Kevin Costner Drops Out of Django Unchained

Way to go, Kevin Costner.  I may have been wary of your villain-playing ability at first, but I was starting to actually look forward to seeing you as a sadistic slave trainer in Django Unchained.  I thought you could pull it off.  I believed in you.  And what do you do?  You drop out of the movie.  I’m ashamed.

Professor Layton VS Phoenix Wright: New Screenshots and Will it be Released Somewhere Other Than Japan?

This game is the reason why I bought my 3DS in the first place! (Okay, well, maybe not the whole reason, but one of the biggest.) I love all the Phoenix Wright games for DS. I’ve played all of them, including Apollo Justice, and Investigations. I don’t own any of them, sadly, but I guarantee that I will own this game. (I do own Professor Layton and the Curious Village, by the way. It’s the only game in the series I have played, but I would love to play the others as well sometime.) The game takes place in Labyrinth City. Phoenix Wright decides to defend one of the many witches on trial there. Just released, along with screen shots, is the name of the girl on trial: Mahoney, and the prosecutor: Jeeken. (Who has some damn epic armor.) Somehow the two characters (Layton and Wright) meet in the city, but Layton’s role we don’t actually know specifically yet.

Unfortunately, a US release hasn’t actually been confirmed yet. But, I’m not going to let that stop me! That might mean buying a Japanese 3DS, but if this game is as awesome as it looks, admit it, it’s totally worth it! At least, we can all drool over the new screenshots that were just released a couple days ago while we wait for them to confirm said release!   

Why the 3DS Slide Pad Will Actually Be Great

Horrible.

Ask anyone who bought a Nintendo 3DS launch day about its launch, and they’ll give you a list of complaints. The battery life is terrible, the 3D sweet-spot is tiny, there are no games for it, it was overpriced, the eShop took over two months to be up, there are still NO GAMES, etc. In Nintendo’s attempt to get the 3DS out before the end of their fiscal year, they basically screwed everyone over with the 3DS’s launch.

Equally Horrible?

Another prime example that Nintendo botched the 3DS’s launch is that dreaded second analog stick attachment, the Slide Pad. When it was first announced alongside Monster Hunter 3G, a lot of Nintendo fans freaked out, me included. Here was another accessory that 3DS early adopters would have to get for their 3DS to make it what it should have been at launch. And besides, the thing looked gigantic and hideous, uncomfortable, and it seemed to warn that Nintendo would release a revised 3DS even sooner than expected. However, as more news came out about it, I started to see the Slider Pad not as a failure, but as something that will bring nothing but good to the system. Here are five reasons why:

Django Unchained Casting News

  

In case you’ve been meditating in the Himalayas or something and haven’t heard, Quentin Tarantino is working on a film, a spaghetti Western by the name of Django Unchained.  If you haven’t heard of the original Django, it’s a 1966 spaghetti Western about a badass cowboy named Django who drags a coffin around everywhere.  It’s awesome.  Watch the trailer. Actually, watch the whole goddamn thing.  Anyway, there are only two official Django movies, but there have been tons of unofficial sequels. Now, from what we know so far, Django Unchained doesn’t seem like it will be a sequel to the original so much as it will an homage.  Shadow and Act has reported that the Django in Tarantino’s film will be a freed slave in the Deep South who receives training in the subtle art of ass-kicking from a German bounty hunter, and then decides to use this training to save his wife from an evil plantation owner. Basically, this movie is going to be to slavery-era America what Inglourious Basterds was to World War II.

At this point, Tarantino has already completed the script (which is sure to be awesome), and casting has begun.  So who’s been cast?

Top 50 Avatar: The Last Airbender Characters (Part 1, 50-31)

Us here at ForkThisLlama will die believing that Avatar: The Last Airbender is one of the best shows of all time. Each of us were introduced to it at different times but all of us became obsessed. Have you ever known anyone who disliked Avatar? We did't think so. (Because we killed them.) A major contributing factor to this love of the show are its fabulously amazing characters. It's crazy how many memorable characters there are, and how developed some are too. Especially since this is technically a childrens' show. 

And so, without further ado, we present to you this super-sexy top fifty characters of Avatar: The Last Airbender. The criteria for this wasn't the funniest, most memorable, or even our favorite characters. But because of what they contribute to the series. (which still encompasses how funny/memorable/deep they are).  The quotes below the pictures are ones we thought summed up the character, or were one of are favorite. And now, number 50!

[This is the first of four parts, with characters 50-31.]

The Dark Knight Rises: Marion Cotillard Isn't Playing Talia al Ghul?

Ever since her casting was announced, it’s been thought that Marion Cotillard will be playing Talia al Ghul in The Dark Knight Rises.  After all, it makes sense.  Ra’s al Ghul played a large role in Batman Begins, and to have his daughter show up in the final film of the Batman trilogy would be a nice way of wrapping things up.  Of course, Cotillard’s character was officially described as “a Wayne Enterprises board member eager to help a still-grieving Bruce Wayne resume his father’s philanthropic endeavors for Gotham” by the name of Miranda Tate, but everyone just kind of assumed that this was just a cover for Talia.  Cotillard also referred to her role as “a secret”, which we all took to mean “I’m playing Talia al Ghul, bitches!”  It also didn’t help that Cotillard was photographed on set wearing this vaguely exotic ensemble.  Now, in a recent interview, Cotillard has spoken out about her role.  Sort of.

The Dark Knight Rises: Juno Temple Talks About Her Role

When Juno Temple was cast in The Dark Knight Rises some time ago, the word was that she would be playing “a street-smart Gotham girl”.  Not all that much to go on, but it was enough to start up some fan theories.  All kinds of ideas were tossed around – Batgirl, a female Robin, Harley Quinn – but the most popular (and plausible) theory by far was that Temple would be playing Holly Robinson, Catwoman’s teenage prostitute gal-pal. Now, a new interview with Miss Temple has been released, and it seems to point towards the Holly Robinson theory being correct.  

3DS Ambassador Games Impressions - Super Balloon Wrecking Bros.

Mario, Zelda, Metroid and more on your 3DS. Now you're playing with power!

Only July 28th, Nintendo made a pretty bold move. In hopes of spiking 3DS sales, Nintendo announced a $80 price cut for the 3DS, a huge amount for so soon in its lifespan. To stop fans who bought the 3DS at full price from raging, Nintendo offered what they called "3DS Ambassadors" (people who bought a 3DS before the price drop), 20 free games to download. Ten would be GBA titles, and ten NES titles. The first batch of titles released a few days ago, the 10 NES games. And there are some pretty cool games, both famous and under-the-radar for 3DS Ambassadors to check out...

A Very Potter Threequel Looks Promising For Near Future!

SPOILERS IF YOU HAVEN’T WATCHED THEM YET! (If you haven’t, then what are you doing reading this post? WATCH!)

Apparently, Joey Ritcher (who plays Ron Weasley) told fans that they had a great script in the works for the third installment to the original A Very Potter Musical. It didn’t take long for both that and its follow-up,A Very Potter Sequel, to become popular. Once Darren Criss (the series’ star Harry Potter) said he was going to reunite with the Starkid cast for the musical between Glee and How to Succeed the news spread fast. No other news has come out since, but the future looks very promising!

Ron, Harry, and Hermione in A Very Potter Musical

While we wait and anticipate the new installment, let’s reminisce about some great moments from the past two musicals!

The Last Airbender: Legend of Korra Updates - 2013 Release?!?! Read these old Korra posts to pass the time

Well, shit.

Korra 2012: Now coming 2013

When The Last Airbender: The Legend of Korra series was first announced, the 2012 release date seemed like it would never come. Now that we're finally near 2012, the cruel folks at Nickelodeon have now pushed Korra back... to 2013. Obviously, a lot of fans (including me) were really disappointed at this. Could this just be a typo? While it is still not officially confirmed, it seems more and more likely that the new release date is 2013, as two sources have now reported on it.

So let's take this as a rumor right now. Hopefully, it will turn out to be false.

KorraNation

But no matter when The Legend of Korra will come out, ForkThisLlama will be covering it. Before the fine days of ForkThisLlama, I had made my own blog dedicated only to Korra related news. There's a fair number of articles still there that may be worth reading, depending on how caught up you are to Korra. The URL for the old blog is:

http://korranation.blogspot.com/

Some articles you might consider reading to pass the time until more news gets released are:

First Teaser Trailer for The Hunger Games Movie via VMAs - How is it? (Plus Director Commentary!)

 EDIT: Oh. Spoiler alert. If you haven't read The Hunger Games already, what are you waiting for! READ!!!

The first official trailer for the new Hunger Games movie adaption was released during the VMAs yesterday. While it doesn't show too much (it is a teaser trailer), it's the first time we've seen footage of the movie. So, how was it?

Monster Tale (DS) Review – Metroid + Tamigachi = ?

Monster Tale In-Depth Review

Monster Tale is the second DS game from developer Dreamrift, and like their previous title, Henry Hatsworth in The Puzzling Adventure, it combines two different genres into one experience. As the box art declares, there’s “Action Adventure on Top Screen. Deep Pet Raising Sim on Bottom Screen.” And while only one of these sentences is really accurate, this is still a great game for even mildly interested DS players. This sidescrolling game is filled with exciting combat, great graphics and well, a crapton of monsters. Read on for the full review.

Ace Attorney Movie News: Cast, Set Photos, and More

It’s official – a live-action Gyakuten Saiban (that is, Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney) movie is in the works.  Really.

Rumors about an Ace Attorney movie started about a week ago, when director Takashi Miike spoke of his next film in an interview for The Huffington Post, saying:

"It is a very light comedy that I am filming now, a court drama, based on a video game, the Nintendo game DS."

Aaand of course the fans (myself included) went wild, because, you know, there are only so many Nintendo DS games involving court cases.  Shortly after Takashi Miike’s interview, the film was officially announced, much to my excitement.

So… who’s gonna be in it?  Where are they filming?  What’s the story?  We’ve got answers.  Sort of.

Ace Attorney Updates: Gyakuten Kenji 2, Professor Layton vs Phoenix Wright, and Gyakuten Saiban 5

The Ace Attorney series of DS games is one of my absolute favorites.  Great storylines, gameplay that actually requires you to think (shocking!), memorable characters, healthy doses of humor – they’ve got it all.  Needless to say, I’m more than a little displeased with the current situation of the latest game (i.e., its lack of a US release – more on that in a bit).  After all, the most recent game in the series to receive a US release was Ace Attorney Investigations: Miles Edgeworth, and that was over a year ago.  I’m growing quite impatient. 

Anyway, after doing a bit of research, I found that there actually quite a few Ace Attorney-related projects in various stages of development.  Here’s the rundown:

Candy Land Movie = Lord of the Rings + Candy?

Awhile back, it was brought to my attention that a Candy Land movie is being made.  Now, I was already aware of the Battleship movie currently in the works (which I am not at all happy about), but this was still pretty shocking news for me.  I mean, what could possibly be done to make Candy Land into a movie?  It’s a board game.  About candy.  Enough said.  Still, after giving the idea some time to sink in, I calmed down.  After all, I thought, it’ll just be a harmless little movie aimed at small children.  Sure, it’ll probably suck, but who cares?  It’s not like they expect us to take it seriously or anything, right? 

Wrong. 

A few days ago, EW released a statement from Candy Land screenwriters Jonathan Aibel and Glenn Berger which read:

“We envision it as Lord of the Rings, but set in a world of candy.”

Lord of the Rings.  With candy.  Damn these people.  Damn them all to hell.

Anyway, I couldn’t really visualize what Lord of the Rings in a world of candy would look like, so I decided use my incredible Photoshop skills to create some pictures to help me out.  The results are not at all encouraging.

Three Tough Girls Making Their Way From Book to Screen

Whenever I read a book and find out they’re making it into a movie, at first, I’m pretty excited. Once I let the idea digest a bit, I realize how terrified I actually am of the results. The movie industry just doesn’t seem to know what it’s doing when it comes to these types of movies. If they put in everything it would be way too long, I get that. Sometimes certain things don’t transfer so well to the big screen, I get that. But that doesn’t give them any right to totally butcher the excellent storyline and characters.

Now Eragon, it is probably one of the worst movies I have ever seen, even excluding my reader’s point of view all together. Honestly, who can feel okay about a movie that cuts the complete middle half out of a great book in exchange for some CG action sequences? I’m certainly not. Someone needs to shove a book in one of the industries faces. It might do them some good. With The Hunger Games, The Help, and One for the Money (The first in the Stephanie Plum series) movies coming out soon, they better shape up or I’m going to continue to feel sourly disappointed towards the industry when it comes to these kinds of movies.

Born This Way [Special Edition] Mega Review – Ranking All 17 Songs

It’s finally out. After waiting a year and a half (though it felt much longer) for Lady Gaga’s new album, it’s released to the masses. Can you believe this is only her second full album? In that short time, Gaga’s music style has changed pretty substantially, especially for a pop artist. But does Born This Way present a step forward or backward for the newest queen of pop? The answer to that is in this “Mega Review.” First I’ll rank all seventeen songs in order from worst to greatest, giving a track-by-track review of each song, and a rating out of ten. Choosing the order to place the songs was far from easy, but no we have this shiny list! After going through each song there’ll be a more general look at the album. And when my actual physical copy of the CD comes, (damn you Super Saver Shipping!!) I’ll add a bit about the package. Enough intro chat. Let’s start the list.

The Dark Knight Rises Cast Gains a Judge and a Priest

More casting news (again) for The Dark Knight Rises!  Two new actors have been cast, one playing a judge and the other a priest. 

The Dark Knight Rises Gets Three New Cast Members

More news on The Dark Knight Rises – the updates just won’t stop!  As it turns out, casting is not yet complete, despite the fact that filming has already begun.  Specifically, news of three new cast members has just surfaced, though their roles haven’t yet been revealed, once again leaving us fans to speculation.

Top Most Anticipated E3 2011 Nintendo Rumors

It’s coming to be that time of year again. No, not summer vacation, but something much nerdier, and just as exciting. E3. 2011. Each year, all three companies pull out all the stops to make crazy new announcements, get famous stars to present, and sometimes, bribe the journalists.

With a little less than two months before this year’s E3, excitement and speculation is building. And with that speculation comes the rumors. There seems to be a lot more leaks from Nintendo than usual this year, though we’re still unsure about much of what Nintendo will be announcing. However, that doesn’t stop us from blowing these rumors out of proportion to please our fanboy dreams, which is exactly what me (Luke) and SparkChaos will be doing in this article. We’ve sifted through the rumors and predictions and picked out the top five that we want to be true. While the choices have nothing to do with likelihood of it being true, we’ve added a rating out of five for all you number-nuts on how likely we think the rumor actually is. First up isn’t a game, but could make the 3DS a hot item.

The Dark Knight Rises: First Official Image of Tom Hardy as Bane

A quick update, but an exciting one: the first official image of Tom Hardy as Bane has been released!  So, what exactly will Bane look like in The Dark Knight Rises? 

Bane as seen in DC Comics.  In case you hadn't noticed, he likes breaking peoples' backs.

The Dark Knight Rises: New Set Photos, Plot Rumors, and Cast Member

More The Dark Knight Rises news, everyone – and this time it’s a bit more substantial.  First, we’ve got some more bright and shiny new photos that have been leaked from the shooting in India, and a supposed eyewitness report of the actual shooting to go with them.  Even more interesting, however, is the news of an unexpected new cast member. 

The Dark Knight Rises: Marion Cotillard Interview and Set Photos

Two new snippets of news about The Dark Knight Rises just came out, and I must say, things are really starting to point towards the Talia al Ghul rumors being true.  What we’ve got here is an interview with Marion Cotillard and some leaked set photos, both of which are actually quite revealing (especially when coupled with the news of the India shoot, and Josh Pence playing a young version of Ra’s al Ghul).

Talia al Ghul will fuck your shit up.

Llama List: The Top Ten Opening Title Sequences

When you watch a movie, do you pay attention to the opening titles?  If you do, then you know I’m right in saying that they can be really awesome.  If you don’t, then you should probably start.  While at times opening titles can seem somewhat tedious and unnecessary, they can also be used as a great tool to both showcase creative techniques and set the tone of the film.  In celebration of this underrated art, I decided to pick my top ten favorite opening title sequences. 

You wish you were this cool.

Lady Gaga Premieres New Song "Americano"

This was a pleasant surprise. The day before her "Judas" music video premieres and only 19 days until her full album drops, Lady Gaga premiered the song "Americano" from her album Born This Way at the Monster Ball Tour in Mexico. "Americano" is "a love story between Gaga and a girl from L.A." but it doesn't take long to realize this song is about a lot more. From immigration laws to gay marriage, this is pretty easily the most lyrically abstract of Lady Gaga's Born This Way songs so far.

Tiny Wings Review: Is It More Than a Simple Arcade Game?

Tiny Wings review for iPhone and iPod Touch

The App Store’s Top 25 list is a fickle beast. One moment it can highlight a great game like Cut the Rope or World of Goo. Then the next a rip-off game like Doodle Jump will be at the top (expect a full Doodle-bashing post soon). So forgive me if this review is late, I was just skeptical. I mean really, it does cost 99 cents. And no one wants to waste space on their iPod Touch or iPhone for a crap game. Would Tiny Wings be an arcade game with legs, or just a throwaway app?

Luckily for my prudent iTunes credit, Tiny Wings is a great game that fully deserves to be sitting in the Top 25.

The Dark Knight Rises to Shoot in... India?

As I’ve previously mentioned, The Dark Knight Rises is filming in Pittsburgh.  Now, however, some new information has come to light: according to The Daily Bhaskar, filming will also take place in Jodhpur, India.  So… what exactly does that mean for the movie?

Hopefully this will happen at some point.  I'm sure they could work it in.

X-Men First Class: New Official Poster Sucks; Fan-Made Ones Still Better

By now, you've no doubt witnessed the atrocities that are the X-Men: First Class posters.  There’s been quite a few of them, the best of which are slightly less than mediocre.  The worst, on the other hand, are mind-blowingly awful – specifically the ones where Magneto and Professor X have their faces photoshopped onto their respective crotches for some reason.  You can see those little treasures here, though for your sake I suggest you don’t look at them for too long, in order to avoid any negative side effects.  Like projectile vomiting or spontaneous combustion.  Seriously, my grandmother could have done better.  And she’s dead.  Anyway, a new poster was released the other day, and while it’s not as bad as the crotch-face ones, it still sucks.  So, in order to heal your now-scalded retinas, I’ve rounded up some of the best fan-made posters from around the web.  

Here's the new official poster.  It's pretty shitty.

Catherine Updates: Adventuring, with a Side of Boobs

If you’re like me, then you’re a huge fan of Atlus’ Persona series, and are eagerly awaiting Persona 5.  Unfortunately, the wait for Persona 5 is going to be a long one, seeing as it was only confirmed a month ago.  Luckily, Atlus is releasing another game this summer, and it looks like it’s at least somewhat similar to the Persona series.  The game, Catherine appears to be a kind of trippy, sexed-up, mindfuck of a survival-horror game, with some puzzle and adventure elements tossed in for good measure.  In other words, it’s gonna be some weird shit.  

The Dark Knight Rises: Hugo Strange Rumors Revived

Just quick update on a recent rumor that’s been making the rounds:

For some time, one of the more popular ideas about The Dark Knight Rises was that Robin Williams would be playing Dr. Hugo Strange, a creepy-looking bald scientist dude. Then I think the story switched to Tom Hardy playing him or something weird like that. Anyway, these rumors have long since been dismissed as complete bullshit, but now it seems they're back for another round.

Told you he was creepy.

Good Omens News & Dream Cast

 

Good Omens, by Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett, is one of my all-time favorite books. If you haven’t read it already, do so. I insist. You won’t regret it. If you have read it, then you are certainly aware of its awesomeness. Good for you. Anyway, us fans have been taunted for some time with infuriatingly inconsistent rumors of a movie, and it finally looks like we may actually get something. But it’s not a movie – it’s a TV miniseries. As Neil Gaiman recently said on his blog, Good Omens is to be adapted by Terry Jones (of Monty Python fame - oh, and he also wrote the screenplay for Labyrinth) into a 4-part miniseries. Finally! I don’t care if it’s not a movie. Just so long as it doesn’t suck. There’s absolutely nothing worse than a wonderful book being adapted into a horrible movie (or TV miniseries). This sounds like it's gonna be good, though. Anyway, in light of this glorious news, I decided to have some fun and create my ideal cast for a Good Omens movie/miniseries/whatever.

Oh, and another note: I tried to keep the cast as British as possible (seeing as Britishness is an essential part of the book), which was much harder than expected, which is why a large amount of my cast was stolen from Doctor Who and Harry Potter. I apologize in advance.

Superhero Movie Predictions: Trailer Deathmatch

As you’ve no doubt noticed, superhero movies are all the rage right now. Studios have also noticed this, and are churning out film after film featuring all sorts of tight-wearing do-gooders, often without bothering to give any consideration to the quality of the film. I, for one, do not wish to pay to see these shitty movies, and I’m guessing I’m not the only one. So, in order to separate the good from the considerably less good, I’m going to watch the trailers for several upcoming superhero films, and guesstimate how much I would like them based on said trailers. Oh, and I’m also going to guess what their Rotten Tomatoes scores will be, mainly so that I can feel all good about myself if I get them right. Although, I’ll probably get them completely wrong, so maybe not…

Status Update: Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt in The Dark Knight Rises

As it turns out, Christopher Nolan has pulled another fast one on us. That’s just how he is, that tricky bastard. But then, I guess that’s why we love him. Anyway, barely a day after I posted my Dark Knight Rises update, I found myself browsing the web, only to discover that Marion Cotillard and Joseph Gordon-Levitt’s roles in the film have both been revealed. Needless to say, they aren’t what anyone expected…

Christopher Nolan planning his next round of mind-fuckery.

Status Update: The Dark Knight Rises Casting News & More

Lately there’s been quite a lot of information flying around the internet about The Dark Knight Rises, Christopher Nolan’s third (and seemingly final) Batman movie. Very little news has actually been officially confirmed as of yet, but rumors of all sorts have been making the rounds, so of them stranger than others. Being a huge fan of the Nolan Batman movies (and Nolan movies in general, for that matter), I took it upon myself to do a little research on the film and see what I could find. Anyway, my goal here is to attempt to sort through as much information as I can, hopefully separating fact from rumor as I go (which is easier said than done, I might add).

Lady Gaga - Judas Review: Divine or Satanic?

Gaga can't get a break. Every song she releases a new song it's labeled a copy of something else. Whether it be "Don't Turn Around" for "Alejandro", or "Resepct Yourself" for "Born This Way", it's inevitable. Now with her newest single "Judas", released on April 15th, 2011, people are starting to say Gaga's copied someone else... herself. Calling "Judas" a sequel to "Bad Romance", however, is pretty much spot on. The songs are similar in a lot of ways, but does that make "Judas" a failure? Probably not. To show the similarities, both songs have chants that consist of name dropping herself, both are lyrically about falling in love with the wrong guy. And both show Gaga at her finest.

Justin Bieber and Kim Darby: Seperated at Birth?

I finally got around to watching the original True Grit (1969) last night. It was interesting to see how it compared to the version that came out last year, and is a good movie in its own right. And while I can't say for sure whether I liked the 1969 version or the 2010 version, I do know one thing for sure.

Kim Darby looks exactly like Justin Bieber.

Rare and Unreleased Lady Gaga Songs - The Best You've Never Heard

Everyone has heard "Poker Face", "Bad Romance", and, most recently, "Born This Way". But there's a side to the pop diva Lady Gaga that few have discovered. Even though she exploded onto the music scene just a couple years ago, Lady Gaga (or Stefani Germanotta) has been making songs for over five years. And some of the early songs rival, even surpass, her most popular songs. There are a lot of rare Lady Gaga tracks, including some amazing demos. Here are the best Lady Gaga songs you’ve never heard.

"You did not just telephone me bitch!"

Operation Disney: Pocahontas

Operation Disney: Commence

Remember when you were five years old and Disney movies made you think you were a princess? Well we don’t. Except for Berry, but then again she was dropped on her head as a child. Anyway, we remember how, as little kids, we would watch our favorite movies (which were often Disney) at least ten thousand times, annoying the crap out of our parents in the process. Ah, those were the good ol’ days… And recently, we decided that we wanted to relive those days. So, we assigned ourselves a top-secret mission: to re-watch all our old favorite animated Disney movies, and see if our views of them changed with age. First up on our list was Pocahontas.