Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Hey, I just wanted to give a quick little shout out to all my Irish and "Irish-on-St. Patty's Day " peeps.  Hope every one has a fun and safe time.  In the meantime, I'll be doing my usual traditions after work: Watch The Boondock Saints, eat pizza and drink Irish beer.

Here's some Irish or Irish inspired ditties for the holiday. Enjoy!

The Blood of Cu Chulainn by Jeff and Mychael Danna

Celtica(Voice of Morrigan) by Cruachan

Whiskey in the Jar by Thin Lizzy

Some Say the Devil is Dead by Cruachan

My Thoughts on Werewolf: The Forsaken

(Finally, here's Part 2 of my Werewolf posts. I suggest reading them both back to back so you can better compare them. Here's the link for the last Werewolf post.)

While Werewolf: The Apocalypse ended along with the original World of Darkness (or Classic depending on who you ask) line, the monsters wouldn’t be down for long as in 2004, White Wolf Games came back with a new, rebooted version of the World of Darkness.

Gone is the “Gothic-Punk atmosphere, settling with a world more closer to ours albeit with monsters lurking in the shadows.  One of the biggest changes between gamelines is that all games share the same rules and mechanics. In the Old World of Darkness, every game had their own rules and style of playing. Not so in the New World of Darkness.  All you need to play is the WoD corebook and whatever game (i.e. supernatural beings) you want to play as.

Overall, the gamelines so far are:

• The World of Darkness (This is the book you need to play the others)
• Vampire: The Requiem
• Werewolf: The Forsaken
• Mage: The Awakening
• Promethean: The Created
• Changeling: The Lost
• Hunter: The Vigil
• Geist: The Sin-Eaters
• Mummy: The Curse
• (An untitled Demon game has been announced)

Another key difference between the Old and New WoD is that humans are much more playable in the New.  In the OWoD (except for Hunters who still have supernatural powers to combat monsters), humans were pretty much cannon fodder and wouldn’t have stood a chance against the other more powerful beings.  The World of Darkness, however, lets you play as an average human who slowly discovers the mysterious world around him or her.  The game also supplies ways to fight back such as magical objects for example.

As with all the gamelines, Werewolf: The Apocalypse was rebooted into Werewolf: The Forsaken.  Here, you play as a werewolf called a Uratha, one of the half-human, half-wolf spirit offspring of Father Wolf, formerly the most powerful hunter spirit and Luna, Spirit of the Moon.

Their backstory was that the world was once Pangaea, when the Spirit World and the Mortal World were one and the same.  Father Wolf was the spirit in charge of maintaining the peace between spirits and humans.  After a time, the Uratha, seeing that Father Wolf was growing old and weak, attacked and killed their father.  After his death, a barrier called the Gauntlet rose between the worlds, making it near impossible for humans to travel to the Spirit World and vise versa.  In maddened anguish, Luna curse her children so her sacred metal, Silver, would kill them.  Having fallen from grace, Father wolf’s killers were called by the denizens of the Spirit World “he Forsaken“. Ever since then, the Forsaken have taken their father’s place in protecting the mortal world from malevolent spirits that manage to break through the barrier.

While the Uratha don’t have much mortal oppostion, the Spirit World provides plenty of enemies out for the werewolves’ blood.  One of the three major enemy groups is actually other werewolves.  Of the eight first children of Father Wolf, only five actually rose up and killed him.  Vowing vengeance against their father’s death, the other three and their descendents called themselves the Pure, plotting against and slaying any forsaken they come across.

Another group of rouge werewolves, neither with the Forsaken or the Pure, called the Bale Hounds also terrorize all in their way as they serve spirits of pure evil whose agenda is unknown other than to spread chaos and corruption.

While the Forsaken have to be on the watch for any spirit that breaches the Gauntlet (as they could possess an unassuming human similar to Werewolf: The Apocalypse’s fomori), there are two groups of spirits named the Hosts that are a particular pain in the ass.

Once they were two of Father Wolf’s foes, the Spinner-Hag and the Plague King.  Rather than die at Father Wolf’s fangs, they both escaped by breaking down into thousands of pieces, embedding themselves into the bodies of spiders and rats in the Mortal World.

Artwork by Asanbonsam on Deviantart

The Azlu, the spider pieces of Spinner-Hag and the Beshilu, the rat pieces of the Plauge King both grow bigger and stronger by devouring others of their kind.  When they get big enough, they kill a human, skin them, and wear the skin like a suit so they can blend into human society kinda like Edgar in Men in Black.

However, despite their similar origins, the Azlu and Beshilu have very different goals.  The Azlu spin webs near the Gauntlet, making it stronger and harder to get to the Spirit World.  Meanwhile, the Beshilu gnaw away at the Gauntlet making it easier for spirits to slip through.

So as, you can see, the Forsaken have their work cut out for them.  And that’s just their own enemies.  There’s also all the other denizens of the World of Darkness to worry about.

As for the stars of the game, the Forsaken are very similar to the Garou of Werewolf: The Apocalypse.  They still have the same five forms to transform to and the same auspice positions.  The names are different though.  Like the word “Uratha”, they’re in the First Tongue, the ancient language of Pangaea.

For reference, here’s the forms and auspices side by side:

                                                                           Forms

                                                                    W:tA        W:tF   

                                                                  Homid            Hishu
                                                                  Glabro            Dalu
                                                                  Crinos            Gauru
                                                                  Hispo             Urshul
                                                                  Lupus             Urhan


                                                                         Auspices

                                                                 W:tA                W:tF

                                                                Ragabash        Irraka
                                                                Theruge           Ithaeur
                                                                Philodox          Elodoth
                                                                Galliard           Cahalith
                                                                Ahroun            Rahu


There are differences though between the Garou and Uratha.  Namely, their relationship with the Spirit World.  While the Garou were friendly with most spirits (except Wyrm-spirits), the Uratha’s relationship, at best, would be called hostile.  Due to killing Father Wolf, most spirits fear or outright hate the Forsaken.  While they can still have powers from spirit-gifts, the Forsaken really have to cajole a spirit to teach him or her a gift.

Also, all Uratha start out as humans and there’s no longer any wolf-born werewolves or deformed Metis offspring.  Taking the Metis’s place, though, is the Unihar or “Ghost-Child”.  Because of their spiritual nature, when Uratha mate, they give birth to a spirit that retreats into the Spirit World.  However, what makes them particularly scary is that none of the Uratha powers work on them.

Now, like the last post, we move onto my favorite part: the Tribes.  The big difference between the Tribes in both games is the number. While Werewolf: The Apocalypse had 13 tribes, Werewolf: The Forsaken only has 5, plus one grouping of werewolves I’ll talk about in a bit.  Another minor difference is that none of the Forsaken Tribes are of any ethnic group or nationality like the Garou tribes so you can find any tribe member anywhere in the world.  Plus, you can join any tribe you please, no longer restricted by bloodline.

Rather than a random spirit as a totem, the Forsaken follow one of the Firstborn, Father Wolf’s first children before the Uratha and powerful Wolf Spirits in their own rights.

The Five tribes are:

• Blood Talons - The fierce warriors of the Uratha, they take pride in their combat skills and only accept the strongest and toughest werewolves amongst their ranks.  Their totem is Destroyer Wolf, the most aggressive of the Firstborn and might have been the inspiration for Fenris, the giant wolf from Norse mythology.

• Bone Shadows - Mysterious and curious, the Bone Shadows dedicate themselves to   finding out the secrets of both the Mortal World and the Spirit World, passing them on to their brothers and sisters.   The Bone Shadows follow Death Wolf, the Firstborn that has been to the realm of the dead and returned with its secrets.

• Hunters in Darkness - In tune with nature, the Hunters in Darkness feel more comfortable in the wild with wolves.  Most rejecting human society, these werewolves take upon themselves to stop humans from despoiling nature.  Black Wolf is their totem, the most primal of the firstborn and protector of wolves.

• Iron Masters - Opposite of the Hunters in Darkness, the Iron Masters are more comfortable in the cities, blending in the hustle and bustle of the urban environment.  They make sure to keep up with Man’s progress lest they fall prey to more and more advance technology.  They follow Red Wolf, the Firstborn with the best adaptation skills, capable of blending in any environment or situation.

• Storm Lords - With the best leadership skills, the Storm Lords try their best to guide all Uratha.  Restoring Pangaea is their ultimate goal as they feel that the Uratha need to return to their place as the apex predators they once were.  The Storm Lords follow Winter Wolf, a harsh but strong Firstborn who despises weakness either in combat or politics.

If none of these Tribes appeal to you, there is one group of werewolves that don’t belong to any tribe, both Forsaken or Pure.

• Ghost Wolves - Kicked out of a Tribe, leaving a Tribe or not choosing to be with a Tribe at all, the Ghost Wolves are the true lone wolves of the Uratha.  They follow no tribal totem as a result.  That being said, the other Forsaken will gladly take them as allies, better they be with them rather than the Pure or Bale Hounds.

If the Tribes don’t seem diverse enough for you, there are always Lodges to join.  Lodges are subgroups of the Forsaken Tribes, following a particular ideal or goal, whether it be preserving a local culture or studying a type of spirit.   There are too many Lodges from the gameline to list here but you are free to create your own Lodge if you don‘t find one that interests you.

Now onto my thoughts in general about this game.  I read the book for Werewolf: The Forsaken not long after I finished the book for Werewolf: The Apocalypse and the one thing I noticed right off the bat that really set these two apart was the tone.  Gone was the environmental message and righteous fury of the old game and was replaced with a game that focused more on being a predator, more in tune with the wolf aspect of being a werewolf, rather than maintaining a balance between the two (although that’s still important). Rather, W:tF wants you to play as a wolf in human’s clothing rather than the other way around.

Another big difference between the games is that it’s not so black and white as W:tA.  In W:tA, it’s clear that the Garou are the good guys (albeit violent ones) and the forces of the Wyrm are clearly evil.  Here, the antagonists aren’t quite that bad.  The Pure are acting out of revenge for Father Wolf’s death and are trying to restore the world back to Pangaea much like the Storm Lords. Hell, even the Hosts are acting more out of instinct rather than any real malevolent goal.  Not the Bale Hounds, though.  They’re just assholes.

Now that I think about it, you could sum up the relations between all these factions with this inspiring little speech from Team America: World Police with the Forsaken and Pure being dicks, Hosts and spirits being pussies and the Bale Hounds and evil spirits being assholes.

One thing I hadn’t mentioned is an aspect of the game, even the New World of Darkness in general I particularly enjoy: the customization.  See all the info I just dumped on you about Werewolf: The Forsaken?  You’re more encouraged to pick and alter any element of the game as you see fit.  While in Werewolf: The Apocalypse, you can alter some rules but they wanted you to more or less to follow what was written down.  But in this game?  Feeling too surrounded and want to take an enemy group out of the game? You got it!  Want to limit how and when the werewolves transform?  Go ahead! Feeling really ambitious and want to change the origin of the Uratha? Go for it! That last one alone really blew my mind as even suggesting that the Garou might have a different creation story would have gotten you exiled, if not outright killed.

In conclusion, Both Werewolf: The Forsaken and Werewolf: The Apocalypse have been a source of inspiration and fun reading for me these past few years.  Seeing my favorite monster getting the spotlight has been a great source of joy for me.  If you feel like getting these books, especially since getting them outside of Gaming stores is quite hard as of late, you can get them all at DriveThruRPG.com in both PDF and physical copies. I’m also pleased to announced that White Wolf Games with help from Onyx Path have just released a special 20th anniversary edition of Werewolf: The Apocalypse.  You can be sure I’ll be trying to get my hands on that. When I do, I’ll let you know what I think.

But enough from me, reading these two posts back to back, which Werewolf game do you prefer?  Also, what type of werewolf would you be, with your choices of tribe, auspice and other selections?

New Job? Sacre Bleu!

Sorry for the lack of updates but I've been readjusting to my new job.  I'm a new camera operator/footage editor for KRIS and KZTV. (NBC and CBS respectively)

I have to say I'm really enjoying it so far.  Sure, it was a bit of a shock from five years of physical labor at Home Depot to a far more relaxed atmosphere inside a television studio, but I'm definitely not complaining.  Plus. it's kind of cool to get to see a news story long before it comes to your TV screen and get a behind-the-scene look at how it all gets done.  And, despite what Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy tells us, all of the anchors and reporters I've met seem pretty well-adjusted and mellow.

So, long story short, the job's cool and I'm going to try to maintain my "update once a week" policy.  In the meantime, here's one of my favorite songs from Anchorman. 

Beer School 02-20-13: The Series Finale

Well, as they say, all good things must come to an end. I haven’t mentioned here but I recently was hired for a new job at KRIS (NBC,CBS) to be a camera operator. I’m both crazily excited but nervous as hell as well.

However, there is a price to pay for my new circumstances.

Thanks to the new schedule, I will be no longer able to attend Beer School at the House of Rock anymore (or at least, for the foreseeable future).

So, it was with heavy heart that I attended my final Beer School last night.  However, I did have fun as I invited some friends on Facebook to mark the occasion.  So, I wasn’t crying into my beer like someone who lost his woman in a freak cockfight accident.  In all, I’ll miss you, Beer School. You’ve allowed me to experience new types of beer I’ve probably wouldn’t have heard of.  So thanks for the memories (and free swag) and I hope our paths cross soon.

But enough of that maudlin stuff, this is BEER DAMMIT.  It must be consumed lest it consume you first. (I think Nietzsche said that, I could be wrong though.)

All the beers that were consumed came from Sixpoint Brewery in Brooklyn, New York. They have a peculiar way of selling it as they only come in a four-pack and they come in a box rather than the open carrying case you usually see for most beers.  We only tried five out of the six core beers from Sixpoint but I found out later from the website, we only scratched the surface of the beers they created. Some brews are only made for special events or are “randomly available”.

 

Crisp - I didn’t notice a particular smell. Taste a bit hoppy but not too much for me to dislike.

 

Sweet Action - Lives up to its name with a sweet smell.  Very light and smooth with a slight hoppy aftertaste to it.

 

Brownstone - Has a coffee-like smell and taste, reminds me of a stout or a Hobgoblin dark ale. Plus, its name reminds me of the song by Guns N’ Roses.

 

Bengali Tiger - A kind of fruity smell.  While it is hoppy, I can add it to the small list of IPA’s I like.

 

Resin - Smells and tastes like a stronger version of the Bengali Tiger but somehow is not too overpowering for me.

Jacob’s Best O’ the Bunch! - This round’s going to the Brownstone.  If it didn’t have that aftertaste, Sweet Action would’ve made it for sure. But, the taste and smell of Brownstone stayed with me longer and were, overall, a bit more enjoyable.  To celebrate its victory, I offer this song.

Beer Thoughts 02-06-13

This will be a short post as I’m only trying 3 beers and 1 cider this time around.  These beers were purchased at World Market.  Like HEB, they also have a “make your own six-pack” stand.  While the HEB will happily offer more hard-working ’Murican domestics, World Market offers the shady-looking immigrants as well.  You’re not quite sure what they’re like until you get close enough to one and they start stabbing you in the back of your throat or they give your mouth a sensual massage and show you how to find the “womens” and yeyo.

Magic Hat Heart of Darkness Stout - Has a strong coffee-like smell to it when opened. Has a nice smooth chocolately taste to it, not as strong as I thought it would have.  I don’t know why I expect every stout to taste like a Guinness, but I guess when you get burned once…   Magic Hat beers has always been hit-or-miss with me but this is definitely one of the hits. (Note: This is the 170th beer I’ve tasted! Huzzah! )

Ska Brewing Pinstripe Red Ale - Has a bit of a skunky smell to it like a Corona.  It does taste a bit like a cerveza, but it’s much smoother with a pleasant taste. After letting it sit for awhile, it reminded me of another red ale, the Newcastle Werewolf, My Autumn Seasonal Beer of 2012.  Not quite as strong though.  Altogether, it’s a beer I’ll be keeping my eye on.

Harpoon UFO Hefeweizen - The smell, to me, doesn’t have any particular scent that stands out.  In fact, it reminds me a lot of other domestic beers in its taste and overall appearance (Miller Lite, Bud Light, etc.).  That being said, it is a good smooth beer, perfect for watching the skies for real UFO’s

Woodchuck Winter Cider - Now this is a cider that I’ve been waiting to try for a while especially since I fell in love with the Woodchuck Fall Cider. Like most ciders, it has a sweet apple smell, very pleasant to the nostrils.  It has a very sweet vanilla taste to it.  I can hardly taste the alcohol at all, tasting more like apple juice.  While it’s not quite as awesome as the Fall Cider was, it’s still a good and sweet cider on its own. 

Jacob’s Best O’ the Bunch! - I’m gonna have to give it up for the Magic Hat Heart of Darkness Stout.  I think out of all of them, the taste of the stout really stayed with me and, despite my doubts, was an excellent beer.

My Thoughts on The Men Who Stare At Goats

(I apologize for the multiple week-long hiatus.  There's no real excuse for it except procrastination.  I'll get after myself for it...tomorrow)

One of the subjects I’ve always had a love for over the years is the supernatural.  Can’t get enough of it.  From ghosts and monsters to more new age-y concepts like mystic places and shamanism, I love reading about it.  Do I actually believe any of it?  I tend to try to stay on the fence about any paranormal views.  It’d be nice if it were.  I’d feel it’d make the world a little more exciting if there was a Bigfoot prowling around American woods.

So a book and movie about how the U.S. military was trying to train soldiers with psychic powers definitely caught my attention.  Also, the book is nonfiction.

The Men Who Stare At Goats is a 2004 book by journalist Jon Ronson, who after being told that a military base has hundreds of de-bleated goats for experimental purposes, finds himself headfirst in a world of psychic spies, subliminal sounds and using the"I Love You" song from Barney the Purple Dinosaur as torture.

 

Just imagine this for hours and hours...

The book is an utterly fascinating read.  It made me wish that the “supersolider” unit, the First Earth Battalion, was actually being used in the war today, using non-lethal, hippy-ish techniques.  I’ve been reading it over the past few weeks on my lunch breaks at work and had a hard time putting it down when I had to clock back in.  One of the chapters I found particularly interesting was how because of one former solider in the First Earth Battalion had been indirectly responsible for the Heaven’s Gate cult’s mass suicide.

If there was any complaint I had for the book is that there was no real ending.  It just sort of teeters off.  But as I understand according to the book that, despite the First Earth Battalion being disbanded, the U.S. military still uses the techniques for some uses, particularly torture.  I’d love to see a follow-up by Ronson especially since it’s been 9 years since the book was published and see if there’s been any new developments.

 
I first became aware of the book, though, because of its 2009 movie adaptation of the same name starring Ewan McGregor, George Clooney and Jeff Bridges.  Although the book has no real chronological order, the movie does an excellent job of bringing the book to life, speaking about and demonstrating many of the book’s bizarre subjects and generally, being a good summation of the book's themes .

The movie is about a journalist named Bob Wilton (McGregor) who tags along with a toilet contractor named Lyn Cassady (Clooney) who claims that he was a psychic spy for the military.  As they get into many hairy situations in war-torn Iraq, Lyn talks more and more about his time in the “New Earth Army”.

While it has some embellishments when compared to the original book, I really enjoyed the movie.  Even if you’re not interested at all in the supernatural like I am, it’s still a really funny movie.  One of my favorite scenes being this one:

You can actually buy a predator if you like at this website 

Trailer Reactions 01-02-13

Happy New Year's to everybody and I hope everyone had a good time.  With a new year comes new beginnings, new promises and, for me, new movies.

While I was making this list, I was surprised at the amount of films coming out this year that caught my interest.  As of this writing, there are still some movies that are coming out this year that haven't dropped any trailers such as Thor: The Dark World.  I'll get to those on a later post, but for now, on with the trailers!


After Earth

What some of you may not know is that this is a M. Night Shyamalan movie.  And as you're aware, his last few movies have not been...well recieved.  (Goddammit, what did you do to Avatar: The Last Airbender?!  Sorry, had to get that off my chest.)    This, as I see it, is probably the make-or-break movie for Shyamalan.  He has in his advantage Will Smith in the lead, who by this point is just movie gold.  Even the worst film starring Will Smith brings in the millions.  Shyamalan aside, I really dig the premise of this film. Though they ruined the classic Shyamalan twist in the trailer.  The hostile alien planet is...*GASP* Earth?!

 

Anchorman: The Legend Continues

To be honest, I was surprised they were going to do a sequel to Anchorman.  I thought the first movie wrapped things up pretty cleanly.  I didn't think it needed a sequel...but damn if this didn't make me want to see it.  You might think at first glance I double posted the trailer but no, they released two different versions at the same time.  I couldn't pick between the two of them which to post because both made me laugh uproariously. Which one do you like?

Beautiful Creatures

 

I'm really not sure what to make of this trailer.  I'm not familiar with the books series it's based on, though I have seen the title before.  The trailer really seems like just "Twilight...with witches! My bad, 'Casters'!"  Plus, there are some parts in the trailer that are making me unintentionally laugh. Like when the woman says, "And look at what I am now." at 0:50 just makes me want to answer "You have spooky Darth Maul eyes".  There are the hammy moments at 1:37 with Jeremy Iron's "Get Out!" and the weird twirling table and yelling match at 1:49.  I mean, why does she scream?  That's just bad debate skills.  Plus, I love how Jeremy Irons isn't even attempting a Southern accent.

A Good Day to Die Hard

  
 

Ah, Good ol' John McCLane.  It's nice to see you back. This just seems like the ultimate guy movie, doesn't it, what with the explosions, guns, explosions, girls in bikinis, explosions, helicopters, explosions, crazy stunts, and what else?  Oh yeah!  EXPLOSIONS!!!  I showed this trailer to my nephew and he commented, "Everything's blowing up!"  I really liked how they had Beethoven's Ode to Joy, one of my favorite classical pieces, playing in the background throughout the trailer.  I commend them for using the finale of the piece to good use, a really overlooked part of Beethoven's 9th Symphony.

World War Z

 
 

When I first heard of the movie version of World War Z, I figured it just be a another standard "Oh no! Zombies are loose!" type of film.  But...Jesus.  I've seen running zombies before, but these are swarming zombies!  A literal wave of zombies coming at you!  Look at that image before you press play.  That's not a mound of inert dead bodies, that's a giant mound of zombies climbing over each other like f 'in psychopathic ants trying to get that sweet sweet flesh. Why couldn't the zombies in the Dawn of the Dead remake be that resourceful? That sold me on the movie more than Brad Pitt did.

Star Trek Into Darkness

 

Prior to the reboot, I was never the biggest Star Trek fan.  (I much preferred Star Wars, thank you.)  But the new movie was just the push I needed to get into the franchise, so I was excited that they were going to do a sequel.  I don't know what the exact story is for this film, but crap, the stakes look like they have just been raised for the Enterprise crew.  And having just watched the BBC's Sherlock series on Netflix, I was happy to see Benedict Cumberbatch as the villain.  Rumor has it he might (keyword being might) be playing the new version of Ricardo Monteblan's Khan.  Until we get more info, it's just a rumor for now.

Iron Man 3

 
 

Oh, this is a big one.  The first post-Avengers Marvel movie to come out.  You would think after the victory the Avengers had, Tony would be in a better mental state, but no, he seems really nervous and uneasy. In fact, this movie looks really dark compared to the other two films.  I'm really glad they managed to finally get the Mandarin (Ben Kinglsey) on the big screen.  For those who aren't comic geeks, the Mandarin is to Iron Man what the Joker is to Batman and it looks like he gives Iron Man one hell of an ass-whooping in this flick.

As an Iron Man treat, I gives you the greatest entrance of all time:

The Last Stand

 
 

I never realized until I saw this trailer how much I miss seeing Arnold Schwarzenegger in movies.  True, he's a lot older now but he looks like he's back in fighting shape.  The movie looks like a lot of fun as Schwarzenegger movies tend to be especially with Johnny Knoxville of Jackass fame playing sidekick.  Look at him at 1:18.  He looks so giddy just feeding bullets.

The Lords of Salem

 
 

Damn, this movie looks genuinely creepy.  When I first read the plot summary on Wikipedia, I thought it would be more of a slasher film, something's Rob Zombie's done before.  Then I saw the trailer.  Wow, this looks like an intentionally scary Alejandro Jodorowsky film.  It has all the big set pieces and trippy imagery a Jodorowsky film would have. I didn't expect the film would even look remotely like this.  I tip my hat to you, Mr. Zombie. You've really outdone yourself this time.

Hansel and Gretel: Witch Hunters

 
 

This is a movie that, by all accounts, should sound kind of dumb.  I remember just reading the title aloud and groaning.  But the trailer really changed my mind.  This actually looks a lot more bad-ass than what I pictured in my head.  Especially the way they dispatch witches. It seems like the next in a wave of movies reinterpreting fairy tales like Red Riding Hood and Snow White and the Hunstman.  I'm honestly looking forward to this one.

Man of Steel

 
 

This is another of the big films I'm excited for.  I really like this trailer compared to the teaser trailer.  That one looked like an art film that featured Superman.  It seems like the planets are aligning for this film: Zack Snyder's directing, Christopher Nolan's producing and finally some honest-to-god action for Henry Cavill's Superman.  There's more action in this trailer than in Superman Returns.  And yes, Dad, no Lex Luthor in sight.  (He had some issue with the over-saturation of Luthor in the other films.  He has a point though. There are plenty of other villains they could use.)

Pacific Rim

 
 

Good Lord, I'm excited for this one. Anyone that knows me knows I love me some Kaiju (Japanese for "Giant Monster"), especially Godzilla. But one of my absolute favorite directors, Guillermo Del Toro, directing a big Hollywood movie with Giant Monsters and Robots?!  I'm sold.