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????

Same meh, different pile

Conan
Did you know they're making a new Conan movie? Yep. They are. Want some details? You're welcome.

Marvel Ultimate Alliance
Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is a dumb game. But Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 is also a dumb game that is awesome. Sort of. Read my review.

True Grit
The Coen brothers are re-doing True Grit -- you know, the western that John Wayne won an Oscar for? In the role of Rooster Cogburn, they're thinking Jeff Bridges, Nice, right? Now word is they're adding Matt Damon and Josh Brolin to the mix, too.

Avatar… stolen?
There are murmurings going around that the idea/story for James Cameron's upcoming 3D orgy Avatar may have been "borrowed" from a late 1950s science fiction short story by Poul Anderson. Based on that painting for the story, I'm thinking it's no coincidence -- but that's just me.

BioShock 2
In many ways 2007's BioShock changed the face of gaming. Ideas about the way games are played, designed, conceived and written -- on top of art directed -- were pushed to the limits. So it's kinda strange to look at this trailer for the sequel. Sure, it's amazing looking and awesome but it looks sort of like gaming has changed the face of BioShock, doesn't it? Instead of atmosphere and fear, you're getting a high octane first-person shooter feel. Is that BioShock? When you factor in that the game is going to push a multiplayer component and that original writer Susan O'Connor isn't onboard, I have some reservations.

Action figures
I've never been huge into the action figure thing, Star Wars or otherwise. Although, I have an original C3P0 hanging out on my bookcase right at this very moment. Still, I enjoy a good list and if it happens to be about Star Wars action figures and some of the most embarassingly collectible examples, then so be it!

Evil
Another good list. This one documents some truly evil entities in science fiction. Although, Galactus? Isn't that like calling a shark or lion evil? Doesn't he serve some kind of culling purpose or is he just into destroying things? I thought he needs to eat planets to survive? If that's wrong then I don't want to be right.

The Who: Rock Band
On top of all the other Beatles-related awesomeness Beatles: Rock Band has unleashed on the world, it's success is just going to open the floodgates on other, similar projects for bands that approach the Fab Four's stature. There have been murmurs from Pink Floyd and U2 on the subject but it looks like the first follow-up may be from The Who. And to this I say: FUCK YA!

Assassin’s Creed
Ubisoft is pretty damned serious about Assassin's Creed 2. How serious? So serious, they bought Hybride Technologies, the digital post-production studio behind 300 and Sin City and got them to make a bunch of background shizz for the game. Shizz like this short film called Lineage. On top of that, Ubi is dropping more hints of what they're thinking for Assassin's Creed 3. If you remember, a couple of weeks ago they mentioned a World War II-plagued Europe as a possible setting, with a female assassin as the protagonist. This week, it's either Medieval Europe or feudal Japan. No word on if they're still considering the lady assassin. I like the feudal Japan idea. That means ninjas and, knowing Ubi, it'll mean meticulously researched and realistic ninjas -- which could be really, really cool. I guess all the brainstorming is sort of showing how limitless the franchise could be.

And finally…
I linked to this before on the old blog, but it popped up again today and I just had to go there again. Cracks my shit up every time.