Just to get it out of the way early, Robert Pattinson does a decent enough job as the lead in the adaptation of the Sara Gruen bestseller Water for Elephants and provides some measure of hope that he may have a viable future once the Twilight series ends. Granted, the only non “vampire” related role I’ve seen Pattinson in without the words “Harry Potter” in the title was last year’s horrendous Remember Me, so seeing the WFE trailers with him in the lead alongside two Oscar winners led me to think he’d be the talent Black Hole in this trio. Again, he’s not, and there are times when his work is better than the film he’s in.

Just goes to show what you can do when you’re not playing a mopey little bitch in an inexplicably popular teeny serial.

Time for some SPOILER TALK! Below are SPOILERS for Water for Elephants. Free free to add your thoughts in the Comments section. [...]

Doctor Who
Series 6, Episode 1: The Impossible Astronaut
Directed by Toby Haynes
Written by Steven Moffat
Starring Matt Smith, Karen Gillan, Arthur Darvill, Alex Kingston, Mark Sheppard, William Morgan Sheppard, Stuart Milligan, Chukwudi Iwuji
BBC America
Air date: April 23, 2011

Like any good companion of the Doctor, we’ve waited too long for his return, but the wait is over. Tonight saw the Series 6 premiere of Doctor Who on BBC America. The beginning of this review is spoiler-free and at the end are clearly marked Spoiler section for those of you who have not yet seen the episode.

Episode 1, The Impossible Astronaut, has a lot of ground to cover in terms of establishing what the overall plot of this new series is. After a quick and humorous check in with Amy (Karen Gillan), Rory (Arthur Darvill), and River (Alex Kingston), our heroes meet up with The Doctor (Matt Smith) and we’re thrust right into the thick of what looks to be an exciting and mystery-filled season [...]

Water for Elephants
Directed by Francis Lawrence
Starring: Christoph Waltz, Robert Pattinson, Reese Witherspoon, Paul Schneider, Hal Holbrook
Release Date: April 22, 2011

Ask somebody of yesteryear about a circus (because rarely do people attend circuses nowadays) and you’re inclined to get a favorable answer and probably be subjected to many stories recollecting their happiness such an event gave to them. This perspective of the ever-popular big top productions of the early 20th century, promising incomprehensible acts of wonder and merriment, usually comes from members of the audience sitting in awe at the wide-eyed spectacle that unfolds before them. But little are they aware of the events that unravel behind the scenes, such as a ringmaster’s wife being wooed by the circus’ veterinarian. Spectators of circuses are disconnected from all that occurs when elephants, lions, acrobats and horses aren’t dazzling them with their tricks and poetic beauty. But like what David Lynch once taught us in Mulholland Dr.: all is an illusion.

In contemporary times, an old man (played pitch perfectly by Hal Holbrook) hobbling with a cane has escaped a nursing home. He finds himself in pouring rain outside of a circus. Suddenly he comes to a halt and begins to admire the place, maybe looking for lost memories that have passed him by. We learn that he was part the Benzini Brothers circus back in 1931. But maybe that was an illusion, being it was such a long time ago. The owner of the circus (Paul Schneider) who finds this old man is soon given a history lesson regarding the 1931 Benzini circus. Water for Elephants then follows the old man’s story, a guaranteed tear-inducing technique reminiscent of Titanic and The Notebook [...]

At the time of writing this post, it’s less than 12 hours before the launch of the new season of Doctor Who in the United States. And as we continue our countdown to the premiere for our Week of Geek, the BBC has released new images from the opening two episodes of Series 6 – including 3 pictures in particular that should be considered MAJOR SPOILERS… so if you do not wish to be spoiled before The Impossible Astronaut airs, don’t scroll to the bottom of this post!

Doctor Who Series 6 features the return of the Eleventh Doctor as portrayed by Matt Smith. Amy Pond (Karen Gillan) and Rory Williams (Arthur Darvill) are also back – as is the enigmatic River Song (Alex Kingston) whose secrets are set to be revealed during this season. Series 6 continues many of the overarching story arcs and themes from the previous season, including “Silence Will Fall” – and introduces new villains The Silents [...]

The Ramones
Ramones
UK: CD
U.S.: CD | MP3
Recorded February 1976
Released April 23, 1976

There are many who could argue all day long about who started punk rock. For me it has always been The Ramones. Last week it was the 10th anniversary of the death of Ramones lead singer Joey Ramone. Today however is a more cheerful anniversary for fans of the punk heroes. On April 23, 1976, the band’s debut album Ramones was released, and rock music would never be the same again.

Their first album still sounds like nothing I have heard before. Their lack of pretension and technical ability is far outweighed by energy, personality, and eccentricity [...]

We’re continuing our countdown to Doctor Who Series 6 for the Week of Geek, and the BBC is continuing to release more new images from the opening two episodes of the season: The Impossible Astronaut and Day of the Moon. The premiere episode kicks off on Saturday, April 23 on BBC in the UK and BBC America here in the USA. You can see the images at the bottom of this post, and be aware of some possible spoilery experiences upon viewing!

This photo collection includes stills from the episodes, a bunch of Behind-The-Scenes photos, and a couple of promotional photographs as well. Series 6 sees the return of Matt Smith as the Eleventh Doctor, and is joined with Karen Gillan and Arthur Darvill reprising their roles as the Doctor’s companions. River Song is back; portrayed by Alex Kingston who promises her mysterious character’s secrets will be revealed this year [...]

Another cast member of Peter Jackson‘s Lord of the Rings trilogy is returning for the two-part movie adaptation of The Hobbit.

Jackson confirmed via his Facebook page that Sir Ian Holm will be coming back to do work as the older Bilbo Baggins seen in LOTR. It’s unclear just how big Holm’s role will be in the two films with the younger Bilbo taking center stage for the majority of the time. As we all should know by now, Martin Freeman will be playing the younger Bilbo.

The confirmation came when fans were asking if the voice at the end of the recent video that was posted was Holm’s. Jackson posted “One comment that came up from the recent video blog was the Bilbo voice at the end—many of you assumed it was Sir Ian Holm. Whilst Ian will be returning as the older Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit, that recording was actually Martin Freeman’s voice, taken from a script read through we recorded when the cast first arrived. I have to admit, I wasn’t sure who it was when I first heard it, either. Cheers, Peter J.” [...]

Qwertee is currently offering a t-shirt called “Bad Wolf Corporation,” inspired by Doctor Who.

The limited-edition black t-shirt, by artist fishbiscuit, is £8/€10/$13 and ships anywhere in the world. The shirt will be on sale for the next three days and once the sale is over, the shirt won’t be sold on the site anymore.

If Bad Wolf Corporation was a real company, I imagine this is what their company logo tee would look like. What do you think, Dr. Who fans? [...]

It’s a big week for BBC America. Not only is the hype running fast and loud for the upcoming season of Doctor Who launching this weekend, but the channel made the official announcement yesterday that they have acquired a fan-favorite series, the reimagined Battlestar Galactica. BBC America has signed a deal with NBC Universal to air the two-part miniseries that launched in 2004, as well as Seasons 1 through 4.

The reimagined series, which had its initial run on the Syfy Channel from 2003 to 2009, was executive produced by Ronald D. Moore and David Eick and starred Edward James Olmos, Mary McDonnell, Katee Sackhoff, James Callis, Tricia Helfer, Grace Park and British actor Jamie Bamber [...]

The BBC has released a lot of photos this week in the run up to the launch of The Impossible Astronaut, the first episode of Doctor Who Series 6. Opening the season on Saturday April 23 on BBC and BBC America, the new photos (found at the bottom of this post) are mostly promotional character stills, which includes some images of a couple of new characters.

This season begins with a two-part adventure that concludes with episode 2, entitled Day of the Moon. Matt Smith returns as the Eleventh Doctor, as does Karen Gillan as Amy Pond, Arthur Darvill as Rory Williams, and Alex Kingston as River Song. Both opening episodes were directed by Toby Haynes and written by showrunner Steven Moffat [...]

Amazon is currently have a video game sale for Easter where you can Buy One Get One 50% Off.

Note, offer is good while supplies last.

There’s six pages of video games to choose from for this deal, including the following:

- Pokemon – White Version: DS

- Pokemon – Black Version: DS

- LEGO Harry Potter: Years 1-4: Wii | DS | PS3

- Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga: PS3

- Disney Epic Mickey: Wii [...]

Only days before the launch of The Impossible Astronaut, the premiere episode of Doctor Who Series 6, the BBC has released a pair of curious, yet spooky, odd videos in promotion of the new show. The two new videos, which you can view at the bottom of this post, are only titled “…are real”, and have a very real viral marketing feel – posing as a riddle of some kind for fans to try and work out.

The two curious videos, both less than a minute in length, appear to be CCTV footage with digital interference of some kind. They have a creepy feel to them, reminiscent of the video from The Ring. At this point it is unclear whether there is something within the videos that fans are expected to find, like a clue to important elements of the new series [...]

Remember the Volkswagen Star Wars Commercial that aired during the Super Bowl earlier this year? It featured a little boy in a Darth Vader costume attempting to use the Force.

Now, Marvel has released a parody of that commercial, except this time, the child is dressed as Thor, the Marvel superhero who’s making his leap to the big screen on May 6, 2011. In this new promo video, the Little Thor roams around the house wielding the mighty Mjolnir, Thor’s hammer, with little success.

Watch the “Little Thor” promo spot here below and be sure to stick around til the very end [...]

After a lengthy search, Universal Pictures has chosen the actor they want to replace Matt Damon in the Bourne franchise, and that actor is two-time Academy Award nominee Jeremy Renner.

It’s being reported that Universal has “formally offered” the role to Renner, and that he’s expected to sign on very soon. He’ll be playing a new character in that world and not the Jason Bourne character Damon played. The movie, which is considered a spinoff of the original trilogy that was based on the books of Robert Ludlum, will be an original story about “…an operative from a covert government program that is even more dangerous than the Treadstone brainwashing program that hatched Bourne.”

The new movie, titled The Bourne Legacy, is set to be directed by Tony Gilroy, who has previously delivered Michael Clayton and Duplicity. Gilroy is also writing the screenplay after penning the scripts for The Bourne Identity, The Bourne Supremacy, and The Bourne Ultimatum. He’s also written or helped with the scripts for Dolores Claiborne, Extreme Measures, The Devil’s Advocate, Armageddon, Proof of Life, and State of Play. [...]

On last night’s Conan, host Conan O’Brien admitted that the upcoming Marvel superhero movie, Thor, looks really good and that star Chris Hemsworth has the appearance necessary to bring the Norse god to life.

But even though Hemsworth has the look, Conan couldn’t help but wonder if the actor was the right choice for the job after seeing the trailer for the movie, which is being released May 6.

You can see the trailer and why O’Brien was so skeptical by clicking on over to the other side now! [...]

It’s being reported that Sean Penn, Josh Brolin, and Ryan Gosling have all entered into negotiations to star in Warner Brothers’ upcoming crime drama, Gangster Squad.

Penn would play Mickey Cohen, a former boxer who became a top mobster in 1930s-1940s Los Angeles. Gosling and Brolin would play two police officers out to find and stop Cohen after a string on innocent people are harmed and killed by the hands of the mobster.

The movie is based on articles written about Cohen by Paul Lieberman, and the script comes from former L.A. police officer Will Beall, who has written episodes of Castle and the upcoming remake of Logan’s Run. [...]

It’s Doctor Who Week! That’s right; it’s just a few days to go until the premiere episode of Series 6, The Impossible Astronaut. And even though there are many fans out there waiting for the new season with high anticipation, there’s also a bunch of people out there who are new to the Time Lord, so to help out new folks with the continuity, The Fine Brothers have put together a video: 47 Years of Doctor Who in 6 minutes.

Now, you could go down the route that Neil Gaiman recommends [...]

Freight
UK DVD
Directed by Stuart St. Paul
Starring Billy Murray, Danny Midwinter, Craig Fairbrass, Stephen Uppal, Matt Kennard, Sam Kennard, Laura Aikman, Natalie Anderson
Released April 18, 2011

British cinema has long been associated with crime dramas. It is a long tradition which stretches from gritty gangster fares such as Get Carter and The Krays through to more recent underworld flicks like Gangster No1 and Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels. Thanks to the success of these, the latest generation of British filmmakers has produced a constant reel of new British crime films in recent years.

These films, it has to be said, are of varying quality. Often they are films full of enthusiasm but slightly rough-around-the-edges and sometimes just downright boring. So I was slightly apprehensive when I came to watch the latest genre effort to make it on to DVD, Freight, the sixth film written and directed by ex-stunt coordinator Stuart St. Paul. [...]

The digital deal of the day over at Amazon today is the film Devil, directed by John Erick Dowdle, which is available for rental for only $.99. M. Night Shyamalan came up with the story for the film, which is to be the first part of a trilogy conceived by Shyamalan called The Night Chronicles.

This deal is valid only for today, Thursday, April 21, 2011, until midnight PST. Once you activate the rental through the Amazon Instant Video service, you’ll have access to the movie for 48 hours. If you’re interested in purchasing the digital version, the cost is $14.99.

Also, if you’d like to own a physical copy of the movie, the Blu-ray is available for $24.99 while the DVD is $19.99. Both editions are part of Amazon’s “Buy This DVD and Watch it Instantly” program — you get the film as a FREE digital rental you can watch immediately when your purchase the physical copy [...]

Marvel is teasing details of its new MMORPG based on the Marvel Universe by setting up a protected twitter account under the guise of M.M.M. Society (@MMMSociety). The account’s description reads, “The Marvel Massively Multiplayer Society is your gateway to the Marvel Universe, Marvel’s upcoming epic MMO” and features a link to a password-protected Tumblr page.

Comic fans have been awaiting news of a Marvel MMO ever since the company terminated its plans to create a game with City of Heroes developers Cryptic Studios, (which later morphed into Champions Online).

The MMM Society is the first bit of news we’ve heard regarding the company’s MMO since 2009, when Geeks of Doom was alerted to a job posting seeking developers for the project. But while a covert promotional campaign about a Marvel MMO may signal that we’ll start to see some concrete information about what to expect from the game, it will likely be years before it launches [...]