This week, Google buys a quantum computer, Yahoo buys instant cool with Tumblr and spruces up tired old Flickr, Aereo & Arrested Development disrupt Big Media, and Microsoft launches the next-generation of XBox. Plus, our review of Star Trek: Into Darkness! [...]

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The Hangover Part III
Director: Todd Phillips
Screenwriters: Todd Phillips, Craig Mazin
Cast: Bradley Cooper, Ed Helms, Zach Galifianakis, Ken Jeong, Heather Graham, Justin Bartha, John Goodman, Mike Epps
Warner Bros. Pictures
Rated R | 100 Minutes
Release Date: May 24, 2013

Directed by Todd Phillips, The Hangover Part III picks up two years after the events of Part II. Phil (Bradley Cooper), Stu (Ed Helms), and Doug (Justin Bartha) are living peaceful lives at home with their families.

As for Alan (Zach Galifianakis), the Wolfpack’s own personal Fat Jesus is in need of an intervention after the sudden death of his father (Jeffrey Tambor). Who better than his three best friends to take him to New Horizons, a mental health treatment facility in Arizona, to get his life together.

Meanwhile, Leslie “Chinese Nuts” Chow (Ken Jeong) escapes from a Thai prison in a scene straight out of Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol. The Wolfpack’s trip to Arizona is derailed by a run-in with a drug kingpin named Marshall (John Goodman) and his henchmen, including “Black Doug” (Mike Epps) from the first film. Marshall demands the guys find and bring him Mr. Chow, who double-crossed him, keeping “White Doug” as collateral [...]

Fast & Furious 6
Director: Justin Lin
Screenwriter: Chris Morgan
Cast: Vin Diesel, Paul Walker, Dwayne Johnson, Michelle Rodriguez, Jordana Brewster, Tyrese Gibson, Chris Bridges, Gina Carano, Sung Kang, Gal Gadot
Universal Pictures
Rated PG-13 | 130 Minutes
Release Date: May 24, 2013

Directed by Justin Lin, Fast & Furious 6 reunites Dominic Toretto (Vin Diesel) and Brian O’Conner (Paul Walker) for their fastest, most furious adventure yet.

After 2011′s Fast Five, the Fast Family™ of professional criminals has retired around the world: Dominic lives with Elena (Elsa Pataky) in Spain; his sister Mia (Jordana Brewster) and Brian have a son; Gisele (Gal Gadot) and Han (Sung Kang) are in Tokyo; and Roman (Tyrese Gibson) and Tej (Chris “Ludacris” Bridges) are livin’ it up like billionaire millionaire playboys.

U.S. Diplomatic Security Service agent Luke Hobbs (Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson) offers Toretto’s crew full pardons so they can return home in exchange for helping him take down a skilled mercenary organization led by Owen Shaw (Luke Evans) and his second-in-command, Dominic’s presumed-dead girlfriend Letty Ortiz (Michelle Rodriguez) [...]

Akaneiro #1
Written by Justin Aclin
Illustrated by Vasilis Lolos
Colored by Michael Atiyeh
Lettered by Michael Heisler
Cover by Shu Yan
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: May 22, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Little Red Riding Hood may not have been as helpless as we all thought. Dark Horse introduces us to a new take on the classic fairytale in Akaneiro. Written by Justin Aclin with art from Vasilis Lolos, we find a young girl eager to become a warrior in a world infested with demons.

During a ceremony to the gods, the Japanese village of Ainu in which Kani lives is attacked by the Yokai—demons from another world. Two warrior women known as Red Hunters from The Order of Akane, are hot on the demons’ trail but are not able to get to Ainu in time in order to protect it. The Yokai takes over the body of the sacrificial bear, becoming a hideously grotesque beast. As her father is about to be slaughtered, Kani saves his life, attacking the monster with an ax and helping the newly arrived Red Hunters kill the Yokai. Once the mayhem has concluded, the Ainu elders seek war against The Order of Akane for their lack of help in preventing the devastation that has occurred. In a desperate plea to avert this outcome, Kani chooses to join The Order as a representative of the Ainu and both parties agree; but Kani, now donning a red cloak, will need to prove her worthiness to The Order of Akane by making a long and arduous journey on her own—in which Yokai and tricksters alike will stop at nothing to thwart her progress. [...]

Star Wars: Legacy, Vol. 2 #3
Script by Corinna Bechko and Gabriel Hardman
Art by Gabriel Hardman
Colors by Rachelle Rosenberg
Cover by Dave Wilkins
Dark Horse Comics
Release Date: May 22, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99

While the creative team behind the original Star Wars Legacy concentrate on Dawn Of The Jedi, a new team is carrying the torch for a new Legacy series, focusing on a descendant of Han Solo and Princess Leia named Ania Solo. The new art style with a solid new plot make for captivating reading, and it can be said that the legacy of Legacy is in safe hands.

Set not long after the events of the first series that focused on Cade Skywalker, the collapsed Sith Empire of Darth Krayt is shattered. Rumors of Sith remnants are scattered across the galaxy, though in the place of the dictatorial Empire, former leaders of the Galactic Alliance, the Fel Empire, and Jedi have joined together to form a new government: the Galactic Triumvirate. [...]

Red Sonja #75
Written by Eric Trautmann
Pencils by Marcio Abreu
Colors by Salvatore Aiala Studios
Lettered by Simon Bowland
Covers by Mel Rubi, Erik Jones and Walter Geovani
Dynamite Entertainment
Release Date: May 22, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

Red Sonja #75 is the last issue of Dynamite Entertainment’s longest running title. Although the series ends on an OK note story wise, in my opinion, it deserved a much better send off than it got.

Writer Eric Trautmann gives us a pretty satisfying ending to the latest story line within the title, but for a title that’s been coming out for the last 8 years, I wanted something WAY more out of this issue than just a last chapter to a the latest 6 month story line. The issue is about 99% war between Sonja and her army against Omaju and his. With, a surprise enemy thrown in for good measure and “shock” value. Again, what it fails to deliver is an ending to the SERIES or this chapter in her life. It’s simply just a turning point in Sonja’s life. This could’ve been issue #34 or #58 or any other natural story break. Simply put, the issue was good. Just not good enough. [...]

The New Ghostbusters #4
Written by Erik Burnham
Art by Dan Schoening
Colors by Luis Antonio DelGado
Lettered by Neil Uyetake
Edited by Tom Waltz
Covers by Dan Schoening and Freddie E. Williams II
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 22, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

The New Ghostbusters #4 is the epic team-up that we never knew we wanted. The Ghostbusters team up with THE GHOSTBUSTERS!!! No, STILL not the ones with the monkey. Leave that alone, it’s never happening. But, we get something much, much better.

Thanks to Erik Burnham, who’s mind came up with The New Ghostbusters, we finally get the two teams working together to stop a group of big bads that have been menacing them both since the last series. As usual, the writing is crisp, brisk, and full of laughs. What Burnham adds to this fourth installment is some really great character moments. Yes, he does that from time to time in the series, but this issue he gives it a new spin when The Ghostbusters are forced to team up with members of the OTHER Ghostbusting team. The result, is great. Most of the story takes place in the very creepy Parkview insane asylum, and that atmosphere is the perfect place for the climax of this story. Add to that a great ending, and an afterthought cliffhanger that you KNEW was coming, and you’ve got a really really well written issue [...]

Strange Attractors
Written by Charles Soule
Art by Greg Scott
Colors by Art Lyon & Matthew Petz
Letters by Thomas Mauer
Cover by Dan Duncan
Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: May 15, 2013
Cover Price: $19.95

The Butterfly Effect.

A phenomenon in which a minor change in circumstances can cause a large change in outcome.

If you had the ability to manipulate the outcomes of several small events to prevent something on a larger scale from happening, would you do it? In the new graphic novel, Strange Attractors, the themes of chaos theory are explored and examined. [...]

Mumbai Confidential
Book One: Good Cop, Bad Cop
Written by Saurav Mohapatra
Illustrated by Vivek Shinde
Additional Art by Sid Kotian, Saumin Patel, Vinay Brahmania and Devaki Neogi
Design by Howling Monkey Studio
Edited by Rebecca Taylor
Production Manager Scott Newman
Introduction by Ron Marz
Archaia Entertainment
Release Date: May 8, 2013
Cover Price: $24.95

Mumbai Confidential begins at its climactic finale. Tough-as-nails Heroic-cop whose Fallen-from-grace, Arjun Kadam stares down the barrel of a gun. Flashback to when this case began a few weeks before when this case began. Flashback again to five years before that to when Kadams Fall began. Set in Mumbai, Indias most populated metropolis with a notorious criminal underworld, this is story that tattoos its hardboiled tropes on its sleeve.

Illustrator Vivek Shindes art lovingly evokes grim and ultra-serious pulp fiction. Every page, every panel looks like it should be on the cover of a trashy paperback found on a rickety wire rack 50 or 60 years ago. The color is so washed out that all you can see is the grit and grime on the page. Fans of David Fincher: this book is for you. [...]

Game of Thrones
Season 3, Episode 8 – “Second Sons”
Directed by Michelle MacLaren
Written by David Benioff & D.B. Weiss
Starring: Mark Addy, Alfie Allen, Emilia Clarke, James Cosmo, Liam Cunningham, Charles Dance, Stephen Dillane, Peter Dinklage, Natalie Dormer, Michelle Fairley, Jerome Flynn, Aidan Gillen, Jack Gleeson, Iain Glen, Kit Harington, Lena Headey, Conleth Hill, Ciarán Hinds, Carice van Houten, Sibel Kekilli, Harry Lloyd, Richard Madden, Patrick Malahide, Rory McCann, Sophie Turner, Nikolaj Coster-Waldau, Maisie Williams, and Issac Hempstead-Wright
HBO
Air Date: May 19, 2013

I was not impressed with “Second Sons.”

There’s normally a point each season that I reach with Game of Thrones, where one of the later episodes in the season becomes just too predictable or flat out boring. The latter certainly isn’t the case, as there are plenty of individually strong moments throughout the episode, but the sum of the parts doesn’t work to something I’m excited about. Which is sad, all things considered, because the strong parts in this episode are good. So let’s start with the good [...]

The Bounce #1
Written by Joe Casey
Illustrated by David Messina
Colored by Giovanna Niro
Lettered by Rus Wooton
Image Comics
Release Date: May 22, 2013
Cover Price: $2.99

Producing originality in the superhero genre has seemed to be a difficult task for creators over the years. To pull off a new concept while granting unique abilities to characters requires a good deal of ingenuity that, quite simply, seems to be lacking these days; however, the creative team of Joe Casey and David Messina have managed such an accomplishment with The Bounce #1 from Image Comics.

Jasper Jenkins is a professional slacker and stoner—the perfect cover for his other occupation: a superhero. Dressed in a black and yellow spandex suit, he curls himself into a ball and bounces off walls. Through the momentum gained from the impact, Jasper can remain spinning in the air as long as he keeps bouncing; kind of like a bouncy ball. It seems he also has the capability to make a person’s insides bounce around in a very painful manner, as demonstrated while fighting a super strong villain who just murdered the police commissioner. He may have some exceptional aptitudes, but Jasper isn’t the only one. Super powered beings are showing up all over the city—good and evil—many with very unique skill sets; and if that isn’t enough, an underground organization is trying to break the barrier between realities using an ultimate, secret weapon. [...]

Mud
Written and Directed by Jeff Nichols
Starring: Matthew McConaughey, Reese Witherspoon, Tye Sheridan, Jacob Lofland, Michael Shannon, Sarah Paulson
Lionsgate/Roadside Attractions
Rated PG-13 | 130 Minutes
Released April 26, 2013 (Limited)

As we are about to begin the big summer movie season, I decided to head out to my local independent movie theater, and luckily for us folks in Milwaukee, we have two to choose from. I headed to the Downer and after hearing that they finally converted to digital projectors, I got my popcorn, frozen Junior Mints, and soda, then headed into the theater for Mud.

It seems there are a few movies coming out that deal with kids on their summer breaks or something along the lines of Stand By Me or Adventureland. And in Mud, which was written and directed by Jeff Nichols (Take Shelter, a movie worth checking out and I would suggest checking out the numerous episodes and discussions on the /Film podcast about it, after seeing it of course). [...]

Half Past Danger #1
Written by Stephen Mooney
Illustrated by Stephen Mooney
Edited by Chris Ryall
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 22, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

IDW has released a new World War II era comic series with Half Past Danger #1. Created by Stephen Mooney, this adventure story has everything you’d want from an alternate history wartime epic: mystery, barroom brawls, Indiana Jones-esque heroes, femme fatales and dinosaurs!

It’s 1943 and Staff Sergeant Thomas Michael Flynn is on a routine mission with his squad on a Japanese island in the South Pacific. When they begin to notice peculiar occurrences such as Nazi campsites and dinosaurs running amok, everything Flynn thought he knew about the war collapses. Two months later, Flynn is back in the United States. Sitting alone at a bar in New York, Flynn is approached by a massive, blonde haired British soldier named Captain John Noble and a striking, enigmatic woman addressing herself as Agent Huntington-Moss of British Intelligence, but he drunkenly brushes them off. What happens next will be the start of Flynn’s journey into the unknown. [...]

G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files #2
Written by Mike Costa
Pencils by Antonio Fuso
Inks by Emilio Lecce
Colors by Arianna Florean
Letters by Neil Uyetake
Consulting Editor: John Barber
Editor: Carlos Guzman
Covers by Michael Lark, Antonio Fuso and Dan Matutina
IDW Publishing
Release Date: May 22, 2013
Cover Price: $3.99

G.I. Joe: The Cobra Files #2 is all around a great comic. It’s heavy on the talking, a little light on the action, but all in all, it serves it’s purpose by being both interesting AND entertaining.

Mike Costa writes an issue here, that’s a LOT of set up, and you can tell that, when it hits, the payoff is going to be HUGE. He does some really great character work here. You’ve got the Chameleon, Flint, Lady Jaye and others trying to figure out what the first Cobra Commander’s son, Billy, does and doesn’t know about the Cobra organization. One thing that I wasn’t quite clear on, is just WHY they think Billy is such a threat to national security. But, I’m guessing that that will come out in a future issue. Overall, it’s a very interesting issue. [...]

Hatter M, Volume 4
Zen of Wonder
Written by Frank Beddor and Liz Cavalier
Illustrated by Sami Makkonen
Lettered by Tom B. Long
Cover by Vincent Proce
Automatic Pictures Publishing
Release Date: May 21, 2013
Cover Price: $14.95

Hatter M, Volume 4: Zen of Wonder is the latest book in the Hatter M series from Automatic Pictures Publishing. Continuing the saga of Hatter Madigan in his journey through our world in the 19th Century, Frank Beddor, Liz Cavalier and Sami Makkonen manage a feat with this new installment that I had not thought possible: they made me enjoy Madigan’s tale.

It is 1870 and Hatter Madigan has been in our world searching for the lost Alyss—the rightful heir to the throne of Wonderland—for over ten years. Distraught over the fact that he has been unable to find the girl he was sworn to protect, Madigan’s luck is finally about to change. When he meets a mysterious young girl named Nekko who begins to teach him the art of Zen—being content and gaining enlightened understanding—Madigan is led on an expedition that begins with a quest to acquire a Samurai sword with sentimental meaning. This new voyage takes them from San Francisco to the Hawaiian Islands and finally to Japan where Nekko continues her guidance of Madigan. A notion that could be the key to helping him find Alyss becomes increasingly clear to him: “when you seek, you cannot find.” But it won’t all come easily, as Hatter Madigan must fight samurais, best fire breathing chicken demons and elude ghosts from his past if he is ever to reach a Zen-like state. [...]