton, is on sale all this month for only $5.00.

For only $5.00, you get all 24 tracks from the album in MP3 format which you can download to your computer in seconds. You can also purchase the album as a gift for someone else; just select “Give album OR song as a gift” on the top right side of the product page.

Note, this deal is only good throughout January 2011.

The Alice In Wonderland Blu-ray Edition of the film has a great exclusive behind-the-scenes featurette about the scoring the film, which focuses on Elfman and his thought process in composing the music [...]

Have you been dying to see a grainy, distanced video of Spider-Man in action on the set of director Marc Webb‘s reboot of the franchise? Then this is your lucky day!

A bunch of spy pics and a couple videos from the set of Spider-Man have found their way to the web, and they give us our first look at the webslinger in full costume WITH the mask, unlike the first official image of star Andrew Garfield we saw recently.

Be sure to click on over to the other side now to see a few images courtesy of On Location Vacations (via MarketSaw), and to see the video of Spidey in action. After watching the video, you can also see a clearer video that picks up where the first video left off by heading over to TMZ. [...]

Lionsgate has released the first official look at Twilight heartthrob Taylor Lautner in the upcoming conspiracy thriller Abduction.

The film, which is directed by John Singleton, will be released in theaters on September 23, 2011.

In Abduction, Lautner is playing a teenager who finds his baby photo on a missing persons website, and realizes that something is wrong and that his whole life has been a lie.

Also starring in the film are Sigourney Weaver, Maria Bello, Jason Isaacs, Lily Collins, Alfred Molina, Freema Agyeman, Elisabeth Rohm, and Michael Nyqvist [...]