My friend Paul and I were talking about 2013 movie releases. After spouting out a bunch of movies we wanted to see, we were surprised by the number of nerd movies scheduled for release this year. Fans of comic books, sci-fi, and fantasy have so much to look forward to. Here are some of the films we were talking about:
GI Joe: Retaliation
Iron Man 3
Man of Steel
The Wolverine
Thor: The Dark Worlds
Star Trek: Into the Darkness
Kick Ass 2
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
That list doesn’t even count the mainstream movies that are also loved by geeks, such as…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the Australian Open, Lance Armstrong’s upcoming confession, or Britney Spears being single again, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
My friend Paul and I were talking about 2013 movie releases. After spouting out a bunch of movies we wanted to see, we were surprised by the number of nerd movies scheduled for release this year. Fans of comic books, sci-fi, and fantasy have so much to look forward to. Here are some of the films we were talking about:
GI Joe: Retaliation
Iron Man 3
Man of Steel
The Wolverine
Thor: The Dark Worlds
Star Trek: Into the Darkness
Kick Ass 2
The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug
That list doesn’t even count the mainstream movies that are also loved by geeks. Anchorman: The Legend Continues, The Hangover Part III, and Fast & Furious 6 are sure to do big numbers. I’m not saying that all of these movies are going to be great or even good, but I’m pleased that there are so many nerd-friendly blockbusters being released this year.
What 2013 movies are you anxious to see? Are there any big-budget films that you’re wary of? Are there any nerd movies you’re high on that I didn’t mention? Let’s plot out our 2013 moviegoing in the comments section (please)!
Two days ago at CES 2012, Nvidia announced a new gaming device called Project Shield. It’s a bold initiative that combines elements of console, PC, and portable gaming. As a verbal entertainer and a tech nerd, I love it, simply because it’s a conversation starter. That said, I’m not yet convinced that Project Shield is a game-changer. I’ve thought about the device several times over the last couple of days and it’s still more “interesting” than “must have” for me. Naturally, I want to know what you think about Nvidia’s gambit. Let’s go over the pros and cons…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Intelligentsia’s Sulwesi Toarco Jaya Peaberry, Pau Gasol’s broken face, or Dwight Howard’s torn labrum, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Two days ago at CES 2013, Nvidia announced a new gaming device called Project Shield. It’s a bold initiative that combines elements of console, PC, and portable gaming. As a verbal entertainer and a tech nerd, I love it, simply because it’s a conversation starter. That said, I’m not yet convinced that Project Shield is a game-changer. I’ve thought about the device several times over the last couple of days and it’s still more “interesting” than “must have” for me. Naturally, I want to know what you think about Nvidia’s gambit. Let’s go over the pros and cons.
On the plus side, Nvidia’s graphics processors and mobile processors are some of the best in the business. From the tech-and-specs standpoint, Project Shield should deliver. It also draws from two diverse gaming libraries: Android Market and Steam. Content shouldn’t be an issue with this device.
Original content, on the other hand, is something Nvidia will have to be more aggressive with. The company has great relationships with Android and PC developers, getting exclusive features or versions of games. I believe the company will have to do more than that to make Project Shield thrive. It will need full games — not just features or optimized versions — exclusive to the platform. While some people believe that exclusive no longer matter, I think they’re in important part of defining a platform, which is especially important for a newcomer.
While being able to stream PC games to a mobile device is very cool, you need a GeForce GTX 600 series GPU (or better, when the time comes) to do so. That makes playing high-quality games expensive. Consoles have thrived because of their simplicity and price. You buy a relatively cheap box, pop a disc in, and go. With Project Shield you have the device itself, a relatively expensive PC, and the potential trouble of trying to connect the two. It’s a more expensive and complicated proposition for many “mainstream” gamers.
Then there’s the form factor. It’s portable, but not really. Although mobile gaming systems have been getting larger (like Leon from Airplane!), it’s still easy enough to slip a Nintendo 3DS or PlayStation Vita into your back pocket or jacket pocket. Project Shield looks like an Xbox 360 controller with a screen attached to it. I’m pretty sure that won’t fit into most pockets. Since the shape isn’t uniform, it won’t be as bag friendly as traditional portables. With mobile phones becoming more powerful every few months and the vast improvement in mobile games, I only bring my portable consoles with me for long airplane flights. I don’t see myself toting around Project Shield much, simply due to its form factor.
There are surely many tech enthusiasts that will pick up Project Shield because it’s bold, different, and powerful. I’m not yet convinced that it will sell big or change the business (much). I have too many concerns about content, complexity, and form factor. How do you feel about Project Shield? Kindly take today’s poll and leave your thoughts on Nvidia’s upcoming portable in the comments section (please!).
With their powers combined (Captain Planet TM), the Google Nexus 4 and T-Mobile’s $30 unlimited data plan are the best value in mobile tech. On the hardware side, you have a high-end phone that’s unlocked, yet sold at a subsidized price ($299 or $349 depending on configuration). On the service side, you have a dirt-cheap plan that gives you unlimited texts and 5GB of high-speed data per month — without a contract! All that said, it’s not a perfect combination for everyone…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the possibility of Phil Jackson coaching the New Jersey Nets, studying for a road test, or caucasians with dreadlocks, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
With their powers combined (Captain Planet TM), the Google Nexus 4 and T-Mobile’s $30 unlimited data plan are the best value in mobile tech. On the hardware side, you have a high-end phone that’s unlocked, yet sold at a subsidized price ($299 or $349 depending on configuration). On the service side, you have a dirt-cheap plan that gives you unlimited texts and 5GB of high-speed data per month — without a contract! All that said, it’s not a perfect combination for everyone.
On the plus side, the Nexus 4 boasts a 4.7-inch screen with a 1,280 x 768 resolution, a Qualcomm Snapdragon S4 Pro processor, an eight-megapixel camera, 2GB of RAM, and a 2,100 mAh battery. Best of all, Nexus phones serviced by Google get the latest Android updates first and are free from the bloatware that carriers won’t let you uninstall. There are some phones with slightly better specs, but certainly not available for a contract-free price of $299. I’ve been using a 16GB Nexus 4 for the last couple of weeks and I’m extremely pleased with its performance.
On the down side, the storage and data speeds will not be enough for hardcore users. Although cloud services are more robust than ever, the 16GB storage maximum will be problematic for some people. The Nexus 4 also lacks an LTE radio, which prevents it from hitting the best data speeds available in the U.S. The good news is that the Nexus 4 does have an HSPA+ 42 radio that’s compatible with T-Mobile’s best speeds. HSPA+ 42 download speeds are competitive with LTE, but the latency and upload speeds aren’t nearly as good.
If you’re the kind of person that uses data and text more than voice minutes then you should check out the T-Mobile $30 plan. If you can live with 100 minutes of talk time a month, it’s an absolute steal. Keep in mind that in addition to the deficiencies in ping and upload speeds, T-Mobile’s network isn’t as vast as AT&T’s and Verizon’s. Depending on where you live, work, or travel to, coverage can be an issue.
Still, if your T-Mobile coverage is up to snuff and you can live with 16GB of onboard storage then it’s tough to beat this coupling. You have a fantastic unlocked phone at a great price and service that’s less than half of what most tech enthusiasts pay. It won’t work for everyone, but for many people in America the Nexus 4 backed by T-Mobile’s $30 plan is an unbeatable combination.
Continuing our discussion of nerd hopes and wishes for 2013, I was wondering what you wanted to see in the consumer electronics space. Are you hoping for advancements in PCs, mobile phones, tablets, or software? If so, what specifically are you having gadget dreams about?
As for me, I’m hoping to see Apple take some bold steps with iOS. Don’t get me wrong — it’s a simple and powerful operating system that is the gold standard and has certainly gotten better over the years, but many of the recent changes have been subtle. Meanwhile, the competition has been catching up and, in some cases…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the existence of Scary Movie 5, praying for a United 1K challenge, or dreading losing 1K status after January, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Continuing our discussion of nerd hopes and wishes for 2013, I was wondering what you wanted to see in the consumer electronics space. Are you hoping for advancements in PCs, mobile phones, tablets, or software? If so, what specifically are you having gadget dreams about?
As for me, I’m hoping to see Apple take some bold steps with iOS. Don’t get me wrong — it’s a simple and powerful operating system that is the gold standard and has certainly gotten better over the years, but many of the recent changes have been subtle. Meanwhile, the competition has been catching up and, in some cases, surpassing iOS.
Microsoft’s Windows Phone has become a boldly different alternative, mostly because it had to be in order to compete. Android has gotten exponentially better over the last two years, but that’s partially because it had so much catching up to do. As someone that uses and enjoys both Android and iOS, I see a lot of features on Android that are better than their iOS counterparts. Android apps, however, are another story. I’d love to see more Android apps have the level of polish that their iOS counterparts have.
Now it’s your turn! Fire away in the comments section (please).
Happy new year everyone! I hope 2013 is off to a great start for you guys and dolls. Hopefully all of us have great success and health in 2013. Now let’s talk about the most anticipated games of the year! I’m sure a lot of you are amped for Grand Theft Auto V, but interestingly enough there are five games that I’m even more excited for. I’ll go through my list in today’s column. When you’re done reading, kindly share your most wanted games of 2013. Let’s do it…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, the NY Knicks showing their true colors, feeling cold in 64F weather, or how sadly underrated The Great White Hype is, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Happy new year everyone! I hope 2013 is off to a great start for you guys and dolls. Hopefully all of us have great success and health in 2013. Now let’s talk about the most anticipated games of the year! I’m sure a lot of you are amped for Grand Theft Auto V, but interestingly enough there are five games that I’m even more excited for. I’ll go through my list in today’s column. When you’re done reading, kindly share your most wanted games of 2013. In the immortal words of Michael Wilbon, “Let’s do it.”
5) Tomb Raider: I’ve been excited for Lara Croft’s return since seeing Tomb Raider at E3 2011. The wait is almost over and I expect Lara’s origin story to be the best Tomb Raider adventure yet. The gameplay looks fresh, modern, and gripping. The graphics and sound seem first-rate. After being thoroughly trounced by the Uncharted series, Tomb Raider aims to reclaim the throne as gaming’s best adventure series in 2013. I’m really looking forward to seeing how Lara fares.
4) The Last of Us: I’ve always had great respect for Naughty Dog, but the Uncharted series left me wanting more. The graphics and gameplay were there, but I couldn’t get into the characters and story. The Last of Us already seems way more interesting to me in terms of narrative. A compelling story and fascinating characters combined with Naughty Dog’s phenomenal graphics and proven gameplay prowess should be a huge winner.
3) South Park: The Stick of Truth: It’s an old-school RPG with South Park graphics, humor, and voice acting. Of course I’m going to love this one! While THQ has had its share of exquisitely written games over the years, I have a feeling that this is going to be the best yet.
2) BioShock Infinite: This was another game that dazzled me at E3 2011. It looks gorgeous. The gameplay appears tight. And it just feels smarter than most videogames. It’s pretty much what I expect from Irrational. Those guys and gals are pretty awesome, and I expect another brilliant adventure in BioShock Infinite.
1) Dragon Age III: Most of you know that I’m a huge BioWare mark and I loved the first two Dragon Age games. I’m really, really looking forward to the latest adventure and seeing how everything ties together. In my head, I see an epic quest that wraps things up with the Hero of Ferelden and the Champion of Kirkwall, while mixing excellent new characters and memorable ones from the previous games. Even without seeing actual gameplay footage, I want this one badly.
Thankfully, I didn’t play many bad games in 2012. That’s one of the few benefits of being forgotten by PR people. That said, there was one game that I found tremendously disappointing. You see, I love George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books and I love the HBO show, Game of Thrones, that’s based on them. The former is one of the most entertaining series of fantasy novels I’ve read and the latter is one of the best television shows ever made. With all of that in mind, the Game of Thrones videogame was…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, X-Factor USA being won by a WGWG (white guy with guitar), if Steve Nash is truly a difference-maker for the Los Angeles Lakers, or Flipboard for Android tablets finally not sucking, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Thankfully, I didn’t play many bad games in 2012. That’s one of the few benefits of being forgotten by PR people. That said, there was one game that I found tremendously disappointing. You see, I love George RR Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire books and I love the HBO show, Game of Thrones, that’s based on them. The former is one of the most entertaining series of fantasy novels I’ve read and the latter is one of the best television shows ever made. With all of that in mind, the Game of Thrones videogame was a terrible letdown.
The game wasn’t on the level of Superman 64 or anything. It was less-than-mediocre rather than wretched. Aside from an interesting story, practically every aspect of the game was bad. The combat was boring and repetitive, the graphics were woefully outdated, the sound design was basic, and it just felt like a sluggish experience. Take away the story, familiar settings, familiar happenings, and familiar characters and you’d have a budget fantasy RPG that isn’t very good. From a pure gaming standpoint, it simply doesn’t stand on its own. Rumor has it that the game caused several fans of the books and TV show to “take the black.”
Now it’s your turn! What was your biggest gaming disappointment of the year?
I’ve always liked Deathstroke. He was always one of the most bad-ass villains in the DC Universe. He’s cold and calculating, but has a sense of honor (which you don’t find in mercenaries these days). From his numerous showdowns with the Teen Titans to his sheer awesomeness in Identity Crisis to the start of his latest book, I’ve been a fan. And then Rob Liefeld entered the picture…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, Tebowmania sputtering in New Jersey, hoping that Fifth Harmony wins X-Factor USA 2012, or getting excited for Anchorman 2’s December 2013 release, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
I’ve always liked Deathstroke. He was always one of the most bad-ass villains in the DC Universe. He’s cold and calculating, but has a sense of honor (which you don’t find in mercenaries these days). From his numerous showdowns with the Teen Titans to his sheer awesomeness in Identity Crisis to the start of his latest book, I’ve been a fan. And then Rob Liefeld entered the picture….
Even at the height of his popularity in the ’90s, I was never a Liefeld fan. His art — ridiculously large shoulders, squinty eyes, and pointy hair — just bugged me. When he took over Deathstroke in May 2012, his art still bugged me. He made Deathroke look like Cable with a different color palette. His renderings of Lobo and Zealot were even worse. That said, I was prepared for the art because he’s been drawing that way for decades. What I wasn’t prepared for was his mediocre writing. The early proving-myself-all-over-again issues of Deathstroke were replaced by wham-bam action. The thoughtful start was replaced with vapid mayhem. Liefeld’s issues of Deathstroke made me stop buying the book.
(To be fair, there are a lot of rumors about DC’s editors pissing off writers by not giving them creative freedom and often asking for last-minute rewrites. It’s entirely possible that Liefeld wrote some great stories that were mangled by the editors.)
The good news is that Liefeld has left DC. Hopefully Deathstroke will regain the mix of cerebral writing and visceral action that made the early issues so much fun. Looking back at my negative comic-book experiences of 2012, Rob Liefeld ruining Deathstroke for me tops the list.
Now it’s your turn! What were your least favorite comics of the year?
Surprisingly, I didn’t see any bad movies in 2012 — certainly not anything like 2011’s soul-sucking Green Lantern. I also made the wise choice not to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. That probably saved my head from exploding. All that said, there was one movie that really frustrated me. It had the potential to be something unique and great, but ended up a sloppy mess with moments of brilliance sandwiched by several moments of ambition-fueled haphazardness. I’m talking about…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, laughing as the Lakers struggle against the Bobcats, being more excited about Game of Thrones season than the new year, or Taylor Swift looking sexy in a Santa hat, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Surprisingly, I didn’t see any bad movies in 2012 — certainly not anything like 2011’s soul-sucking Green Lantern. I also made the wise choice not to see Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter. That probably saved my head from exploding. All that said, there was one movie that really frustrated me. It had the potential to be something unique and great, but ended up a sloppy mess with moments of brilliance sandwiched by several moments of ambition-fueled haphazardness. I’m talking about Cloud Atlas, of course.
While I enjoyed the individual storylines and performances in the movie, I didn’t like the overall structure. The book moves forward chronologically until the halfway point. From there it moves chronologically backwards. The movie skips all over the place, hopping back and forth at a dizzying rate, particularly in the beginning. The quick and abundant cuts sometimes made the movie difficult to follow and the characters difficult to connect with.
The book interweaves Cloud Atlas’ six tales neatly. The movie places the six tales in the hands of two separate directing teams. When you throw in the distinct directing styles with different time periods, the actors playing different characters in different storylines, and the aforementioned quick cuts, it was no surprise that the movie left many viewers bewildered. It also wasn’t a surprise that critics and fans that love boldness praised the movie.
I felt that the ingredients were all there and could have made for a tremendous movie, but it just didn’t come together. My disappointment with Cloud Atlas is similar to my fascination with Russell Brand — I think he has the potential to be amazingly great, but he hasn’t put it all together yet.
Okay. Time to change the record before I start getting sad. I want to hear about your crap movie experiences in 2012. Was was the worst movie you saw this year?
Now get ready to enter the bitter barn, as the rest of this week’s Coffee Talk columns will be about…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, getting review units of phones more than a month after the product has been released, Nonito Donaire’s 4-0 2012, or boxing’s return to network television, Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
Just in case you missed it, here are my — and more importantly, your fellow RPadholics’ — picks for the “Best of 2012.”
Now get ready to enter the bitter barn, as the rest of this week’s Coffee Talk columns will be about games, movies, TV shows, etc. that you didn’t like in 2012. Hopefully things will get nasty as you talk about your “Worst of 2012” experiences!
There were a lot of great console games I enjoyed in 2012. The PlayStation 3 had two of my favorites in Journey and The Unfinished Swan. As far as traditional console games go, I quite enjoyed Final Fantasy XIII-2. On the PC side, I had some fun with Diablo III. To my surprise, my favorite game of the year wasn’t for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or a handheld console. It was for the iPad. I’m talking about…more
Welcome to Coffee Talk! Let’s start off the day by discussing whatever is on your (nerd chic) mind. Every morning I’ll kick off a discussion and I’m counting on you to participate in it. If you’re not feelin’ my topic, feel free to start a chat with your fellow readers and see where it takes you. Whether you’re talking about videogames, wishing McKayla Maroney a belated happy birthday, the hapless Los Angeles Lakers, or Josh Hamilton signing with the Los Angeles Angeles of Anaheim (such a stupid team name), Coffee Talk is the place to do it.
There were a lot of great console games I enjoyed in 2012. The PlayStation 3 had two of my favorites in Journey and The Unfinished Swan. As far as traditional console games go, I quite enjoyed Final Fantasy XIII-2. On the PC side, I had some fun with Diablo III. To my surprise, my favorite game of the year wasn’t for PC, PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, or a handheld console. It was for the iPad. I’m talking about Final Fantasy Dimensions.
I loved almost everything about Final Fantasy Dimensions. In many ways, it’s the spiritual successor to Final Fantasy V. It’s an old-school JRPG that’s centered around the awesome FF job system, which I’m a total mark for. The graphics aren’t impressive, but they’re certainly nostalgic. The soundtrack is highly enjoyable. The writing is fun. Between the job system and “fusion abilities,” the gameplay is very deep. As a fan of old-school JRPGs, Dimensions has it all.
The only thing I didn’t like about the game is that the random battles could be a bit much, but that didn’t stop me from spending more than 70 hours playing the game. It was a delightful experience that reminded me of everything I love about classic JRPGs.
Now it’s your turn! What was your favorite game of the year?
