This Week in Futurama - 8/26/10

...or more like Last Week in Futurama since I some how forgot about this for an entire week whilst writing three long reviews and getting ready to move back into New York City this weekend, so, here goes:

Episode 11 - "Lrrreconcilable Ndndifferences"

This episode is kind of weird, because instead following one of the more 'important' characters from the Planet Express crew, the episode follows Lrrr, leader of the planet Omicron Persei 8, who has been kicked out of his home by his wife Ndnd and flees to Earth where he lands at ... Comic-Con, where he soon thinks to crash at Planet Express, whose crew went to the 'con to help Fry's comic book future.

Story-wise, the episode isn't exactly all there and is kind of moronic, but writing-wise the episode is pretty hilarious. There's tons of science-fiction and comic book references thanks to the whole Comic-Con setting, and it's great fun to kind of look around and try and spot all the subtle and well... extremely obvious references. There's a very self aware moment with Matt Groening and David X. Cohen are showing off their latest series that takes place in the year 4,000: Futurella, and it gets canceled in the midst of their panel, where Bender soon asks about a 2nd Simpsons Movie and gets shot. There's a whole convoluted plan using Orson Wells to get Lrrr and Ndnd back together and all and all the episode was definitely one of the funnier ones of the season, even if the story wasn't exactly all there.

Overall Score: 8/10

SDCC 09: Marvel Anime

Yes, you read that right, as announced at San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel and Mad House have teamed together for two anime productions, Iron Man and Wolverine. While the details from ToonZone are sparse (I'd tel you more myself if I was actually at the convention), but they do have this poster:

And if posters of a decent looking Iron Man and insanely effeminate Wolverine don't do it for you, then thankfully there's teaser trailers for both the rad looking Iron Man and the kind of lame looking Wolverine online (click the links).

I know, I favor DC over Marvel a lot of the time... but from looks of these right now, Batman: Gotham Knight looks like the more successful translation of 'American superhero to anime' than these two Marvel projects look to be. Only time will tell I suppose... but seriously, the hate is just going towards that awful Wolverine character design, the Iron Man trailer was pretty awesome.

via ToonZone

SDCC 09: Jonah Hex poster

The Dark Knight may have been DC Comics' big film focus of 2008, and the success of that film arguably is what brought a lot of hype to Watchmen this year. So what's next for DC Comics' theatrical films? Other than the currently in pre-production Green Lantern, there's been one movie filming that you may not have heard about: Jonah Hex.

Let's ignore Megan Fox's rediculously tight corset for a moment and take a look the starring character, Jonah Hex, played by Josh Brolin. Being familiar with the character, I think it's nice to see his trademark facial scars are still in-tact, including that gross piece of flesh that comes in front of his mouth... Otherwise, this poster doesn't really tell me much, as it clearly looks like Warner Bros. placed Megan Fox there to catch people's attention.

Sadly, at least from the poster, I'm getting the same bad vibe I did from Marvel's Ghost Rider film. In that they're taking a reasonably obscure character from the comic universe, but instead of developing the lead character, they put the focus on an attractive woman that otherwise is unneeded in the film; and thus the film is a poor adaptation because you lose what make's the comic so unique. But it's just a poster, and I'm sure there will be more to judge sooner or later. Let's hope this isn't another Catwoman... I know Marvel has a lot of films on the way DC, but seriously, quantity isn't quality.

SDCC 09: TRON: Legacy

Some news from this year's San Diego Comic-Con, not that any of us are there, but none less I got some press stuff from Walt Disney Pictures tonight, and two pictures sparked some interest so I thought I'd share.

TRON: Legacy promotional image


Disney 3D panel with TRON: Legacy footage behind them.

Okay, so it's just two things, and they're both TRON related... But I'm eagerly excited to see some real footage of this project soon. Not to mention, I'm happier they went with a name like TRON: Legacy instead of TR2N or TRON 2.0 (which was already used on video games). It's only a matter of time before the Comic-Con footage comes online, and I just hope I get some HD files instead of relying on people's blurry camera videos.

TRON: Legacy is set for a 2010 release, in digital 3D, with a soundtrack scored by Daft Punk. So yes, this a serious project for Disney, despite the goofy "legacy" the original 1982 film has left on the pop-culture world. Needless to say, I'm excited!

Disney - Pixar's Up

Usually Disney and Pixar have the teaser trailer for their next project prior to the showing of their latest film. That wasnt the case this time, as they decided to wait for San Diego Comic-Con to reveal the teaser for their next project UP, starring Ed Asner, which is set for May 29, 2009.You can check out the teaser and registere for updates here:

UP: The Official Website

Sure, it may not be the same ideals and style as what WALL-E was, but I'm sure Pixar knows what they're up to ... ugh, why do I set myself up for these puns...

SDCC - Batman: The Brave and the Bold

First footage of the Cartoon Network Studios' Batman cartoon, Batman: Brave and the Bold. The series takes a slightly campier Batman than seen in recent media, and has him fighting along side heroes like Blue Beetle, Green Arrow, and Plastic Man. The shows looks a bit better than I expected it to be, but this is just a trailer; we'll have to wait till the November 14th premiere to make a real judgment.


Check out the high-res version at VFHvideo.

SDCC - Goodbye Foster's

Some pretty bumming news from the Foster's Home for Imaginary Friends panel at the San Diego Comic-Con. ToonZone reports that the series will be ending next year, in it's sixth and final season. There will be a 3 part movie called "Destination Imagination" and 5 final episodes ending it "Goodbye to Bloo".

I'll say I'm pretty sad to see the show ending so soon, but even my favorite, Camp Lazlo ended just a couple months ago; and both premiered around the same time. But I think Cartoon Network themselves is to blame, lately they've been showing almost no original programming. Instead they've been outsourcing from Canada's Teletoon to give us awful shows like Johny Test, Skunk Fu!, George of the Jungle, and Total Drama Island; all of which clog the schedule, leaving no room for original programming. In fact the only original shows airing currently are Chowder, The Misadventure's of Flapjack, Ben 10: Alien Force, and Transformers Animated, all of which only have a handful of episodes to constantly re-air.

via ToonZone