Obituary: Gary Gygax

It is with a heavy heart I report the death of a creator who is responsible for millions of hours of entertainment worldwide. The Co-Creator of the Dungeons and Dragons (D&D) gaming system, Gary Gygax has died aged 69. He had been suffering from numerous health problems throughout the past few years, including an inoperable abdominal aneurysm.

In 1971, together with Jeff Perren, Gygax created the rules for Chainmail, his first tabletop game. It was upon this that the extensive rules for D&D were built. Tactical Studies Rules (TSR) was founded by Gygax and Don Kaye a few years later and not long afterwards, the first version of D&D was published.

In 1985 he left TSR but he remained prolific as a game designer and writer. He created Dangerous Journeys, an exhaustive, intricate rule-set published by Game Designers' Workshop in 1992. Lejendary Adventure followed in 1999.

"While it's hard to deny that most RPGs bear his indelible mark, our industry owes a debt of gratitude above and beyond this to the work of Gygax and his contemporaries toward disseminating the statistical frameworks that underlie most interactive games. Rare is a game development house without a D&D player, current or former, among its ranks. Today, a few of these developers shared their thoughts on Gygax's passing."
Gamespy Staff

"I think it's fair to say that D&D continues to be a huge inspiration to everyone here at Blizzard and that Gary will be remembered and missed by all of us."
Mike Morhaime, CEO and co-founder, Blizzard Entertainment

"Trying to capture Gary's vision of D&D was the driving goal for both Baldur's Gate and Neverwinter Nights and we have Mr. Gygax to thank for inspiring us."
Ray Muzyka, co-general manager, BioWare

"He used to hang around the Warhammer 40K tables just moving the pieces around to piss off the players. It was hilarious to watch"
John Miller, work colleague of The Colonel

"The Great Man himself has passed away at age 69. Why are the good always taken away from us so young?"
Bruce Russell, The 1st 2IGTV Ubergeek

"I spent the evening in solemn contemplation. My attempts to cast Resurrection were a failure."

Sith Apologist, Sith Lord and former GM for The Colonel

"It funny how you don't fully realise the contribution people like him had made until they're gone."
Mark, co-presenter 2IGTV

As for myself, I think the only way to honour the contribution made by Gygax is to continue enjoy a friendly game of D&D just as he himself did up as far as January this year every Monday night! Rest in peace.

The Colonel (Right) with his elite force of D&D players 2005.

Starship Troopers 3: Marauder

Glory be to Lucas that the producers of this shit aren't going to foolishly attempt to put this into cinemas! I'm sure it'll be as bad as the quality of Bug effects in this hopeless trailer. Dix Hauser? Seriously? And yes, that is Jolene T'Pol Blalock! I'm crying now, don't look!

Rambo back with a bang!

John J. Rambo may have been out of sight for like 20 years since Rambo III, but not out of mind, in the minds of people who crave action movies. It was obvious when Sylvester Stallone returned to bookend the Rocky franchise that he still had what it took and would naturally return to conclude the story of Rambo as well.

Well he did - and what a magnificent result it was. Many joked that Stallone was now 60 and he did the previous Rambo movie at 40 so he was going to be killing people with a Zimmer-frame. Not so, Stallone has himself pumped so full of the human growth hormone Jinotropin; he doesn't look even 50 on screen so it'll be a while before the Zimmer-frame is required.

Rambo III highlighted the plight of the (as the dedication read at the end) "The Gallant People Of Afghanistan", specifically the resistance of the Mujahedeen against the Russian occupation. 20 years later: the political landscape is vastly different and so Sylvester Stallone directed his attention - and the reins of the movie to the crisis in Burma which escalated last year.

John Rambo is now in Thailand enjoying a simple life of a hunter for a snake farm but is drawn into the brutal conflict in nearby Burma as he ferries a group of holy-Joe do-gooder volunteers into the country to administer first-aid and education to a people who are deprived from it by their own government. Then the fun starts!

From Wikipedia:
According to the 1990 Guinness World Records, 'Rambo III is the most violent film with 221 acts of violence, at least 70 explosions, and over 108 characters killed on-screen. However, the body count of the fourth Rambo movie surpassed the record. In comparison, Rambo holds the record with the most kills out of the entire Rambo series, with 236 kills and an average of 2.59 kills per minute.

And you see them all, in all their glory. The blood, Dear God, the blood! Stallone had obviously been thinking about this for some time, this was undoubtedly a pet-project for him for many years it shows in every scene lovingly paced with Rambo always central to the proceedings.

In many ways however, it was different from all 3 previous Rambo's. Sadly Richard Crenna died of cancer in 2003 (Stallone would have easily shoehorned him into even this most basic of plots) but Colonel Trautman was able to appear via a flashback/dream sequence which was just as satisfying. Jerry Goldsmith died of cancer in 2004 but the memorable Rambo theme was used by the very capable Brian Tyler when composing his brilliant score for this movie. Finally, Rambo no longer possessed his stainless combat knife and instead created his own machete during the course of the movie.

Final Verdict: The sheer violence is glorious. Not a single death is overdone or is unnecessary to the plot or purpose of this movie, a masterpiece of action-porn.

Colonel Creedon Rating: *****+

G.I.Joe begins shooting!

G.I. Joe has started shooting in Los Angeles and the first photo of Dennis Quaid as General Hawk has appeared online, and boy does he look the part!

In an interview recently Quaid revealed that he was doing some light weights to assist him in making himself look like the cartoon version of Hawk and so decided against the blond highlights. I think that was a good call.

Quaid also said that the movie is set a bit into the future which may explain Hawk now being a 4-Star General. I was also very pleased to see evidence of Larry Hama (or some very well researched individual)'s involvement as you can clearly see a US Air Force Missile badge on Hawk's dress uniform; one of his earliest occupations listed on this filecard from 1982 was a Missile Commander and the Army authorises such officers with missile training to wear this qualification badge.

In other G.I.Joe movie news; a last minute casting change as David Murray was unable to take the role of Destro due to issues with his entry visa to the United States. As shooting was about to begin, producers turned to a British actor already "in country", the former Dr. Who, Christopher Eccleston.

The Clone Wars in Cinemas!

As revealed in Episode 55 of 2IGTV, a feature-film version of the computer-animated Star Wars: The Clone Wars will debut in 2008, followed by a television series in the fall. Lucasfilm Animation will produce the projects in a partnership with Warner Brothers Pictures and Turner Broadcasting System.

"I felt there were a lot more Star Wars stories left to tell," God said in a statement. "I was eager to start telling some of them through animation and, at the same time, push the art of animation forward." The Clone Wars TV series' half-hour episodes will have a new look and feel, combining the scope of the Star Wars saga with state-of-the-art computer-generated animation, the studio said.
The show will bring back the classic characters of Anakin Skywalker, Obi-Wan Kenobi and Padme Amidala and introduce new characters, including Anakin's padawan learner, Ahsoka.

Lucasfilm Animation, working with its new studio in Singapore, has produced more than 30 episodes of Star Wars: The Clone Wars, and production continues. Star Wars: The Clone Wars will open in North American theaters on Aug. 15. International release dates will be announced soon. The new television series premieres on Cartoon Network, followed by airings on TNT.

Source: SCI FI Wire

Michael Bay is Awesome!

ROTFL! I just had to post this. It's great that someone like Mike Bay can take the complete piss out of himself. He's, eh.. "awesome"!

Thanks to Bruce Russell, the world's first 2IGTV Ubergeek, for forwarding me this.

Knight Rider: An Icon Reborn

It's difficult, but not impossible to go and look at those 20-25 year old episodes of Knight Rider and not cringe. Sure you enjoyed them when you were like 9 years old, but they've most certainly dated now where all you can do is laugh at The Hoff's hair and hope to got that you're not watching the episode where they allow him to sing and reveal his "talent" to the world, or at least all of Germany.

The NBC President Ben Silverman was so impressed by the success of the Transformers movie last summer that he decided to revive Knight Rider. The result so far is a 90 minute TV movie that is designed to serve as a pilot for a new version of the popular show.

The good news is that there does seem to have been enough bucks thrown in and some good casting decisions as opposed to a bog - standard TV - movie - of - the - week that Sci-Fi are so fond of producing elsewhere. It looks very polished especially for something that had a character's voice entirely replaced with another actor's in the past two weeks. Val Kilmer signed on at the voice of KITT only a fortnight ago apparently because the originally recorded actor Will Arnett is under contract with GMC, so they didn't want him becoming the iconic voice of a Ford car.

And what a car it is; It's safe to say that this car shits on the fibreglass looking death trap that was the original KITT. The new Knight Industries Three Thousand is a Ford Mustang Shelby GT500KR. The only thing that outwardly relates this car with it's predecessor is the glowing red cylon-esque scanner in front that indicates KITT is active. The abilities of the car would not have even been conceived in the time of the original Knight Rider: a 550 horsepower solar hybrid engine, Real-time Military satellite access with high-speed internet data transfer and two amazing abilities that I'm not going to spoil here there's so awesome but that no doubt ate through the special effects budget faster than you can say "audacious computer generated imagery."

It's not all about the car though. It needs a driver; And in this generation it comes in the form of a bitter former Army Ranger, Mike Traceur (Justin Bruening) (above left) who happens to be the son of; yes you guessed it: Michael Knight! Anyway, without giving the not too shabby plot away; Traceur eventually teams up with KITT's creator Charles Graiman (Bruce Davison) who intends reviving The Foundation For Law and Government, Graiman's daughter Sarah (Deanna Russo), his roommate Dylan Fass (Wayne Kasserman) and supported by a hot lesbian FBI agent Carrie Rivai (Sydney Tamiia Poitier). David Hasselhoff himself (right) even turns up briefly to pass on the torch to his estranged "son" with a promise that he'll see him again.

All in all this could be a bigger, better version of Knight Rider which not so much hope for me, but hope it'll be popular for a new generation of 9 year olds so that they too can "enter the world of a man who does not exist". (OK and for me too, I wanna see more dammit!).

Footnote:
The only true sad thing now to look forward to (if this show is produced) is that you'll have millions of boy-racers outfitting their Honda's with a cheap KITT scanner light knock-off - classy!

2IGTV Episode 55

The Strike is Over!

In this episode: Experience what The Colonel has been doing through during the writers strike and discover his prophecy of President McCain. As an added bonus: hear Mark sing!

Down to business and we have a comprehensive list of shows and information on when they’ll be returning. We have news on some of the latest movie corporation lawsuits and distressing new concerning the beloved pastime of downloading in the UK.

Also hear about National Treasure 2: Book Of Secrets, Rambo, Teeth, Knight Rider, Wizards First Rule and Star Wars: The Clone Wars. We discuss Heath Ledger, Roy Scheider and Jack Nicholson.

It’s all here.

Discuss this episode in our forums.

Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull - Trailer

Obviously not taking itself too seriously. That will be it's saving grace. This trailer should end any naysayers whining too.

Visit the Official Site with HD trailers here.

A Valentine's wish for all!

In Memory Of Roy Scheider 1932 - 2008

I got a phone call early this morning to inform me of the passing of a great actor who had an illustrious career in film and television. Roy Scheider was born in New Jersey in 1932 to a German mechanic father and an Irish Catholic mother. After suffering rheumatic fever as a child he used amateur boxing to regain his strength. He attended college in Pennsylvania and served in the United States Air Force as an air traffic controller before becoming one of the most respected actors of his generation.

Among his movies were, Jaws (and it's first sequel), The French Connection, 2010, Cohen & Tate and The Punisher. The latter in which he excellently played Frank Castle's crusty gun-loving father who's brutally gunned down along with the rest of his family (below).

In most of the obituaries you'll read about Scheider today and in the coming days the authors will of course emphasise that he is best known as Chief Brody in Jaws, and I've no doubt he is, but Jaws is let's face it, is rather silly.

For me Roy Scheider will live on as two far more fascinating characters than Chief Brody. One is Officer Frank Murphy, a troubled Vietnam war veteran, prone to flashbacks and now a helicopter pilot with the LAPD and in the midst of a family crisis, to whom the government entrust a multi-million dollar state-of-the-art gunship known as Blue Thunder. The other is of course his greatest television role as Captain Nathan R. Bridger (right), Commander of the SeaQuest DSV 4600 in the much beloved '90's science fiction series SeaQuest DSV.

Scheider was nominated for an Academy Award, A BAFTA and a Golden Globe for the 1979 movie All That Jazz, nominated for a Best Supporting Actor for The French Connection in 1980 and for a Saturn Award in 1984 for Blue Thunder but sadly did not win any. Nevertheless, Scheider has provided us with many hours of quality entertainment for which he will be remembered forever.

Star Wars Rap

Blasphemous: Yes.
Funny: Yes.

Indiana Jones Lego

As good as the Star Wars or Batman Lego is, there's something more appealing about building Indiana Jones vs Ruskies with little machine guns out of little Lego pieces. Oh to be 7 again!

You know the no new TV issue is getting bad when...

...you look for stuff like Major Dad on DVD. I mean they have everything else on DVD, why not Gerald McRaney and his ultra-conservative views?

Cloverfield: What The Fuck?

Actually that's pretty much the review.... What the fuck? Who greenlighted a 70 min film shot with a jerky video recorder? I mean seriously? People should ask for their money back.

Final Verdict: Good Military Action for like 3 minutes. The rest is forgettable trash.

Colonel Creedon Rating: *1/2

Super Tuesday

Unfortunately, as you may know, I'm prohibited under Federal Law (Titles 10, 2, and 18, United States Code), Department of Defense (DOD) Directives, and specific military regulations from actively supporting potential presidential candidates. I offer the following information to those voting today:

Hilary Clinton [right] (A Woman? Muahahahaha!!!)

Barack Hussein Obama (note his middle name, doesn't Obama sound like Osama? I just thought I'd throw that out there)

Mitt Romney (A Mormon. Mormon's are wierdos)

Mike Huckabee (Anti Gay, Pro Guns, Pro War, Pro Space, where's the problem?)

John McCain (Graduate of the United States Naval Academy, Naval Aviator, Vietnam Service, Prisoner Of War, Recipient of The Silver Star, The Bronze Star, The Purple Heart, The Legion Of Merit and The Distinguished Flying Cross, Retired from Navy as a Captain [O-6])

Vote informed.

Padawan Ahsoka Tano

In 2008, Star Wars: The Clone Wars expands the Star Wars universe with plenty of surprises. I've received word of the possibility that 3 or 4 episodes of the upcoming animated series will be strung together and released theatrically in the Autumn.

This week, during the annual Toy Fair events around the world it is expected that Lucasfilm will offer a glimpse at some of these surprises. Many of the years upcoming Star Wars toys have offered glimpse into characters that will appear in both the Clone Wars and The Force Unleashed consile video game. Among those from the Clone Wars TV series are Obi-Wan, Anakin, Yoda and a mysterious new Padawan named Ahsoka Tano.

This young Togruta is eager to prove herself as a worthy Padawan to her bold Master, Anakin Skywalker. Able to wield a lightsaber and pilot a spacecraft with great talent, Ahsoka promises to become a worthy Jedi.

There is much more to learn about Ahsoka and the role she plays in the epic Clone Wars adventures and the Star Wars saga. My own speculation is that she'll die horribly and further Anakin's own descent into darkness to complete his destiny as Darth Vader, I've been wrong once before, but I doubt this time :)

Source: Starwars.com

Mega G.I.Joe News #3: Devil's Due loose Licence

It's been on the cards for a while and it's finally been announced that Devil's Due Publishing (DDP) who have been behind G.I.Joe comic books for the past seven years are to loose their license to the franchise this summer and Hasbro will not be allowing them to renew. The current story arc of World War III a 12-issue saga will be the last G.I.Joe tale under the Devil's Due banner this summer.

Why is this happening? Well that hasn't been revealed yet, but there are more theories being bandied about now than the JFK assassination! The one I'll subscribe to for the moment, is that Hasbro were not happy with the direction that the publishers took with the book, i.e. they're producing a monthly comic-book for both adults and young adults but not for Habro's target audience: toy-buying kiddies! Sure the Marvel run had it's complex Snake-Eyes ninja and Cobra-family arcs that kids wouldn't understand or necessarily identify with, but for the most part it served to introduce a new character or weapon that happened to be released by Hasbro in the form of a toy that year and was little more than a brilliant way of marketing.

DDP had a different take, they presented the characters in more or less their proper original costumes (or minor variations thereof) as opposed to some of the toxic Eco-Warrior gaudy day-glow camouflage that plagued the line in later years and actually featured only the most basic of Joe and Cobra vehicles when necessary. Even the character roster on both the Joe and Cobra sides was cut down from the insane hundreds-strong "order of battle" that Marvel had. They completely changed the comic-book to be about the characters as opposed to the toys. They killed characters like Flash, Chuckles and Mainframe with nary a thought, reflecting the fragility of human life, including the much beloved Lady Jaye. They turned Duke into a government controlled black-ops operative with little regard for his team, crippled Hawk to the confines of a wheelchair and following the death of his wife, Flint, the wise-ass joker who always had a smile (even on his action figure) became a bitter, twisted and heartless and resigned from the team when his buddies became aware he had a death wish!!! No, this was not for toy-buying kiddies anymore, but it was damn good shit!

Personally, I thank DDP for bringing the Joes back from mid-90's obscurity kicking and screaming into the 21st century. As if being deeply prophetic; DDP's first story (publishing under Image Comics) dealt with a devastating terrorist attack on US soil that would prompt the government to reinstate the G.I.Joe team. Issue one of G.I.Joe: A Real American Hero went to newsstands only a few short weeks before an event that is now known as 9-11. Their plans didn't change, the story went ahead and concluded in December 2001. We know only all too well the climate of America in that period, so that took balls and Devil's Due has shown us that they had some big cahones!

Unfortunately while admittedly well done, some of DDP's choices that they made once the series was established, didn't sit too well with me; the nonsensical return of Serpentor, the death of Jaye, Hawk's injury and the idiotic use of the sacred name of The Red Shadows (an enemy from old British Action Force continuity which has no bearing on G.I.Joe) for a new terrorist faction spelled death for the series, but instead there was a relaunch. Three years ago, they rebooted the series under the title G.I.Joe: America's Elite and it became a darker, edgier and grittier series but alas it didn't retain the impact of the writing or the quality of artwork of the previous series.

I must live in hope now that G.I.Joe's new publisher (which may be Marvel but it's more likely to be IDW as they're responsible for Hasbro's other hot-property The Transformers) will be able to accomplish what Devil's Due began, but ultimately, couldn't finish. It's possible that if Marvel, we could get a continuation of the continuity from their last issue #155 from 1994 and the DDP events would never have happened. IDW would most likely reboot the series as they did with The Transformers after Dreamweave's collapse to either begin again with the creation of the team or pick up continuity before DDP wen off their rails. Either way, here's to Hawk walking, Jaye living, Flint smiling and maybe, just maybe Storm Shadow choosing a side and just staying there.

Mega G.I.Joe News #2: Quaid is Hawk

I'm thrilled to announce that the legendary Dennis Quaid as General Clayton M. Abernathy, better known to the world as Hawk.

Hawk is my favourite G.I.Joe character who has gone through some pretty extraordinary evolutions in the past 25 years; beginning as a Colonel and field - commander of the Joes under General Flagg before being promoted to full commander of the unit, eventually achieving the grade of Lieutenant General before being crippled and confined to a wheelchair several years ago.

I've even adopted one of Hawk's mottos as one of my own; "Never ask of your men something you're not willing to do yourself," it's something that has served both me and my own men well as I'm sure they'll tell you.

Dennis Quaid is a remarkable actor that brings a wealth of acting talent to the role of Hawk. As someone said to me: "he's definitely got the quals", as Quaid has played soldiers, military officers, politicians, teachers, mentors and heroes; these experiences will all serve him well as Hawk.

I've also learned that the wonderful type-cast baddie Arnold Vosloo (left) will be the mysterious Zartan, master of disguise!

Quaid and Vosloo join Channing Tatum as Duke, David Murray as Destro, Sienna Miller as The Baroness, Ray Park as Snake Eyes, Rachel Nichols (right) as Scarlett, Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje as Heavy Duty, Said Taghmaoui as Breaker, Marlon Wayans as Ripcord and Byung-hun Lee as Storm Shadow.

Watch out for more news soon!

Mega G.I.Joe News #1: Larry Hama joins G.I.Joe

The creator of practically all the backgrounds for the G.I.Joe characters the one and only Larry Hama has joined the G.I.Joe movie as a creative consultant. Hama was a Vietnam war veteran and martial artist who wrote the legendary Marvel run of the G.I.Joe comic book from 1982 to 1995. He also wrote most of the File Cards found on the rear of G.I.Joe figures packaging which listed the character's Name, Rank, Serial Number, Speciality and a brief yet concise biography.

Hama has kept on top of all things G.I.Joe and most recently worked as a character consultant for the CGI animated movies and has written a number of comic books in the G.I.Joe universe in the past few years years.

This is the greatest endorsement that the production could get and I think that even though some of the casting choices for the movie won't completely thrill everyone, it will be easier to rest at night from now until the movie is released knowing that everything is happening under the watchful eye of the great Larry Hama.

Aliens vs Predator: Requiem "People are dying... we need guns!"

Thankfully the first "proper" movie of the year was not a let down. The sequel to the not-extremely-brilliant Alien Vs Predator directed by Paul W.S. Anderson, this movie picks up pretty much right where the last one left off and supersedes it magnificently.

Instead of being secluded away in some remote area of the antarctic, the action in this movie takes place in a quiet little Colorado mountain town, with all sorts of fodder for both the Aliens and the Predator to hack, slash, maul, skewer, eviscerate, dismember or disembowel. Please be warned that this movie has received a somewhat restricted rating mainly due to what happens to a hospital ward full of helpless pregnant women. Even children horrifically fall victim to the directorial majesty of The Brothers Strauss.

There's nothing better that I can say about this movie other than that there's enough Aliens Vs. Predator action on screen to satisfy any Aliens or Predator fan. There are many nods to graphic novel material which spawned the series, much more so than in the previous installment but it's not essential to have digested it to appreciated this balls-out combat movie. The role of the Predator here is fleshed out as we see a different side to their society and understand what's happening even though they have no dialog. The AvP action coupled with the humans unloading plenty of ammo at both menaces and the "satisfactory" explosions makes this an A-List flick in my book: The only one that really matters.

I will say the human characters are as lame as the previous installment with the exception of Reiko "24" Aylesworth's Kelly O'Brien, an Airborne soldier just returned home from deployment (complete with handy plot device #1: Night Vision Goggles) in time for the living nightmare to begin. We have a bad-boy gone legit (after time in prison) in the form of Dallas played by Steven Rescue-Me Pasquale who is far more clued in and more intelligent than John Ortiz' inept Sheriff character. Rounding out a cast of predictable sci-fi characters we also have Dallas' hot-headed teenaged brother who has a crush on a thoroughly unlikeable Barbie-whore who's only saving grace in the movie is that she strips off to almost nothing. This time there is no Gary Busey type character who has been tracking the Predators and knows something about them and none of the characters played by Danny Glover or Sanaa Lathan who "bond" with the beast and earn the respect of the Predator Elders - this is just sheer WAR and it's survival of the fittest!

A couple of major issues with costuming with this movie prevented it from getting the coveted "5-Star Plus" rating. A scene depicts Aylesworth's character returning home to her husband and daughter. Her uniform is clearly the USMC MCCUU (desert) but has US Army patches with most notably the 101st Airborne, sewn on it. It's not like the production didn't have access to the US Army's ACU as we saw the gloriously ineffective National Guard wearing them later in the movie. Also at the end of the movie we see an unnamed "Special Forces" type unit wearing the woodland variation of the MCCUU but had subdued US flag patches on their left shoulders, something the US Army doesn't even wear when stateside let alone Marines whatsoever. While these inexcusable errors didn't ruin the movie, it can't be called a masterpiece because of them.

Final Verdict: Excellent continuation to the Aliens and Predator sagas that changes some perceptions of the movies that have preceded this. It will satisfy any sci-fi action-junkies craving for what they desire most: This shit!

Colonel Creedon Rating: *****

Star Trek Teaser Trailer Here!

The aforementioned Star Trek Teaser Trailer is now available. It was seen first by moviegoers to the great J.J. Abrams' Cloverfield on Friday; upon which many have said that the Trek teaser was the best thing about the movie - ouch! I shall reserve judgment until I see the movie for myself but before that: gasp in wonder at the trailer.

The Highest resolution I found is available at Movieweb here.

Bond 22: Quantum of Solace

Details of the new James Bond adventure were revealed today at Pinewood studios in London. Quantum of Solace sees 007 out for revenge on a mission that takes him to Austria, Italy and South America. Blonde Bond Daniel Craig will return after both harsh critics and indifferent cinema-goers hailed Casino Royale in 2006.

Craig said the cryptic title referenced how Bond's heart had been broken at the end of Casino Royale. "Ian Fleming had written about relationships," he explained. "When they go wrong, when there's nothing left, when the spark has gone, when the fire's gone out, there's no quantum of solace. And at the end of the last movie, Bond has the love of his life taken away from him and he never got that quantum of solace. So he's looking for revenge, you know, to make himself happy with the world again."

Michael G Wilson Bond Co-producer said the title was taken from a short story by Ian Fleming. "We thought it was an intriguing title and referenced what is happening to Bond and what happens in the film. But it the title also alludes to something else in the film," he added.

According to the synopsis, Bond girl Camille, played by Hitman's hot piece of ass Olga Kurylenko, leads the secret agent to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), member of a mysterious organization and a ruthless businessman, seeking to control huge natural resources. The plot follows on directly from Casino Royale, as Bond aims to uncover the truth about Vesper, the beauty who betrayed him. "James Bond is after revenge, and Camille is after revenge & They have slightly different goals, but in the end they are going to have to collaborate," Kurylenko told reporters.

Wilson said Quantum contained about twice as many action sequences as Casino Royale which was praised for relying less on gadgets and special effects and making Bond more realistic and vulnerable.

Quantum of Solace is due for release in theatres on November 7 this year.

Source: Yahoo, BBC News and my bud Barry!

Obituary: Heath Ledger

Heath Ledger was found dead at a Manhattan apartment this afternoon in what appeared to be a possible drug-related death. The actor was discovered in one of the SoHo apartment's bedrooms at 15:31 p.m. An initial police report also cited by the New York Times said that foul play was not suspected and that pills had been found near Ledger's body.

A native of Australia, Ledger shot to fame as a teen heartthrob in 10 Things I Hate About You before graduating to more adult roles, most notably his Oscar-nominated turn in cowboy fag-fest Brokeback Mountain. Engaged to Dawson's Creek's Michelle Williams, the two had a kid before a split in recently.

I first noticed Ledger in The Patriot where he played Mel Gibson's character's eldest son Gabriel who joins the American forces fighting the British in the Revolutionary War and helps his father fight a guerrilla war after serving time as a British prisoner prisoner. He was later most adequate in a starkly contrasted role as William Thatcher in the slightly ridiculous lighthearted adaptation Geoffrey Chaucer's A Knight's Tale.

However it is only this year that he has completed the movie which he will be now be remembered for all time. In August 2006 I broke the news here that Ledger was to play The Joker in the Batman Begins sequel film The Dark Knight. His progress in the role was reported on 2IGTV in a number of episodes in 2007. It does appear that that he had finished filming on that and the movie is currently set for release this summer so there is no fear for a need for a "Brandon Lee" or worse an "Oliver Reed" substitute situation.

It's a true tragedy that such a promising career has been cut short so early. I'll leave the wild speculation and unsubstantiated theories as to why in the more than capable hands of the bottom-feeding "press".

THE COLONEL SAYS NO TO DRUGS!

2IGTV Episode 54

In this, the first episode of 2008 we open with a high tech discussion about Apple, The Hi-Def format war and DRM.

We update you on the WGA strike, Wesley Snipes in court, South Korean pirates, Cruise and Scientology, the years upcoming movies and the US Presidential Election.

We also have exciting news on Star Trek and The A-Team and update you on some happenings in the 2IGTV forums.

All this and much more here.

First Picture of the new ENTERPRISE for J.J.'s STAR TREK!

This is it! It looks like they're building it on Earth which would be pretty dumb, but it still looks cool eh? Trailer coming soon.

Source: AICN

Who Will Play Boba Fett in the Star Wars TV Series?

Rick McCallum has said that the most fearsome bounty hunter Boba Fett will be a star of the Star Wars live action TV series and has speculated about who will play him. McCallum would apparently desire Daniel Logan who played the young Boba in Episode II to don the infamous Mandalorian armour.

Obviously there's no casting news yet on the most anticipated Television event of the decade as production won't actually begin for more than a year.

In an interview with Star Wars Insider, McCallum says: "The series will be about brand new characters, a group of people we haven't seen yet, except Boba Fett, who will be an instrumental part of it. The series will also showcase other bounty hunters." He says the series is about "what happens to an empire. It's a much darker, much more character-based thing. It's not as plot-driven [as the movies]." McCallum notes that the challenge they're facing at Lucasfilm is making the show "look like a feature on a television budget, with all new characters, new environments, new planets, and trying to keep the storyline alive for a lot of people."

God is planning on at least 100 episodes but McCallum is hopeful that it can extend to almost 400 episodes and may feature some of the more well known Expanded Universe characters like Mara Jade, Admiral Thrawn or Kyle Katarn.

The live-action series is expected to premiere by the end of 2009, following this year's debut of the new animated Clone Wars series.

Source: IGN, ISEB

I Am Legend: Not Legendary.

I'm usually impressed with movies that paint a picture of reality that is vastly different to our own even if it's a somewhat bleaker setting such as this "virus has killed most of humanity" scenario but not with this movie. The idea here is that Will Smith is Dr. Robert Neville alone in NYC having an immunity to the virus and his only friends are his dog, some shop window mannequins and his M4 Carbine. He spends his days hunting what the surviving members of the human race became upon being infected; Vampire-Zombies (for want of a better term), capturing them and experimenting on them in the hopes of finding a cure.

Smith is a competent actor, there's no evidence of the Fresh Prince or Wikki Wah-Wah West here as he pro trays a man who has been without human interaction for three years and is going a little bit loco. Even though his performance is excellent; Smith's character is badly written. A point is made that he's sure there is no God and he is portrayed of being devoid of spirituality or even at this stage, hope itself. Yet he speaks of Bob Marley in such a way that it reveals an allegiance that transcends mere religion, this paradox is just one example of how badly written this movie is- the culprit: one Akiva Goldsman responsible for I, Robot, The DaVinci Code and the greatest celluloid travesty of all time: Batman And Robin.

There isn't much in the way of supporting characters, these are mainly relegated to scenes of life before and during the outbreak which is expertly produced generating a real sense of fear and interpretation and just enough to set the tone of the movie. While the virus infects humans and turns them into "Vampbies" they attack and kill others before they are infected thus explaining why everyone is gone. The creatures are created entirely by CGI and that unfortunately heavily detracts from the movie's impact and indeed it's rating as the CGI is surprisingly poor for 2007 and somewhat unnecessary too as the "Vampbies" are basically human and would have been far more realistic as humans in make up.

This is one of those movies that I'm fairly apathetic towards. It was neither brilliant or shite. It fits nicely into that middle ground of movies where you would watch it if it was on TV, but you could be doing something else at the time as well.


Final Verdict: Will Smith is excellent. There are some good action sequences but ultimately this movie should greatly fail to make too much of an impression on anyone. Overall, a poor start to what looks like a promising year.

Colonel Creedon Rating: ***

Hitman was not a hit, man!

I'm a little behind in my reviews I know. I'm trying to assimilate all the material I missed from 2007 before I do the 2007 Whopper Awards (which may actually replace the Oscars this year due to the WGA strike). Chronologically, the final movie released in 2007 and thus elegable for consideration is Hitman.

This was a movie that was followed both on the 2IGTV website and on the 2IGTV show itself. I expect nothing from a video game franchise to a movie no matter what the budget nor who the producer, director or the cast is. And this movie won't change my opinion of that whatsoever. It's shit, but by God it's truly magnificent shit and has earned a place in my DVD collection.

In Hitman, Timothy Olyphant takes on the role of Agent 47 a character butchered for his big screen outing. Somehow Olyphant (39) looks about fifteen with the shaved head. How an accomplished actor from Deadwood (or even his performance in Die Hard 4.0) could somehow loose almost all his acting talent for this movie, I do not know. I don't blame him entirely however as the movie had an idiotic first-time* clueless director in the form of Xavier Gens, yes, a frog!

The story was a load of hogwash and I'm not even going to try to explain it here as that would dignify it. The plot has more holes than my assault rifle target after a day on the range and if you were paying attention to it (and I'm not saying you should) you'll be left with a few questions once the end credits begin to scroll. "What the fuck happened to the guy in the bath?" is a biggie! Poor Skip Swordfish Woods probably didn't have a lot of material to work with as the 47 character by definition is an emotionless single-minded killing machine far better suited to the gaming world than on a movie screen where he essentially has to get ideas, form relationships and be "human". I hope Mr. Woods will be more faithful to the G.I.Joe characters he's written for the movie of that franchise.

I hear people asking now: "But Creedon, why are you going to add this to your DVD collection?" Well it's quite simple really, for all it's many faults. I thoroughly enjoyed this movie. As I said; I don't expect much from video game translations, so with that in mind when you do get some serious action, no matter how uncohesive it may be, with fantastic explosions, juicy on-screen death, a healthy use of automatic weapons and of course when a hot piece of ass like Olga Kurylenko gets her kit off for an unnecessary amount of time, then you just have to say: "I wanna see that again!"

Final verdict: A dumb movie aimed at dumber people who don't know that London is in England (you'll get that joke if you see the movie), it should have had more heavy-metal tunes instead of dialog, yet it will satisfy "longings for tough-guy posturing, sadistic violence, blatant misogyny and incoherent plotting"**, bring it on!

Colonel Creedon Rating: ****1/2

* He only directed French shit which doesn't count in the real world.
** Quoted from Jeffrey Westhoff, Northwest Herald (Crystal Lake, IL).

Iron Man Game

I so designate 2008 as THE YEAR OF IRON MAN!!!

Sega has unleashed the first trailer for the Iron Man video game based on Jon Favreau’s IRON MAN movie coming this year from Paramount!

See the different Iron Man suits in action including a glimpse of the infamous "Stealth Armour" which is apparently a "feature" of the MKIII suit. The detail of the graphics is amazing!

Sadly, traditionally, tie-in games of major movies usually turn out to be complete shit so while I'm not expecting much in the way of gameplay, it certainly looks like the most spectacular-looking movie-tie-in game ever.

Source: ISEB