Geekly Roundup for May 10th - Superheroic Mother's Day Edition!

This week on Geekly Roundup, Mark, Jon and Mike discuss 3D printed D&D Monsters, which turns into a discussion about why Fantasy doesn't seem to be able to break through to the mainstream. Then they discuss a hacker getting banned in Guild Wars 2, which turns into a discussion on continuing to consume media you hate, and why we do that. THEN they discuss Agent Carter's return, which turns into a discussion on the availability of TV, piracy, and binge-watching vs experiencing TV week by week! It's a world of fascinating tangents this week!

Star Wars Celebration Day Three:

Saturday of Star Wars Celebration was an incredible experience, but it was also the most crowded - while days Zero, One and Two  felt a little smaller and more intimate, Day Three was the full-on Comic-con experience. Lines were doubled in length, crowds were everywhere...and it was maybe the most fun we've had at the con all week. Check out our X-wing Experience, the newest news on Clone Wars, and panels with James Arnold Taylor and Mark Hamill!

Second trailer for The Force Awakens is INCREDIBLE

Today is a great day. Everything is wonderful, the sun on shining, birds are singing, and I didn't get any sleep last night because I was laying on concrete for thirteen hours, waiting for the chance to see the Star Wars Celebration Opening Ceremonies. A full report on that in a few minutes, but for now, a present for you all.

This is the second, incredible trailer for the Force Awakens. It had me bawling from happiness by the end of the first thirty seconds. Do NOT miss it - hit the jump to see why.

iZombie episode 2 Recap: "Brother, Can You Spare A Brain?"

Last week's episode brought the funny and a little bit of ass-kicking. This week's episode worked, but was not as exciting and a little too much of Captain Obvious for me. An artist dies, and the cop figures out who did it right away. Buuuut they have to follow due process anyway and investigate. Along the way, Liv comes face-to-face with her nightmare vision from last week's episode, and she also goes somewhere she shouldn't have - and, of course, it ended in tears.

There is one thing that bugs me - the voice-over narratives. In last week's episode, it seemed like half the story line was recited in a narrative. This week, there isn't as much of it, but it's still annoying as hell. It doesn't do anything really to tie anything together; it just seems to serve as a segue point or unnecessary epilogue. It's not very useful otherwise. The information divulged in the voice-overs are easily deduced from the scenes preceding, under, or just after it. I hope that it is going away, and not becoming a regular thing.

There are also some things that I am really, really liking a lot. The Chief Medical Examiner Ravi Chakrabarti seems to take extreme pleasure in the fact that there are actual zombies in existence. Rahul Kohli brings a great sense of morbid humor and joy to the role. I wish that he had a bigger part. I also enjoy the dialogue a lot! It's a bit too much in some spots, but can be very witty and appropriate in others.

There does also appear to be a secondary story developing fairly quickly. There really isn't a whole lot of time being spent yet on the characters' back-stories yet. Last week, it was pretty much "Here's our zombie girl. This is how she got that way. And here's the good cop, here's the bad cop who also happens to be the bad guy, and here's the zombie girl's NPC's. Have at it." This week, it's "Here's the crime victim, here are the potential suspects, and here's the jerkwad from from episode 1 building his own story. Let's see what happens."

So... shall we? Hit the jump for the recap, and let us know what you think in the comments!

Tomorrowland Trailer 2!

A tiny, tiny bit of the veil has been raised, and we finally know a little bit more about Disney and Brad Bird's Tomorrowland. In this second trailer, see some crazy new effects, more of the story of why Britt Robertson's character is hunting for the mysterious city, and perhaps most shocking of all, Hugh Laurie without stubble. It's been so long, I thought I was watching Black Adder again. Check out the new trailer for Tomorrowland after the jump.

Was It Really That Bad?: Amazing Spider-Man 2

Hello there. Been a while. Did you miss me? No? Well tough shit, I'm back with another riveting look at a movie that may or may not be complete and total garbage. You got a problem with that, you yell at the editors! In fact, yell at the editors anyway, I love giving them a hard time!

If you've been living under a rock for the past few months (and if you have, Leonard Nimoy died... grieve with us) then let me tell you that Spider-Man is about to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the first time in a land mark deal between rival movie studios. Something that I never thought would happen, proving that, yes, even I can be wrong once and a while. With the Web Head's inclusion into the MCU, we will be getting a brand new actor to play Spidey and a new movie set in the MCU continuity. It was a little shocking to me that Sony/Marvel/Disney would be moving on from Andrew Garfield and Marc Webb so soon, but it's not a secret that the Amazing Spider-Man movies weren't well loved by fans and critics despite the fact that they made loads of money. So I wanted to go back, as I do, to see if that treatment was warranted or not.

I decided to skip Amazing Spider-Man 1. Not because I think the movie is so crappy that I couldn't bring myself to sit through it. If I can sit through Spider-Man 3, I can sit through anything. I just feel that ASM1 was really not given the tools to succeed, having to retell an origin story that was extremely fresh in our minds already. I actually think its a pretty decent Spider-Man movie, but that's neither here nor there. I decided to go right to The Amazing Spider-Man 2 because wow, Internet, you really hated this movie. Seeing how this was the end of the stand alone, Sony Spider-Verse, I thought I'd take a look at it directly.

So, was The Amazing-Spider Man 2 really that bad? Well, it's far from a perfect movie, but the answer is a resounding NO. Let's take a look at three of the main points that people usually hate on with this movie, and how they hold up to the actual film in question.

"Electro is the WORST Villain EVER."

Ok, I can't really argue with you on this one. "But wait!" you must be saying "Isn't this the part where you call us all idiots and then tell us why?" and usually you'd be right, but Max Dillion's story "arc" in ASM2 is really, really weak and I think they very much wasted a terrific actor like Jamie Fox in the role. He's also not really the villain. The real villain of ASM2? Peter Parker.

Go back and read the comics. All of them. I'll wait. What's that? There's thousands? Alright, fine, but if you read the best Spider-Man stories you'll notice that Peter Parker is often his own worst enemy, and that's what they are going for in ASM2. His guilt over the death of of Gwen's father and subsequently breaking the man's dying wish causes him to ruin his relationship with Gwen, which is probably the best thing he's got going for him. His obsession with the disappearance of his parents causes his Aunt May pain. He's so self absorbed in his own situation that he can't see that his "best buddy" Harry is in deep physical and emotional pain and does very little to help him through it.

Electro is just an obstacle thrown in to further muck things up for Peter. He's Spider-Man's villain, not Peter's and this movie, as with ASM1, is a story about Peter. Could they, and should they, have done more with Electro? Yes, absolutely. Webb and Co could have done a lot to make Max Dillion's story a little more compelling, but the movie was never about him even a little bit.

"Gwen Stacy was the Best Part of the Movie! Why did she DIE?!"

When I was researching internet gripes about ASM2, I was really surprised that this kept coming up because, well... SPOILER ALERT GWEN STACY DIES. It's one of the most important things that's happened to Peter Parker, right up there with Uncle Ben dying and getting bit by the freaking spider in the first place! Her inclusion into this planned trilogy was all a giant setup for her death, did none of you see this coming? Really?

Look, I love Emma Stone as much as the next person, and not simply because I find her highly attractive. She seems like a down to earth human being and she is an exceptionally talented and charismatic actress. Not that she had to do much acting in this movie because she's actually stupid in love with Andrew Garfield, but that's not the point!

I was on the edge of my seat when her death scene was taking place. I knew it was coming, and I was still hoping that Spidey would some how save her and spit in comic book continuity's face. But it didn't happen, and I was incredibly sad. It was a brilliant performance from Andrew Garfield. It's sad that we will not be seeing more fallout from this event in the MCU or maybe the new Peter Parker (if that's who we get) will exist post Gwen dying.

"Lot's and Lot's of Little Bullshit! "

This is the first article I've written where I've gone back to watch the movie, and didn't really understand all the hate. I mean, people rank this up there on the crap level and I've even heard some people call it worse than Spider-Man 3... which it's not, trust me. Yeah, that's right, I've linked to that article twice, Spider-Man 3 sucked and it needs to be known!

But I couldn't really get a consensus on why people thought ASM2 sucked so bad. Again, this is hardly a perfect movie (the "villains" are a major problem) and I understand that everyone has their own taste, but you've all made up some pretty silly reasons not to like this movie.

A common complaint was that the new Spider-Man costume was almost identical to the first trilogy. Well, Spider-Man has had a lot of different uniforms over the years, but nothing as iconic as his red and blue duds. On top of that, you all hated the suit from the first movie because it wasn't ENOUGH like the original Spider suit! I mean, can't a guy catch a break?

You also all complained that there were too many "villains" (I'm going to keep putting that word it quotes, get used to it.) There really wasn't. Yeah, Rhino made an appearance (sorry Paul Giamatti, it looked like you had a lot of fun though) but just in glorified cameos. Electro was center stage, and then Harry Osbourne becomes the Green Goblin at the very very end of the movie. So no, there were not too many "villains."

Your only legitimate complaint is the side plot about Peter's parents... It's poorly conceived and just plain dull and doesn't really have any sort of lasting impact on the character.

Going back, I really enjoyed this movie. Andrew Garfield has amazing chemistry with everyone on set, Sally Field is a great Aunt May and I'm going to miss her. The action is some of the best Spider-Man action I've ever seen, the score gives me goosebumps and, unlike the Raimi movie's, this captures Spider-Man's other super power: insulting his foe until they get so pissed off they make a mistake. I mean, this movie has one of the best Spider-Man one liners ever.

Electro: I will be like a God to them.
Spider-Man: A god named Sparkles??

So there you have it folks. I come back from a long hibernation to give you a movie that, in my not so humble opinion, that doesn't completely suck. Are you surprised? I sure am.

Kyle Johannessen is an Independent Film Maker in the Boston area and has no need for Bios, as he is a man of mystery and unbridled laziness.

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Fight. Lose. Repeat. Rope a Dope 2

Take the Bill Murray classic Groundhog Day, add a generous helping of 1980s Hong Kong martial arts action comedy, top it off with a dash of California Bay Area flavor, and you’ll get Rope-A-Dope. I was lucky enough to work on this short two years ago, after which is won a plethora of awards in the indie film circuit, including the Audience Choice Award at Sundial 2014 and the Kickass Original Film Award from the LA Indie Film Festival 2013.

Well, the gang is back in town with the sequel, Rope-A-Dope 2: The Return of the Martial Arts Mafia! With help from all our awesome friends at The Stunt People, We Are Scandinavia, and plenty of others, we are proud to finally release the latest entry in the Stunt People’s long history of awesome martial arts action. The fights are bigger, the laughs are louder, and my hair is greasier than ever before! I can assure you that Eric and Dennis pulled out all the stops for this one, and it is hands down one going to be the best fight you've seen this year. Watch it. Love it. Share it. Repeat. This is what American action cinema could be.

Thomas Tan is a martial artist and 3D artist who enjoys brushing his hair and getting kicked in the face.

The Second Age of Ultron Trailer Takes Things from Bad to Worse

Tonight, during the NCAA College Football National Championship Game (What?) Marvel unveiled the second trailer for Avengers: Age of Ultron. And like we all expected, the Avengers are going to be torn apart, from the inside. Check out the trailer after the jump, and let us know what knew secrets you noticed in the comments!

The Stars of the Raid 2 Join The Force Awakens!

Well, looks like J.J. Abrams and Co. have more secrets to reveal about The Force Awakens. Today, the big news was that three of the stars of Indonesia's The Raid 2 have joined the cast of the next Star Wars film - or rather, have been working on it for some time. Deadline reports that Iko Uwais, Yayan Ruhian (above), and Cecep Arif Rahman will have roles in the film.

Those of you who haven't seen The Force Awakens may not realize why this is exciting news, but this means that three of the top, innovative stunt fighters in the world will have a part in the film. I doubt Lucasfilm brought them in to do ballroom dancing, and we can't wait to see what they can do with lightsabers. Hit the jump for an example of what you might expect from these three this December.

Here's a good example of why you should be excited:

Dragon Age Inquisition is a Beautiful Piece of Crap

Well hello there, Ace of Geeks readers! I've been away for a while but it feels great to be back with another unpopular opinion! Didn't ya miss me?  Now, just to be clear here, the Ace of Geeks has already reviewed Dragon Age: Inquisition. But I had such a vastly different experience that I begged my editor in chief to let my opinion be known.

When I completed the story missions in Dragon Age: Inquisition with my level 21 Rogue, I couldn't help but just stare at the screen. I had spent more hours than I'd like to admit roaming the world of Thedas, slaying demons and faux French soldiers (wondering why there are more French accents in a Dragon Age game than Assassins Creed Unity, which takes place in France, but that's a story for another time), and of course, hunting Dragons. I'd be lying to you if I said I didn't got lost in this world, trying to find every piece of Elfroot and Bloodstone I could find, saying to myself "just one more quest" for hours and grinding my way up the levels so I could fight that dragon who kicked my ass the night before. And I was enjoying myself, immensely, while doing it.

Still, it was during the last third of my play through that I slowly started to realize what was happening. I was playing an extraordinarily bad game. Despite all the improvements from Dragon Age II, the shiny "Next Gen" graphics (which I will get to in a moment) and addicting game play, its a hollow shell of a game from a developer that used to give us deep and engrossing worlds and stories and characters. BioWare has lost it's way and I hope they can right the ship before Mass Effect 4 comes out.

So what, exactly, are my problems with this horribly overrated game? Let me tell you.

AVENGERS: AGE OF ULTRON TRAILER LEAKS!

It's here! And it looks amazing! Watch it before it's gone!

Four Elemental Reasons why you should be watching Avatar: the Legend of Korra

     The Legend of Korra is not a very controversial show, at least among Avatar fans. It is neither disappointing to these fans as a departure from Avatar: The Last Airbender, nor so well received that it experiences the evangelical zeal the first series inspired. But what it is is solid. The show is a solid sequel, a solid kid's show, just solid television in general. Few people think Legend of Korra as better than The Last Airbender, and I typically think of these two shows as different expressions of the same narrative, with their unique strengths and weaknesses. While I cannot barely scratch the details that should be considered to rate one of these shows above the other, I did just see the newest episode of LoK and I have good news for anyone whose attention is straying. If you have not yet seen this new episode, or are a season or two behind, keep watching. Here is why.....

Arrow, or The Breakdown of a "Gritty Reboot." By Mike Fatum

Here's a well known secret for you: I hate "gritty reboots." For the last few decades it seems, everyone wants to take well known characters and strip away everything about them except the name, churning out the same group of chiseled jawed broody heroes for every story. For some characters, it works fantastic - thank god they did a gritty reboot twenty years ago on poor Batman. But a lot of characters thrive in the sun, and a little bit of cheese, and taking them to the stark color palate and constant window-gazing of your typical gritty reboot, and they fade into absolute boredom.

Whoa, how did this picture get here?