#Friday

(I think I'm just going to use pics of Yvonne Strahovski whenever there's a Mass Effect 2 piece from here on in, if you don't mind. Hey, she's in the game -- it's topical!)

A video game I’m really anticipating
A new Mass Effect 2 video for y'all. This time it's for the Sentinel class. Cool looking, eh? I usually just play a grunt in ME, but I might try one of these suckers in one of my (many) playthroughs of the new game.

Transformers
Could this be the Transformers video game that everyone has been waiting for? Yeah, trailers are usually bullshit, but this looks pretty promising.

Beatles
I just got Beatles Rock Band a few days ago and already it's one of my favorite things. Putting Rubber Soul out as DLC is only going to make that feeling stronger.

And finally…
In gaming circles, the upcoming release of Final Fantasy XIII is what you would call "a big deal." For me, meh, not so much. Japanese role playing games are too awkward and annoying to turn me on, usually, what with all the emo-looking boy-men and their brooding and the mewling girl-women with their squealing and upskirts (well, maybe not the upskirts) but I'll definitely give it a try. Especially given the mouth-watering visuals it's promising. Look:

Next door to zero interest

Mass Effect 2
Yup. Another one. Another Mass Effect 2 post. Suck it. This time we've got some voice cast news and, well, there are a buttload of people. From Martin Sheen to Tricia Helfer and everything in between including Worf, Jayne and Trinity. Watch this video.

David Lynch
Director David Lynch talks about meeting George Lucas to discuss making Return of the Jedi and the subsequent wookie-related headache that ensued.

Tron Legacy
The first image and poster for the long-time-coming sequel are here. Enjoy, Programs!

Clash of the Titans
As we've talked about, no good can come of the Clash of the Titans remake. Hyperbolic-yet-derivative posters however...

And finally…
Speaking of posters and titans clashing, what happens when you get your Clash of the Titans poster all up in my Sex and the City 2 poster? Genius that can only improve both films.

Spider-Man rumors, Iron Man 2, Dead Space 2 and more

Spider-Man rumor
There's a big Spider-Man 4 rumor floating around out there today. Or should I say flapping around out there? Hmm. Heh. Yes. Anyway, yeah, there are reports that John Malkovich and Anne Hathaway are possibly coming onboard the next film as the Vulture and, uh, the Vulture's daughter called, ugh, the Vulturess. I don't know, maybe it could work? But wait! There's more! Hathaway's character is actually Felicia Hardy, the woman who is also the Black Cat. I'm sure comic book fans won't have a problem with that. Not at all. No way. Malkovich as Vulture is something I can sign off on but Hathaway? Meh. Not so sure. I've never been a fan. Well, I've been a fan of her secret big boobs but she's a tad overrated and would likely overdo it, I'm thinking. But still:

Worst statues
It's the holiday season and you've no doubt got gifts on your mind. Maybe you need to buy some kind of comics and/or anime-related collectible statue for that comics and/or anime-related collectible statue collector on your list? Here's some help: do NOT buy any of these!

BioShock 2
I've still got a bad feeling about the BioShock sequel. The first game is a tough act to follow, no doubt, but this just seems like it won't be anywhere close. That said, good or not, it's going to look damn awesome as these two videos show.

Dead Space 2
You wanted a sequel to Dead Space? You got it, Bucko! And here is the first official image. Snazzy!

Hobbit
Strap yourself in for a sweet roller coaster ride of thrilling Hobbit casting news rumors and confirmations over the next little while, my friends. Here's the first batch!

Todd Margaret
Did you know there's a show featuring the comedic shenanigans-slash-stylings of David Cross, Will Arnett and Spike Jonze? Unless you live in the UK, you probably didn't but there is. It's called The Increasingly Poor Decisions of Todd Margaret and it's pretty damn funny, you can be sure of that. Will it ever see the light of day on this side of the pond? This article speculates on that very subject. Bonus: There's a clip.

Overlooked
This is a pretty good list of overlooked films from the last decade. Well, except for a few. (Zack and Miri? Really?)

TV moments
Another end of decade list, this time taking a look at 14 HUGE moments in television in the last ten years. Hard to argue with a lot of 'em.

Buwahahaha!
This is just sad. At best, maybe all the fact checkers out there getting let go can use it to persuade a rethink about the layoffs?

And finally…
Long ago, I swore an angry blood oath witnessed by naked Wiccan priestesses under moonlight and the unholy eyes of their ancient and terrible god that as soon as I began resorting to funny animal stories, I would hang up my blog shoes for good. But really, how could I resist this? Why won't they let that dog have a job? Huh? Why? He looks so awesome and proud in his work shirt. Plus, he's probably more motivated, happy and clean than most people with jobs (myself included) out there. Damn this fucking world. Wasn't the whole point of progress-slash-North America that we would eventually leave working to our unknowingly enslaved animal workforce? What the fuck am I paying taxes for????

"Titans... will... CLASH!!" (my caps)

Clash of the Titans
We didn't ask for a remake of Clash of the Titans and, shoot, we certainly didn't need it but it's here, people. It's here and it's angry, it's yelling and -- worst of all -- it will stick you with its giant scorpion tail to the sound of Hungarian metal. Watch the trailer here.

Superheroes
In Dubai anything is possible. If on some crazy and wonderful whim someone in Dubai wanted an island shaped like Donkey Kong made out of angel food cake and to have Megan Fox and Britney Spears wrestle in strawberry sauce on its candy-covered beach to the song stylings of the original line-up of CCR on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and twice on Sundays, they could probably make that happen somehow. So when you hear that they want to have a Marvel Superheroes amusement park with lifelike New York City streets and various forms of Marvel mayhem going on, you gotta believe it'll happen.

Mirror’s Edge
Mirror's Edge is kinda like the Dollhouse of video games. Thanks to heavy buzz, it was expected to revolutionize everything we knew about our favourite artform but instead everyone was meh on it and played something else -- in this case, Left 4 Dead -- instead. Then, seeing it soundly thrashed by critics, a few hipsters held it up as a work of misunderstood genius that they, of course, got. Well, I played Mirror's Edge and I'll tell you: it really was meh. The idea of it may be nice and shiny, but the idea of a monkey commando driving an atomic-powered war-dozer is nice and shiny too and you don't see a ton of those rolling around, do you? Still, I think EA should take another shot at the universe they created and it looks like they may do just that.

Bridges on Iron Man
Jeff Bridges has revealed that there wasn't a script for Iron Man, they just improvised the whole damn thing. Somehow that makes it better. In other "Shellhead" news, here's another poster for Iron Man 2. I gotta say, it doesn't look much different than most of the posters for the first movie.

Metro 2033
Gamespot has a preview of the Russian-set post-apocalyptic shooter. A few things: a) the game has some interesting gameplay features including missions limited by the amount of time your gas mask is useful and having to charge up your flashlight, b) they hosted the event in an actual Moscow metro station! and c) the reporter's name is Guy Cocker, LOL!

And finally…
You hear a lot about how Minnesota Vikings' QB Brett Favre is awesome and whatnot, but now you actually get to hear it. LISTEN!

Immanuel Kant, random advice + good times

Yes!
I am someone who enjoys drinking. Perhaps to excess, but I enjoy it nonetheless. There will be no judgments. And it is no secret I enjoy a playthrough of a video game from time to time. They pass the hours quite nicely. Now, I would be lying if I said that I've never combined the two. Seems natural right? I remember one particular (and painful) session of the shit-tastic Too Human that turned into an inadvertent drinking game. I promised myself I would go to bed at the end of one of its (seemingly interminable) levels but found myself slogging and slogging away with no end in sight -- while also drinking. And drinking. Things ended badly for me, more or less, but the level never did. But hey, that's basically the same experience anyone who played that game had -- and at least I was drunk. Well, finally someone has set down some rules (which, clearly, I didn't follow) on how to drink and play video games. And I thank you, good sir.

Cool!
These pics of actors in plain clothes (sort of) recreating famous roles are really, really neat. No, seriously, you find a better adjective.

Iron Man/War Machine
It's a new poster for Iron Man 2. It's got Iron Man and it's got War Machine. Together. Pow. Good times.

Mass Effect 2
With the awesome Dragon Age: Origins out there in the world, getting bought, getting played, getting taken out to dinner, whispered to sweetly and loved tenderly by the fire, BioWare can now concentrate full time on Mass Effect 2, as well as the added side effect of making me jizz in my pants every five seconds. To whit: here is another character reveal for the game, out January 26, also known as the beginning of my vacation.

Kant + Comics = Awesome, understandable
Hey, who doesn't enjoy the philosophical stylings of German philosopher Immanuel Kant? But dayum is his writing foul. One possible work-around? Explain his wrtitings using comic books.

Are you kidding me?
Here's an article from Slate. The premise: DVD box sets of TV shows are a terrible gift. Why, you no doubt are wondering? Apparently you're forcing the recipient to slog through a whole bunch of television.Yep. The article says: "Boxed sets have transformed television from light entertainment into homework." No, really, that's what it says. Uh, what? Oh, did my gift of something I consider so culturally and (more important) personally essential that I wanted to share it with you force you to sit and do nothing but enjoy art/entertainment and possibly be emotionally engaged in something other than your Facebook page? Did it? Wow. I'm really, REALLY sorry for that. Ugh. Fuck you, Slate. Enjoy manufacturing cultural criticism no one asked for and living up your own ass. I guess I can go and give the box set of season two of Supernatural I got you to someone who will actually appreciate it. (Yes, I mean my mom.)

Assassin’s Creed II DLC
If you felt that there wasn't enough assassinating people in Renaissance Italy using various methods (and, really, how could there be?) in Assassin's Creed II, you're in luck. Our friends at Ubisoft are releasing not one but two content packs early in the New Year. As they say in Italy: Dolce! (They don't say that...)

Red Dead Redemption
I must admit, this game held no interest for me until this trailer. How cool does this thing look, though?

And finally…
This video has a number of things that shouldn't be put together (like, ever) but always seem to be for whatever reason. Japan. Robots. Dancing. J-Pop. Scary robot faces.