SCIFI CHROME ANNEX BLOG

July Update... Still Waiting For Starship Troopers 3

n25an@aim.com — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 02:51:08 GMT

Its been a crazy summer for the american economy and gas prices in america. I've been slaving away at the grindstone trying to earn a buck but man its tough. Managed to pull myself away from the job long enough to write this post. Currently waiting for the release of Starship Troopers 3, should really be good. Hancock, sounds good but it just doesn't feel like me. I'll check it out though but it feels like work. As for Gotham Knight, the anime batman treatment, it seems like a good movie but its not for the non-anime initiate. Wall E... I fell asleep halfway through the movie. Its boring. Sorry, Hollywood it just doesn't do it for me.... Well, if you are here... you definitely didn't come for the monologue... so enjoy my movie picks and don't be a stranger...

The Knowing

A teacher (Cage) opens a time capsule that has been dug up at his son's elementary school; in it are some chilling predictions -- some that have already occurred and others that are about to -- that lead him to believe his family plays a role in the events that are about to unfold.

Quantum Of Solace

"Quantum of Solace" continues the high octane adventures of James Bond (Daniel Craig) in "Casino Royale." Betrayed by Vesper, the woman he loved, 007 fights the urge to make his latest mission personal. Pursuing his determination to uncover the truth, Bond and M (Judi Dench) interrogate Mr White (Jesper Christensen) who reveals the organisation which blackmailed Vesper is far more complex and dangerous than anyone had imagined.

Forensic intelligence links an Mi6 traitor to a bank account in Haiti where a case of mistaken identity introduces Bond to the beautiful but feisty Camille (Olga Kurylenko), a woman who has her own vendetta. Camille leads Bond straight to Dominic Greene (Mathieu Amalric), a ruthless business man and major force within the mysterious organisation.

On a mission that leads him to Austria, Italy and South America, Bond discovers that Greene, conspiring to take total control of one of the world's most important natural resources, is forging a deal with the exiled General Medrano (Joaquin Cosio). Using his associates in the organisation, and manipulating his powerful contacts within the CIA and the British government, Greene promises to overthrow the existing regime in a Latin American country, giving the General control of the country in exchange for a seemingly barren piece of land.

In a minefield of treachery, murder and deceit, Bond allies with old friends in a battle to uncover the truth. As he gets closer to finding the man responsible for the betrayal of Vesper, 007 must keep one step ahead of the CIA, the terrorists and even M, to unravel Greene's sinister plan and stop his organisation

The Mutant Chronicles

Mutant Chronicles is a steampunk science fiction and horror film directed by Simon Hunter. The story is set 400 years into the future in the 23rd century. The film's version of the world of the Mutant Chronicles role-playing game, where nearly everything is powered by steam, mankind has exhausted Earth's natural resources. Four corporations have taken over the world in which they are constantly at war with one another, the Bauhaus, the Mishima, the Capitol and the Imperial.

The Middleman

A struggling female artist is recruited by a secret agency to fight against evil forces.The pilot episode features a super-intelligent ape who escapes captivity, murders several members of the Italian Mafia, spouts a half dozen catch phrases from American movies on the subject including Scarface, Goodfellas and The Godfather, before being revealed as the pawn of the true villain.

The Middleman is a freelance fixer of "exotic problems," which include mad scientists bent on taking over the world. Because of Wendy Watson's coolness under pressure and photographic memory, Ida, a robot in the form of a grumpy schoolmarm, and the Middleman recruit her to become the next Middleman.

The Day the Earth Stood Still

is a 2008 science fiction film, a remake of the 1951 film of the same name. Directed by Scott Derrickson and starring Keanu Reeves as Klaatu, the film updates the Cold War themes of nuclear warfare, to the more contemporary concerns of man against nature, as well as their generally violent nature against one another.

Max Payne

Based on the video game of the same name, Max Payne tells the story of a maverick cop determined to track down those responsible for the brutal murder of his family and partner. Hell-bent on revenge, his obsessive investigation takes him on a nightmare journey into a dark underworld. As the mystery deepens, Max (Mark Wahlberg) is forced to battle enemies beyond the natural world and face an unthinkable betrayal.

Outlander

From The Weinstein Company: "Outlander begins when a space craft crashes into the majestic fjords of ancient Norway and into the time of the Vikings. From the wreckage emerge two bitter enemies: a soldier from another world � Kainan � and a bloodthirsty creature known as the Moorwen. Man and monster both seeking revenge for violence committed against them. As the Moorwen ravages the Viking world, killing everything in its path, Kainan forms an unlikely alliance with the primitive but fierce warriors. Combining his advanced technology with ancient Iron Age weapons, the hero leads a desperate attempt to kill the monster - before it destroys them all."

Punisher: Warzone

Waging his one-man war on the world of organized crime, ruthless vigilante-hero Frank Castle sets his sights on overeager mob boss Billy Russoti. After Russoti is left horribly disfigured by Castle, he sets out for vengeance under his new alias: Jigsaw. With the "Punisher Task Force" hot on his trail and the FBI unable to take Jigsaw in, Frank must stand up to the formidable army that Jigsaw has recruited before more of his evil deeds go unpunished.

End Call

a group of high school girls make a deal with the devil via cell phone and end up dead - it looks to be very well executed. If you�ll pardon the pun.

Movies: Hellboy Returns Hotter Than EverWOAI - San Antonio,TX,USA
�Meet Dave� brings Eddie Murphy back to the screen with a completely fantastic movie about a spaceship disguised as a spaceship captain. ...
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Batman: Gotham Knight
Variety - Los Angeles,CA,USA
Despite efforts to give the character a cutting-edge, anime-influenced makeover, the experiment never quite gels. The third film from the straight-to-DVD DC ...
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Anime review: Moyashimon
By Pedro the Otaku
I�m also going to guess this is the first anime ever set in an agricultural university. Then, there�s the obsession, that runs through all the episodes, with fermentation. Before this show, I really never put much thought into it, ...
- http://iamotaku.wordpress.com

Journey to the Center of the Earth
Charlotte Observer - Charlotte,NC,USA
So the science in this film of Jules Verne's science fiction classic is ludicrous. Well, how's the fiction? Not terrible. The setup is rudimentary: A ...
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Robotech feature film being written by Star Wars writer By stryperweb.com
It was confirmed at the Anime Expo that Warner Brothers has acquired the rights to produce a live action Robotech film with Tobey Maguire, and that Warner Brothers has hired Lawrence Kasdan as the screenwriter for the live action film. ...
stryperweb.com - http://stryperweb.wordpress.com

FUNimation Lands Geneon & ADV Titles
By James Fleenor(James Fleenor)
Anyone that reads Anime Insider and PiQ has been privy to a few articles about the decline, possible death of anime in the states. From the shutdown of Geneon in the US to the scaling back at ADV there is a lot of great anime being left ...
Anime, Manga, Video Games, Comics... - http://animesentinel.blogspot.com/

More Anime From Sci Fi Channel
Comic Book Bin - Montreal,Quebec,Canada
By The Editor SCI FI Channel will treat anime fans to new series and movies in its weekly Ani-Monday programming block, Monday nights from 11 pm to 1 am ...
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Crystal skulls: Fact or Fiction?
The Associated Press -
WASHINGTON (AP) � Some mysteries are such fun you almost don't want to know the truth. That may help explain why people are fascinated with crystal skulls. ...
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Dreamworks, Intel partner to produce 3-D movies
Examiner.com - USA
The future of movies is at least partly in three dimensions, judging from the rush to create new 3-D technologies. DreamWorks Animation SKG Inc. said today ...
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Red Alert 3 Preview
CanMag - Brea,CA,USA
They have some mechs that look like full on Robotech. I'm not too concerned what the story is. If I can send battle mechs after CPU enemies or multiplayer ...
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Thomas M. Disch (1940-2008)
By Peggy(Peggy)
On Friday, July 4, science fiction writer Thomas M. Disch sadly took his own life. While there hasn't been much in the main stream media, it's been all over the science fiction blogosphere. Here are a few links: ...
Biology in Science Fiction - http://sciencefictionbiology.blogspot.com/

First Images of Solar System's Invisible Frontier
from the champagne-method-to-science dept.
posted by ScuttleMonkey on Wednesday July 02, @18:11 (NASA)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/02/2027234

First DNA Molecule Constructed from Mostly Synthetic Components
from the add-another-helix dept.
posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday July 07, @12:56 (Biotech)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/07/163254

Discovery of  a "Flat" Atom Hailed as Quantum Computing Breakthrough
from the breakthroughs-by-mistake dept.
posted by ScuttleMonkey on Wednesday July 02, @16:00 (Encryption)
http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/02/1746230

Nanomaterials More Dangerous Than We Think
from the common-sense dept.
posted by kdawson on Friday July 11, @10:46 (Medicine)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/11/1421211

Einstein's Theory Passes Strict New Test
from the ha-ha-england-ha-ha dept.
posted by timothy on Thursday July 03, @20:59 (Space)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/03/2210254

Huge Lenses To Observe Dark Energy
from the that's-what-my-huge-lenses-do-too dept.
posted by timothy on Friday July 04, @00:50 (Space)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/04/0345228

Synthetic Molecules Emulate Enzyme Behavior
from the a-chemical-for-all-seasons dept.
posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 02, @22:11 (Biotech)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/02/2223223

New Map IDs the Core of the Human Brain
from the I-want-to-see-what-you're-thinking dept.
posted by samzenpus on Thursday July 03, @00:17 (Medicine)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/03/0316219

Claimed Proof of Riemann Hypothesis
from the two-scoops-of-math-please dept.
posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday July 02, @11:36 (Math)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/02/1418214

Simple Mod Turns Diodes Into Photon Counters
from the measure-once-vote-often dept.
posted by timothy on Tuesday July 08, @10:11 (Supercomputing)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/08/1354218

Researchers Improve Solar Cell Performance
from the it's-the-mirrors dept.
posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday July 11, @17:12 (Power)
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/11/2017237

Doctors Turn To the Web For Disease Tracking
from the intertoobs-fix-everything dept.
posted by CmdrTaco on Wednesday July 09, @11:24 (Medicine)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/09/1424247

Mercedes To Phase Out Gasoline By 2015
from the what-no-flying-monkeys dept.
posted by kdawson on Tuesday July 08, @16:55 (Power)
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/08/2024246

Tiny Satellite Set To Hunt Asteroids
from the with-its-tiny-little-eye dept.
posted by kdawson on Friday June 27, @09:17 (Space)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/27/135211

How To Build a Quantum Eavesdropper
from the perfection-is-not-a-requirement dept.
posted by kdawson on Friday June 13, @09:34 (Encryption)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/13/1255208

Supercomputer Simulates Human Visual System
from the i-can-see-clearly-now dept.
posted by Soulskill on Friday June 13, @17:23 (Supercomputing)
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/13/2014225

A Video Game To Teach AP Level Immunology
from the next-up-should-be-history dept.
posted by timothy on Sunday June 29, @16:27 (First Person Shooters 
(Games))
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/29/198238

Blizzard-Activision Merger Official
from the new-sheriff-in-town dept.
posted by ScuttleMonkey on Wednesday July 09, @11:06 (Businesses)
http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/09/1418227

The Pirate Bay's Plans To Encrypt the 'Net
from the pretty-ned8bdrnki(bdr## dept.
posted by timothy on Friday July 11, @06:50 (The Internet)
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/11/0230225

Pioneer Promises 400GB Optical Discs
from the place-for-their-stuff dept.
posted by timothy on Tuesday July 08, @12:41 (Data Storage)
http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/08/1622201

Kodak Unveils 50MP CCD Image Sensor
from the 8176-by-6132-babee dept.
posted by kdawson on Tuesday July 08, @19:22 (Graphics)
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/08/239246

Hardware-Based Video Acceleration Coming To Linux
from the buh-bye-frame-skipping dept.
posted by kdawson on Friday July 11, @08:13 (Graphics)
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/11/1210224

Follow-up On Texas PI Law For PC Techs
from the are-you-licensed-to-look dept.
posted by samzenpus on Wednesday July 09, @19:14 (Government)
http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/07/09/2226252

Machine Girl, Kungfu Panda and other news

n25an@aim.com — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 20:39:39 GMT

This two week hiatus stuff seems to becoming regular with me. I appologize life sucks sometimes and then at others well your busy... Machine Girl is just pretty. From the opening scene where the guy is being bullied to the next one where the star gives a little monologue to the next where she guns down the bullies as the opening credits roll, ah priceless. I knew this was going to be special but aaaah man... I haven't felt this good since I saw black sheep and I am not talking the crappy american fooolishness... Ok back to the movie... Machine Girl... Its B B B through and through its a B-rated flick that doesn't try to be anything else but man does it satisfy... The movie has the right amount of character development... none... and the right amount of action... everywhere... and the right amount of blood... oh the bloodshed... this is not one for the kiddies... sorry I'm drooling... give me a minute... blooodd aaaaahh aaahhhh.... sorry momentary histeria... it was good... lets just say... I have had my campyness fix for the day.... Now onto the news...

Kung Fu Panda Review
By donnyh
Yes, I thought I could already see the entire movie playing itself out in my head just from hearing the concept alone. So off I went to see Kung Fu Panda the other day. Was I correct in my first impressions? Actually� no I wasn�t. ...
Trillion Movies Blog - http://trillionmovies.com< ...

Wall.E : Pixar animation feature
Scotsman - United Kingdom
E is first and foremost a love letter to science fiction, though. Its epic, post-apocalypic vision of an uninhabited Earth set hundreds of years into the future ...
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Mom develops film distribution business Arizona Republic - Phoenix,AZ,USA
Like a lot of moms, Margaret Tritch is picky about what her children see at the movies.
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Families ignored for holiday movies
NEWS.com.au - Australia
By Andrew Fenton June 09, 2008 07:33am MOVIE distributors have turned their backs on families with not one G-rated movie expected to screen during the July ...
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MPAA: Release movies to TV sooner, block recordings
CrunchGear - Brooklyn,NY,USA
The Motion Picture Association of America wants to release movies to TV, pay-per-view, on-demand, and premium movie channels before releasing them for sale ...
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University "holodeck" a room with a view
Canada.com - Don Mills,Ontario,Canada
HALIFAX - You can't "beam" into it - yet - but Atlantic Canadian universities have moved science fiction a little closer to science reality with an ...
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Eagle Eye is a 2008 Action thriller film directed by D.J. Caruso and starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. The two portray a slacker and a single mother, both whom are framed as terrorists and are coerced into carrying out the terrorist cell's plot.

FLAWLESS, a clever diamond-heist thriller set in swinging 1960s London. Demi Moore plays Laura Quinn, a bright, driven and beautiful executive at the London Diamond Corporation who finds herself frustrated by a glass ceiling after years of faithful employment, as man after man is promoted ahead of her despite her greater experience. Michael Caine is Hobbs, the nighttime janitor at London Diamond who is virtually invisible to the executives that work there, but over the years has amassed a startling amount of knowledge about how the company runs. Hobbs has his own bone to pick with London Diamond. Observing Laura's frustration, he convinces her to help him execute an ingenious plan to steal a hefty sum in diamonds. But unbeknownst to Laura, Hobbs plans go even farther than he's let on, and together they set in motion a thrilling heist of dizzying proportions, the likes of which London has never seen.

As Isaac investigates the eerie tip, he encounters Fiona (Vera Farmiga) who, through her own quandary, leads Isaac to a netherworld of people afflicted with a perverse desire to be disabled. Like a contemporary noir detective film, QUID PRO QUO follows Issac as he embarks on a dream-like journey to pull back the layers of what makes people feel whole.

Brick Lane -- A truly contemporary story of love, cultural difference, and, ultimately, the strength of the human spirit. Adapted from the international bestselling novel by Monica Ali.

Invisible Target -- An armoured truck carrying $100 million of cash is attacked by a criminal gang which calls themselves the "Ronin Gang" with explosives as it stops at a traffic junction in front of a jewellery shop. All the security guards were shot dead except one, while responding police officers suffered serious casaulties under the gunfire of the heavily armed gang members. The explosions also killed several civilians, including a lady in the shop. Six months later, the same gang reappears in Hong Kong, injuring a group of policemen, two critically, during a spot check. The dead woman in the jewellery shop was Crime Investigation Department detective Chan Chun's fiancee, while the injured policemen are led by Trainee Inspector Fong Yik-wei. Both officers vow revenge on the criminal gang.

A baliwood horror flick-- Phoonk (The Black Magic Story)

Shamo -- Shawn Yue stars in this Hong Kong / Japan coproduction based on a Japanese manga as a young man convicted of killing his parents and sent to prison where he is beaten and horribly abused by his fellow inmates until he learns martial arts and begins to fight back.

Data Retention Proven to Change Citizen Behavior
from the I-always-feel-like-somebody's-watching-me dept.
posted by samzenpus on Wednesday June 04, @22:04 (Government)
http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/04/2234235

The Neuroscience of Illusions and Dictionaries
from the maybe-your-brain-is-just-a-jerk dept.
posted by Soulskill on Sunday June 01, @12:10 (Science)
http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/01/1513213

Microsoft Seeks Patent On Brain-Based Development
from the patent-on-defying-parody dept.
posted by timothy on Saturday June 07, @23:19 (Patents)
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/07/228223

U.S. Plan for 'Thinking Machines' Repository
from the save-those-ideas-for-later dept.
posted by samzenpus on Wednesday May 28, @19:19 (Supercomputing)
http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/28/2210237

Face Recognition Goes Mainstream For Notebooks
from the don't-get-too-mangled-at-the-bullfights dept.
posted by timothy on Sunday June 08, @02:01 (Portables)
http://mobile.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/07/2243204

Full Body Scanners Installed In 10 US Airports
from the too-cheap-to-hire-superman dept.
posted by Soulskill on Saturday June 07, @00:00 (Privacy)
http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid= ... Huge Leap Forward In Robotic Limb Replacement from the arms-and-the-man dept. posted by kdawson on Sunday June 01, @17:45 (Robotics) http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/01/1852239 Smart Phones "Bigger Security Risk" Than Laptops from the low-hanging-fruit dept. posted by kdawson on Monday June 02, @20:46 (Security) http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/02/2255228

Leaked ACTA Treaty to Outlaw P2P? from the coming-at-you-from-every-side dept. posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday June 06, @17:37 (Communications) http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/06/211236 Graphics Advances Make Identifying Real Images Difficult from the click-here-to-convict-your-enemy dept. posted by timothy on Friday June 06, @09:06 (The Courts) http://yro.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/06/1239222 Diamonds Key To Quantum Computing from the supercomputer-in-the-rough dept. posted by Soulskill on Saturday June 07, @11:15 (Supercomputing) http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/07/1423258 New Superconductor Found "Immune To Magnetism" from the north-south-it's-all-the-same-to-me dept. posted by kdawson on Tuesday June 03, @15:37 (Science) http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/03/1841253 IBM Water-Cools 3D Multi-Core Chip Stacks from the 3d-cubes-are-the-best-kind-of-cubes dept. posted by timothy on Friday June 06, @10:37 (Supercomputing) http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/06/1338234 New Method Discovered For Making Telescopes On the Moon from the i'm-sure-macgyver-has-some-ideas-too dept. posted by Soulskill on Saturday June 07, @13:16 (NASA) http://science.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/07/1542230 How to Turn a PlayStation 3 Into a Linux PC from the sleek-box-of-ubuntu dept. posted by timothy on Thursday June 05, @23:58 (Operating Systems) http://games.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/06/0115219 Move Over AJAX, Make Room for ARAX from the not-a-typo dept. posted by ScuttleMonkey on Friday June 06, @13:48 (Programming) http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/06/156258 The Development of E-Paper Technology from the ubiquitous-and-cheap-please dept. posted by Soulskill on Sunday June 08, @13:12 (Handhelds) http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/08/160202 Transportation Bill Sets Aside $45 Million For MagLev Train from the zoom-zoom dept. posted by Soulskill on Saturday June 07, @05:09 (Transportation) http://news.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/07/0243237 Eric Lerner's Focus Fusion Device Gets Funded from the race-for-the-power-finish-line dept. posted by ScuttleMonkey on Monday May 26, @17:53 (Power) http://hardware.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/26/1924242 Sneaky Blackmailing Virus That Encrypts Data from the ouch-and-double-ouch dept. posted by timothy on Thursday June 05, @17:57 (Security) http://it.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/05/1921232 Software Update Shuts Down Nuclear Power Plant from the we-have-safety-systems-because-we-are-very-stupid dept. posted by Soulskill on Friday June 06, @19:58 (Software) http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/06/06/2235233 Japan "Running Out of Engineers" from the plenty-of-natto-to-trade-to-feed-new-ones dept. posted by timothy on Monday May 19, @05:11 (Education) http://tech.slashdot.org/article.pl?sid=08/05/19/0523209