Fanboys Anonymous

The Simpsons has been my absolute favorite television show for essentially my entire life, despite the decline in quality over the years. Sure, the show hasn't been good in over a decade, but that doesn't mean the first dozen or so seasons aren't still fantastic!

Since I've grown up with the show, I've learned quite a bit from it about some of the most random things imaginable, ranging from pop culture references to things like how to greet someone in Japanese. It's kind of astonishing how much more I've learned from this animated sitcom in comparison to what I learned in college, and how much it's shaped aspects of my life. I've made friends while bonding over the show, and some of what happens in the series has found its way into my own character.

Inspired by a post on Facebook that brought up the topic, I thought I would present to you a list of just some of the quotes that I've picked up from The Simpsons and adopted into my everyday life and speech patterns. Enjoy!

"I haven't said anything in a while." —Bart Simpson

[From "Simpson Safari," episode 265, season 12, original air date April 1, 2001]

While other characters are talking things out, Bart chimes in out of the blue after not having spoken for quite some time. When everyone looks at him in surprise, he simply expresses this. You'd have to imagine that the writers just realized that Bart literally hadn't said anything in a while, so they tossed this line in there to poke fun at it. Frequently, if I realize that I've been silent for a good chunk of time while other people are talking (outside of when I'm just supposed to be listening, of course), I'll typically say something random and follow it up with this line.

"Oh, I get it! I get jokes." —Homer Simpson

[From "The Last Temptation of Krust," episode 193, season 9, original air date February 22, 1998]

Simply put, Homer doesn't understand what's so funny about a joke (told by one of my favorite comedians of all time, Steven Wright—seriously, go check out his stuff, it's hilarious) and reaches a point where he basically just gives up and laughs. This has become my go-to response when I'm in this situation and I feel as though I'm particularly stupid for not getting a joke.


"So then I says to Mabel, I says…I'll finish this later. / So anyway, I says to Mabel, I says…" —Bart Simpson

[From "El Viaje Misterioso de Nuestro Homer," episode 162, season 8, original air date January 5, 1997]

This was such a random thing to put in this episode—especially for Bart and Lisa to be the ones in the conversation—and it always struck me as a funny non sequitur to pull out of nowhere, just to fill time when you're shooting the breeze with someone and running out of small talk.


"Meh." —Lisa Simpson

[From "Hungry, Hungry Homer," episode 263, season 12, original air date March 4, 2001]

This word first appeared in a different episode ("Sideshow Bob Roberts"), but it solidified itself with Lisa's emphatic use. Like "yoink," this is so ingrained in my lexicon that it often doesn't register to me as something I picked up from the show. "Meh" is a fundamentally perfect word that gives off exactly the vibe it's supposed to and also is constructed in a way that even when you say it, you're almost forced to say it with a half-assed attitude. How great is that?


"Yoink!" —various

[First appeared in "Duffless," episode 75, season 4, original air date February 18, 1993]

Supposedly this originated from The Flintstones, but The Simpsons have given the sound-effect-turned-word a whole new life. I originally didn't have this on my list because saying it when grabbing something is so natural to me now that I'd forgotten I picked it up from the show; it just feels like something everyone who knows English should say. The Simpsons Archive has a list of some yoinks from over the years.


"Ahoy, hoy." —Mr. Burns

[From "Homer the Smithers," episode 145, season 7, original air date February 25, 1996]

Showing off his old-timey ways, Mr. Burns answers the phone like this, which was the original greeting Alexander Graham Bell had planned to use for the telephone. You'd be surprised how many people have no idea what the hell you're saying if you answer the phone in this fashion.


"Go to bread." —Bart Simpson

[From "My Sister, My Sitter," episode 170, season 8, original air date March 2, 1997]

In the episode, Bart is being incredibly annoying to Lisa because she's entrusted to be his babysitter, so he tries to make the experience a living hell. When she tells him to go to bed, she finds him sitting down at the kitchen table, just eating bread. The word games ensue, where he suggests that she told him to "go to bread" rather than bed. Although I don't find myself in situations where I need to pull this to annoy someone, I will sometimes refer to going to sleep as "going to bread" in the hope that some fellow fan will catch the reference and chuckle.


"Ooooh he likes eggs." —Chief Wiggum

[From "Guess Who's Coming to Criticize Dinner?," episode 229, season 11, original air date October 24, 1999]

After Homer gets a job as a food critic, there's a plot to kill him at a local food festival. When that plot is foiled, our standard trio of cops (Chief Wiggum, Eddie, and Lou) discuss what to get to eat, and Lou says he's in the mood for frittatas. Wiggum and Eddie crack up laughing long enough for the pastry chef to escape custody, and Wiggum puts a stamp on his laughter with a simple "Ooooh, he likes eggs."

I love the idea of laughing hysterically at a joke, and when you've finally calmed down, reiterating what was so funny about it that made you laugh in the first place.

Lou and his frittatas.

"[laughter] Oh, mercy." —Seymour Skinner

[From "Sweet Seymour Skinner's Baadasssss Song," episode 100, season 5, original air date April 28, 1994]

Skinner is such an uptight character that it's great to see him genuinely enjoying himself in this episode, laughing at how problematic things have gotten for Ned Flanders, who takes over his job as principal. Skinner laughs so much that he says this when he has to calm down. Over the years, uproarious belly laughter will get this punctuation from me, often after I've reiterated why I'm laughing from the entry above.

"I was saying Boo-urns." —Hans Moleman

[From "A Star is Burns," episode 121, season 6, original air date March 5, 1995]

While everyone was booing at Mr. Burns, Smithers tries to cover it up by saying that they're not booing, they're actually saying "Boo-urns" instead. Burns asks the crowd to clarify this, and of course, they deny it—except for Hans Moleman, who pathetically declares that he was indeed saying "Boo-urns" the whole time.

Naturally, if there's a crowd booing, this pops into my mind.



"Eh, sure, why not?" —Lyle Lanley

[From "Marge vs. the Monorail," episode 71, season 4, original air date January 14, 1993]

Can the monorail outrun The Flash? You betcha. Can Superman outrun The Flash? Eh, sure, why not?

This would be in the top three of the most used ones on this list for me. It's become the go-to phrasing and cadence for whenever I'm not sure what an answer is, and I really don't care all that much. Side note: this is one of my absolute favorite episodes, and it's a shame I don't get a chance to argue that Batman's a scientist or say that I shouldn't have stopped for that haircut, too.


"It's funny 'cause it's true." —Homer Simpson / Fat Tony D'Amico

[From "Bart the Murderer," episode 39, season 3, original air date October 10, 1991 as well as "Lisa the Greek," episode 49, season 3, original air date January 23, 1992]

This one has actually even spawned a non-Simpsons variation out of its frequency of use. Back in my high school days, a couple of friends of mine were also big fans of the show, and it became natural for us to use this, so one of my buddies actually followed it up with "It's funny, cause I'm laughing." That really doesn't make all that much sense, but it took the comedy of this phrase to the next level for me anyway. Many situations are legitimately funny because they're true, but it's so much better to use this when something's clearly a joke to turn it into a secondary joke that is a bit meaner.


"I have to go now!" —Seymour Skinner

[From "The Twisted World of Marge Simpson," episode 164, season 8, original air date January 19, 1997]

Fortunately, I've never had the mafia point a gun at my head and bash my hands up, but if I'm feeling awkward, especially if I can tell that someone else wants me to leave a scenario, instead of just saying I'm going to leave, I'll toss this quote out there to point out to everyone else how awkward I feel.


"Neeeeeeeeerd!" —Homer Simpson

[From "Homer Goes to College," episode 84, season 5, original air date October 14, 1993]

Do I need to explain this?


"Then they found out it was the baby………[cough]." —Bart Simpson

[From "The Simpsons 138th Episode Spectacular," episode 138, season 7, original air date December 3, 1995]

Obviously, I don't frequently find myself able to use this whole phrase, but similar to the post-laughter sayings above, if I think I brushed over something really big and ended my sentence abruptly, there's naturally going to be a bit of a pause. If that pause is pretty long and awkward, I'll follow it up with a cough to retroactively take responsibility for how uncomfortable the silence was.





*cough*

"Everything's coming up Milhouse!" —Milhouse Van Houten

[From "Mom and Pop Art," episode 222, season 10, original air date April 11, 1999]

Is there a better way to express how everything is going well in your life than this quote?


"My eyes! The goggles do nothing!" —Rainier Wolfcastle

[From "Radioactive Man," episode 130, season 7, original air date September 24, 1995]

I'm pretty sure the first thing I said when I got glasses was this line, followed up with "I'm kidding, I'll take them."


"Natural light! Get it off me! Get it off me!" —Barney Gumble

[From "Bart Sells His Soul," episode 132, season 7, original air date October 8, 1995]

I have a particularly horrible sleep schedule—like, horrible, horrible. There's entire weeks where I may only sleep a couple of hours. On top of this, I spend the majority of my time in the house working on stuff, and I'm not much of an outdoorsy guy, but even when I am outside, I prefer moonlight over sunlight, so if it's too damn bright outside, I can be heard genuinely saying this.

"Hey Lenny, sending some outgoing mail?"
"You know it."
"I'll probably send some tomorrow."
"I hear that!"
[High five, followed by awkward exit] —Carl Carlson and Lenny Leonard

[From "E-I-E-I-(Annoyed Grunt)," episode 231, season 11, original air date November 7, 1999]

I love the lack of enthusiasm behind how mundane this is. It's the type of conversation you have on a regular basis but immediately forget because of how utterly pointless to your day it is. If I feel like I'm with someone and we need some small talk, I'll take inspiration from this, point out something that they're doing, let them know that I'll probably do the same thing soon, and then I'll leave.

"Lousy Smarch weather" —Homer Simpson

[From "Treehouse of Horror VI," episode 134, season 7, original air date October 29, 1995]

Smarch is the worst month, isn't it? If it's around March and anything is going on with the weather, rest assured I'll be saying this quite often. Hell, even if it isn't around March, it can still be referenced.


"Ha ha, you love me." —Bart Simpson

[From "Lisa's Pony," episode 43, season 3, original air date November 7, 1991]

This one is pretty self-explanatory as well, isn't it? This isn't the only quote from this scene on this list, though…


"Mm. Buh. Sna." —Homer Simpson

[Also from "Lisa's Pony," episode 43, season 3, original air date November 7, 1991]

Those aren't even words, but I think they're perfectly cromulent and can embiggen any sentence.


"If I could just say a few words, I'd be a better public speaker." —Homer Simpson

[From "Much Apu About Nothing," episode 151, season 7, original air date May 5, 1996]

This is SUCH a good joke. Why is Bart the only one laughing? I think it's perhaps the wittiest thing Homer's character has ever said and legitimately just a hilarious zinger.


"I can still make you happy, to the max!" —Gamestation 252

[from "Lisa the Tree Hugger," episode 252, season 12, original air date November 19, 2000]

Even though this doesn't tie itself to '90s culture in the episode, I tend to pull "to the max" out when referring to something that's totally radical from that era.

"Gotta nuke something." —Nelson Muntz

[from "Lisa's Date with Density," episode 160, season 8, original air date December 15, 1996]

I'm pretty outspoken, so once in a while, I'll say something that will get under someone else's skin because they consider me horribly insensitive. I'm totally not a horrible monster, but if I were to say something such as I'm not a vegetarian because bacon tastes too good, and someone asked how I could eat an animal, I'd likely respond with either something snarky like "on a lightly toasted bun" or a general statement of passive acceptance like "gotta ____ something," such as "gotta eat something."


"It's just a little dirty! It's still good! It's still good!" —Homer Simpson

[From "Lisa the Vegetarian," episode 133, season 7, original air date October 15, 1995]

This comes from one of my favorite episodes, wherein Lisa pushes Homer's pig off the grill, and it goes through the bushes, into the road, through a dam's spillway, and then is rocketed into the sky. I don't eat things that I drop on the ground, but if I'm in a lighthearted enough mood, I'll tend to throw this phrase out there if only to make myself laugh at the situation.

Bonus points for another one of my favorite jokes with Wiggum laughing at the pig's nose.


"Oh yeah? Come here a minute!" —Homer Simpson

[From "A Tale of Two Springfields," episode 250, season 12, original air date November 5, 2000]

I'll admit, I use lowbrow expressions from time to time. Thus why this list is so long!


I'm sure there are dozens, if not hundreds more that I don't currently remember and some that I may not even realize I've picked up from The Simpsons, but this is just a taste of how influential a TV show can be on your life—or at least on mine.

What are some of your favorite quotes from The Simpsons that you've adopted into your regular speech patterns? Do you instinctively say "D'oh!" when you're angry or position your hands like Mr. Burns when you say something is "excellent"? Are you guilty of saying "zork" and referring to bananas as yellow fatty-beans?

Enlighten us on all the craptacular things you say by leaving a comment below, especially if you pronounce it "avoision," you Kwyjibos!

Hey, hey, hey, Dacetacular nation! Check out episode 111 of The Dace Man Show with hosts The Dace Man  as he pays homage to the late great Rowdy Roddy Piper!

::SPORTS NEWS::

• The NHL, MLB, NFL, and our favorite: curling!

::WEIRD NEWS WITH GIBBY::

•  Gibby brings the class to the show with weird things going on in the world!

::FRANK'S CORNER::

• Frank-tastic facts for your everyday life

::CELEB NEWS::

• Dace is back, and he's packing a punch since he's on some diet pills and Red Bull. Get ready Hollywood!

Plus the occasional game of Who Said It, the crowning of The Doucebag of The Week, and much, much more, only on The Dace Man Show.



As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course, the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case a comfy seat in front of your computer—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!


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At the E3 press conference in June, we got a first look at Destiny: The Taken King's gameplay and new Guardian subclasses (Warlock's Electrical Storm, Hunter's Void Bow, and the Titan's Solar Hammer), and Guardians have one more month of waiting before finally taking on the Fallen Hive King Oryx. With enough content that is double the size of Destiny's two previous DLCs, The Taken King is packed with big upgrades you're going to be excited for.

Since its release in September 2014, Destiny has been notorious for its conflated and unusual progression system, and The Taken King will not be left out of Bungie's trend in changing the level progression with each DLC. Destiny's third expansion, to be released next month, will rely solely on the player's experience gains to reach the new level cap of 40.

From the beginning, XP was used to reach level 20 and was replaced by "Light" to further level up. Grinding in Strikes, Crucible, and Raids became an annoying obligation in order to search for armor drops with increased Light, making many players stuck at a lower level until the sporadic loot drop favored them. It only got worse when The Dark Below introduced Vanguard and Crucible Commendations that were used to buy new armor or weapons, and the only way to obtain one was to fully rank up again and again.

The House of Wolves introduced its own way to obtain its level 34 cap by requiring Etheric Light from completing Level 35 Prison of Elders to level up current armor or by obtaining Armor Cores to buy gear from Veriks. Vanguard and Crucible marks were once again the regular form of currency, but for players without a strong fire team, the absence of matchmaking in Prison of Elders past level 28 meant many were stuck on level 32.

According to GameInformer, "experience now feeds directed into your level progression all the way from one to the new level cap of 40," making Light no longer useful—though how it actually ties into what little of the storyline we know of has yet to be explained since the Hive thirst for the guardian's light. This traditional way of leveling up allows experience to determine what level you are, not what your character is wearing. Though new armor and weapons will provide increased power, they will be unlocked as you level up instead of the current open level 20. "The conflation of gear and character level led to this place where your identity was determined by things outside of your control, creative director Luke Smith told GameInformer. "We don't want to do that."

Although loot will no longer determine your level, Bungie will also be upgrading how the loot is dropped. The new algorithm will now pay closer attention to what the player already has when determining what to drop so they will receive loot meaningful to their level. That also means less drops of items already attained [finally, because I have no need for five of "Her Right Hand"].

Current Crucible and Vanguard marks will be replaced with Legendary marks while "Armor Materials" will replace Hadronic Essence, Sapphire Wire, and Plasteel Plating. Wearing class items will no longer be required to gain reputation; instead Guardians will "pledge allegiance" to a faction.

Players have so far grown accustomed to Peter Dinklage's voice behind the Ghost, but that is all about to change in The Taken King. Destiny's two previous expansions saw a complete absence of the Ghost's narrative, though GameInformer reported that the Ghost will have an even more important role within the game and will be replaced by voice actor Nolan North (Uncharted, Assassin's Creed). North will be redoing all of the current dialogue to maintain consistency throughout the game and will bring his own touch to the character, adding a more current connection to the Guardian.

The Taken King will be packed with narrative-driven story that includes over eight new missions, eight new Crucible maps with three new modes—Mayhem, Rift, and Zone Control—strikes, class quests, and the final raid—King's Fall.

The Taken King will be available September 15 on disc and digital download.

Developer Digital Extremes released a major update for Warframe. As with all of their major updates, it comes with brand new locations, weapons, bug fixes, and cosmetic equipment. It doesn't end there, however; there are also new quests, boss battles, and a overhauled parkour system. It feels more like an expansion than an update.

The part I'm most excited about is the new frame, Equinox. The power of this warframe lies in its dual modes, Day and Night. Each power performs differently based on the mode you are in. The first power is Metamorphosis, which toggles between the modes and also gives a visual queue to which form you're in. In Day form, you get a damage and speed buff, whereas in Night form you get a shield and armor buff.

This motif of Day being offensive and Night being defensive carries through the other three abilities. The second ability, Rest and Rage, debuffs enemies in a small area in Day form and puts enemies to sleep in Night form. The third ability, Pacify and Provoke, buffs allies' power strength in Day form and reduces damage dealt by enemies in Night form. The last ability, Main and Mend, inflicts damage in two parts on a group of enemies while in Day mode and heals allies per each enemy death for a time in Night form.

Are you ready to play as the twilight ninja, Equinox?

Episode 17 of the Fanboys Anonymous Reviewpoint podcast reviews the latest film in the Mission: Impossible series, entitled: Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.

You can check out the podcast below on YouTube, iTunes, and Stitcher. Make sure to subscribe!

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for the fifth film in the story of the best spy for the Impossible Mission Force, Ethan Hunt, entitled Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation—directed by Christopher McQuarrie; written by Christopher McQuarrie (screenplay and story), Drew Pearce (story), and Bruce Geller (television series); starring Tom Cruise (Ethan Hunt), Jeremy Renner (William Brandt), Simon Pegg (Benji Dunn), Rebecca Ferguson (Ilsa Faust), Ving Rhames (Luther Stickell), Sean Harris (Solomon Lane) and Alec Baldwin (Alan Hunley).

CHARACTERS: B+

Ethan Hunt is the same as ever, so that's either a positive or a negative to you (I've heard some criticize the character for being too wooden in comparison to James Bond while others think he's awesome because he's less of a jerk than 007). While I prefer Bond and it's not even a close race, I like the Ethan Hunt character precisely because he's a bit of a change of pace and not just an attempt to clone Bond. He's got a bit of a rougher edge to him this time around, though, which is another good thing. In the first Mission: Impossible, he never even fires a gun, but I can't imagine being wrong in stating that he kills more people in this film than any others. Hunt remains the standout boyscout in many ways despite this, and I appreciated that.

William Brandt is a bit of a wet blanket again, similar to his role in Mission: Impossible - Ghost Protocol. While that's okay and I still like his character overall, I wouldn't be surprised if someone considered him their least favorite character of the bunch.

That is, of course, especially because there's the two comedic techies—Benji Dunn and Luther Stickell—who steal nearly every scene they're in. I've liked both of these characters in all of the films and I'm particularly fond of them actually using Stickell, since he was missed from the previous entry.

Ilsa Faust is a capable agent who has loyalties, makes tough decisions, and comes off genuine as well as pretty bad ass. I don't expect to see her back, as this franchise likes to employ new women in each installment, but this is a great trend with her and Paula Patton's character beforehand of beautiful and admirable women.

As far as the villains go, Solomon Lane is creepy, cold and calculating. Awesome. Vintor is...meh, a henchman. He's not bad, but he's nothing too memorable. The stereotypical bureaucratic enemies that get in the way are pretty standard and also nothing out of the ordinary, yet that's not a negative mark. I'm very happy that the temptation to reveal a certain character as a villain was ignored, but I won't say who.

ACTING: B

Movies like this aren't "actors' films" by any means, so it's really just a matter of whether you're able to suspend your disbelief enough to have fun, which I did. I really don't have all that much more to say for this section other than to point out that Tom Cruise is crazy for doing a lot of these stunts, but it shows his dedication.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): B+

It was a breath of fresh air to not see a 3D movie, as even though I go for those all the time over the regular versions, I often don't see much of a reasoning for it. The opera set was nice, the plane sequence was impressive, and I really have no complaints.

MUSIC & SOUND: B

Outside of the main theme, the score doesn't ring a bell in a way where I'll be wanting to get the soundtrack. That main theme, though, is so good. Normally, I don't have much to say in terms of sound design, but there was a sequence at the end when I particularly noticed just how much of a punch each gunshot had and when glass would shatter on a car, it was very crisp. Very cool.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): B+

ACTION: The action in this isn't as over the top in too many ways compared to some things seen in other films, but I actually prefer that. Every action sequence was fun to watch and kept my attention rather than dragging on for too long or coming off unnecessary.

COMEDY: Not too many laughs to be distracting, but just enough to bring some levity to relieve tension. Nice.

ROMANCE: There really isn't any romance in this film, but that's okay. These are meant to be action films with a little bit of comedy peppered throughout, not date movies.

FINAL GRADE: B+

You don't go into a Mission: Impossible movie and expect something different than what this is. I enjoyed myself from start to finish, even though it's not something that will be winning awards or studied in film class. It's not just mindless action, though, as those movies tend to bore me, so don't write the film off entirely as nothing but explosions. All in all, this series keeps getting better with each new movie, and while this was only the second that I've seen in theaters, I'm sure to be watching M:I 6 (wait a second...MI6? Hm....) as well.

Hey, hey, hey, Dacetacular nation! Check out Episode 110 of The Dace Man Show with host Frank Ward! It's another Frank Take Over, and this time it's a complete Iowan Invasion! Join Frank Ward, Travis Sullivan, Jefferson Brown, and Gibby as they take over The Dace Man Show in The Dace Man's hiatus!

What did the Iowan crew discuss this week on The Dace Man Show? Word from down on the corner is that they introduced some new segments. Also, the Iowan Crew discussed how great the state of Iowa really is as a jab at the usually dominant New Jersey crew.

With The Dace Man, Nicholas Andrew, and Tricia all M.I.A. this week, anything goes. In one of the final shows of Frank broadcasting with his home state Iowa, the new team gives you a show to pay homage to the state of Iowa!

All that and more on this week The Dace Man Show!



As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course, the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case a comfy seat in front of your computer—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!


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If you're following the 2015 summer movie season, you know by now how records have been broken, but other things have been struggling a bit. There's no greater example of this weird atmosphere going on right now in movie land than when it comes to Pixels.

Coming partially from Happy Madison Productions—the camp responsible for Adam Sandler's films since his glory days of Happy Gilmore and Billy Madison (hence the namesake)—the film features Sandler and a handful of other names battling it out with old video games sent to destroy the human race from aliens.

Yeah, it sounds either absolutely dumb or absolutely awesome. Unfortunately, it seems to be the former, and those glory days where Sandler used to be a cash cow are not carrying over.

This film has been panned by critics and even if that were to have happened, but it would have been met with roaring success at the ticket booths, it would have been somewhat justified to make. However, that is not the case, as the film cost $88 million to produce and after another $20 million spent on distribution, marketing and so forth, the opening worldwide total of $49.4 million could prove problematic. It wasn't even able to take the top spot in its first week, so how can it be expected to make up ground now?

Pictured: the 4 people who went to go see Pixels this weekend

Much of the reasoning as to why this is happening no doubt stems from the perception that this looks like a terrible film to a lot of people. I continually keep hearing from people that the premise sounds interesting, but knowing Adam Sandler and Kevin James are involved is an immediate turn off and the previews did nothing but convince them to not spend their $15 for a ticket.

Outside of a bad overall image, another one of the biggest reasons for why Pixels is struggling to find an audience is because its audience is already busy watching other movies. This film was booked in perhaps the worst possible time that it could ever open up.

Right now, at the end of July, people are panicking that the summer is almost over and want to get in as many outdoor activities as possible. Some are also getting ready for school, while others have burned through their cash after partying and going on vacation in June and July. Even if they wanted to go to the movies, though, there are alternatives out there that are coming off as much more appealing.

The overall theme for this movie season seems to be comedy—not necessarily 100% in the laugh department, but also in terms of having fun and feeling happy when leaving the theater.

As far as pure comedy goes, if you're into dopey humor, you might have spent your money on Spy (oddly enough, that movie is not an action thriller, while Dope is not out there for laughs...go figure). You damn sure most likely didn't see Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 back in April, but that could have soured you on wanting to see another Kevin James movie, as you could associate his one bad film for being an overall portrait of "he is not funny" and extend it to this.

Maybe you want to laugh, but you also want to go on a date. Right now, you're probably going to be watching Trainwreck if you're not one of the stragglers who will go see Pitch Perfect 2 or Ted 2 or if you're a teenager, Paper Towns.

If this was supposed to market toward kids, too late, as they've seen Inside Out and Minions and some other movies, such as Jurassic World and Ant-Man. Those latter two also have the added element of nostalgia, which Terminator Genisys does as well, so there goes any hope of tapping into the people that have felt a longing for their childhood being brought to life on screen.

Things aren't going to get any better for Pixels anytime soon, either. Coming up next week is Vacation, which will cut into both the nostalgic and comedic audience. Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation is an action film with a much more serious tone, so if you were interested in seeing this movie for the action, you'll be more attracted to that. Despite how it is probably going to run into the same problems that Pixels is facing right now, Fantastic 4 comes out at the beginning of August, so that will help push Pixels down even further because it will at least have the comic book audience.

Then, it will be hit with The Man from U.N.C.L.E.—which I'm also assuming won't do too well, but it looks fun and it will click with the action audience. American Ultra is sure to get in the way, similarly, and then bam, Hitman: Agent 47 brings all that action and the video game element as well.

With an overload of pretty much every type of movie element out there that Pixels would like to be, it seems like the only thing is truly is happens to be underwhelming.

Having not seen the film, I can't say whether or not this is all justified, but that in itself speaks volumes, as I won't be paying money to see it in theaters, either. I've spent enough money at the movies so far this year and I already know that I'll be seeing SPECTRE, Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens and several other movies, so I don't have it in me to gamble $15 on something that looks bad, sounds bad according to critics, and has no positive word of mouth...and I know full well that I'll eventually watch this movie down the line, too.

Had this film come out earlier in the year in the months of February or March before Avengers: Age of Ultron swept April, it would have had the jump on all of these movies and been there first with little to no competition. Now, it's a small fish in the big pond of summer blockbuster time and unlike the video games in the film, there aren't any cheat codes or extra lives to make up for failing level 1—the opening week box office.

Hey, hey, hey, Dacetacular nation! The Dace Man is MIA again due to business trips that make him land late Wednesday nights. Check out episode 109 of The Dace Man Show with hosts Allie "Zoidberg" Koesek,   Patty McTitties, and Gibby!

::SPORTS NEWS::

• Curling!
• MLB Standings
• NFL News
• Plus more

::WEIRD NEWS WITH GIBBY::

• Surprisingly the saving grace of this episode...

::CELEB NEWS::

• Tits and Zoidberg run down the latest in Pop Culture News.

All that and more, only on The Dace Man Show Presents: The Tits & Zoidberg Show.



As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course, the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case a comfy seat in front of your computer—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!


Follow on Facebook: Mega Powers Radio | Fanboys Anonymous | The Dace Man Show | Nerd Court | Sports Talk Weekly | Addicted to Anime | Say Yes Think No

A new trailer for the 24th entry in the James Bond film franchise, SPECTRE, has been released, giving us a better idea of the storyline and a closer look at some of the action set pieces. Watch the trailer below:

My Thoughts:

• This is the fourth Daniel Craig film and every single one of them has been at least somewhat about Bond working outside of MI6 and not really being himself. Casino Royale was him not even really being a 00 agent. Quantum of Solace he was somewhat excommunicated. Skyfall he was supposed to be dead and too old so he should hang up the boots. Now, this one is about him being chastised and them saying he should retire, again?? Come on, guys....can't Craig just be James Bond already? You already refuse to do the goddamn gun barrel sequence.
• I'm not a car guy, but that car seems pretty sweet.
• I'm also digging how Q Branch seems to be more legit.
• Monica Bellucci is so perfect for a Bond girl and it's kind of ridiculous that it's taken so long for her to be cast in one of these movies.
• Is that a rendition of the theme from On Her Majesty's Secret Service???? GEEK OUT MOMENT...even though I hate that movie in particular.
• Glad to see skiing is back in a Bond film.
• Christoph Waltz better be Blofeld.
• I'll be not only surprised, but also disappointed if it doesn't turn out that Quantum was just a subdivision of S.P.E.C.T.R.E. all along.

What do you think of the new trailer? Are you excited for the film? Tell us your thoughts in the comments below!

A cryptic message from Bond's past sends him on a trail to uncover a sinister organization. While M battles political forces to keep the secret service alive, Bond peels back the layers of deceit to reveal the terrible truth behind SPECTRE.

On episode 16 of the 4 Reel Movie Club podcast, Fanboys Anonymous members give their thoughts on the four films of the Mission: Impossible franchise leading up to the release of Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation.

Ant-Man Annual #1 Cover by Mark Brooks

Ant-Man is everywhere at the moment with the spotlight firmly shining on the pint sized hero as the latest Marvel movie lets this character take center stage.

As if that wasn't enough, the comic side of Marvel's megalithic machine is back from a break, in the middle of the unfolding saga of Secret Wars. The artistic team that brought Scott Lang back for a fantastic solo series delivers once more on the Ant-Man Annual issue.

With Nick Spencer, Ramon Rosanas, and Jordan Boyd, joined by Brent Schoonover for the series Annual, we get a great story that is still so full of heart and feels very much a part of the first 5 issues from earlier this year. The magic that delighted audiences remains in force in this issue, with the same comedic flavor that Spencer established from the start.

The story picks up from the last regular issue of the Ant-Man series, with the defeat of Scott Lang's nemesis Darren Cross. The team from Ant-Man Security Solutions are taking a deserved breather in a local bar, when the events that transpired in the Marvel OGN Rage of Ultron play on a news broadcast in the background. Thus, ensue the flashback adventure or Scott Lang's narrative.

Grizzly gets impatient for his home team.	Machinesmith's sarcasm is on point.

The tone and feel of the story—and other qualities that endeared Spencer's take on Ant-Man—remain consistent, providing a seamless voice to the characters and story as a whole. This was important to need of the get right, due to the lapse in time from the regular series with Secret Wars dominating the Marvel publishing line up currently.

The voice that Spencer invokes for Scott Lang is sarcastic, humorous, yet human. We have a real sense of compassion from the character. The characterization behind this is a high standard and a driving force for the development of the series. It is this distinguishing trait that lets audiences into the world of the characters—to participate as a witness to their deeds and adventures. This means we can become absorbed into the comic and experience a break from our own real world momentarily, escaping to where Marvel would have their creative teams take us—for a nominal charge, mind you.

Time to take this party elsewhere...	Scott remembers what Hank Pym did for him all those years ago...

The art from Rosanas, Boyd and Schoonover melds well, between the past and present sense of the characters. While this is good from one angle, the differentiation of the various periods of time could be more demarcated also. Colorist Jordan Boyd provides a delightful visual landscape, bringing to life the line work of Ramon Rosanas and Brent Schoonover. There is an accessibility to the story through the artwork that is extremely welcoming on this title. The panel layouts flow well and the story itself is made for a modern easy reading audience. I get the sense that the creative team have been quite conscious of the effort readers may need to put in for a newer series and have played this down dramatically in kind.

One more bad guy put down!	How many Ant-Men does it take to...

With the next stop for Ant-Man scheduled for August with the Last Days of Ant-Man one-shot, and with Secret Wars still raging on around the new Marvel universe, we will have to wait until at least October to see how Ant-Man reacts to the "All-New, All-Different" Marvel landscape. However, with the teaser ending Spencer and co have left in this issue, the next one-shot could have some fun in it. With the information provided in Marvel's July Previews magazine, it is a great relief to see the same, main creative team that we have on this issues still on board for the future. There is a great chemistry here, which is a winning combination for Marvel, and still looks like it has a lot of potential for further stories.

All-New, All-Different Ant-Man

So what did you think of the start of this issue? Did you like the way it rounded off the previous pre-Secret Wars Scott Lang and co? What do you think the Ant-Man series will hold after Secret Wars? Make sure you tell us what you thought of the book by leaving a comment below or on our Facebook or Twitter and make sure you come back next time for the next installment in the Last Days of Ant-Man one-shot.

The Adventures of Punk and Rock #3

The Adventures of Punk and Rock take a seminal step up in this latest issue of the fledgling independent comic from Hamblin Comics.

Back for another round of crazy, spaced out fun, we see the creators show more artistic flair this time. Issue 3 gives readers three different stories, with a mix of the stalwart creative team on each tale.

A notable standout is the first story of this issue, "The Trip" by Scott Twells. This is a silent story with no dialogue and only the visual imagery to tell readers what is happening. It is great to see Twells take this road and stretch his artistic muscles in such a fashion. We also get a more details in the art and nearly full color on the pages to bring out the stories psychedelic side. The narrative itself is straight forward, which is a positive, considering the decision to not use dialogue. The main Punk must navigate a drug induced fantasy, while Rock keeps him out of trouble.

The second story, "The Perfect Bride", sees Austin Hamblin back in on story details and a return to dialogue. The artist changes to Dario Reyes and with this, a very different artistic feel is appropriated on the pages. The layout is smooth and the penciling and inking much more distinct, bold and assertive. However, the character of Rock certainly feels like a more uncouth, foul-mouthed version of Marvel's The Thing here. The full color images are crisply produced—a differential in terms of quality from the previous issues.

The final story, "Punk Rock Zombie", has Hamblin and Twells on board and feels much more aligned to the previous issues from The Adventures of Punk and Rock. This is also in full color, by Aaron Moore and the panel layout is more conductive to better storytelling techniques.

Punk and Rock come back for another round.

Overall, this comic takes another good artistic step forward; although the story, dialogue and content seems to be in a stuck in a quagmire of juvenile topics. It would be good to see this become more accessible to a wider audience to make good use of the overall comic medium, which is going through radical distribution, content and audience changes lately. For any creators trying to get work out there, the need to tell stories that are balanced can help them progress. However, based on the current content of The Adventures of Punk and Rock, such work will struggle to find an wide audience.

Well, there we are Fan-people, make sure you continue to keep an eye out for further work from Hamblin Comics on their website. Check them out and let me know what you think by leaving a comment below or head on over to the Fanboys Anonymous Facebook or Twitter to make your mark, and keep on coming back to Fanboys for more comic reviews and news.

Episode 16 of the Fanboys Anonymous Reviewpoint podcast reviews the final film in Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe: Ant-Man.

You can check out the podcast below on YouTube, iTunes, and Stitcher. Make sure to subscribe!

Welcome to the latest edition of Making the Grade—a review format segment here on Fanboys Anonymous where we break down the five major components of something and give it a score based on the standard report card lineup: A, B, C, D, and F for a total failure.

The next report card is for the final entry in Phase Two of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, entitled Ant-Man.

Ant-Man—directed by Peyton Reed; written by Edgar Wright (screenplay & story), Joe Cornish (screenplay & story), Adam McKay (screenplay), Paul Rudd (screenplay), Stan Lee (comic book), Larry Lieber (comic book), Jack Kirby (comic book); starring Paul Rudd (Scott Lang / Ant-Man), Michael Douglas (Dr. Hank Pym), Evangeline Lilly (Hope van Dyne), Corey Stoll (Darren Cross), Judy Greer (Maggie Lang), Bobby Cannavale (Paxton), Michael Peña (Luis), and Hayley Atwell (Peggy Carter).

CHARACTERS: C–

One of the problems I had with this film was the pacing. Its shorter running time made things felt a bit rushed to me and as a result, I didn't quite get the feel of some characters as much as I was hoping. For the most part, everyone is presented very quickly as "this is the character and here we go" and not much more else. For instance, just as we're starting to see the real struggle between Hope and Hank (as opposed to merely being told that they have issues), it ends with Hank's spontaneous reveal about what happened to Janet. Scott Lang is presented as a kind of jokey guy who is the good guy and we're off to the races. His friends are funny and help him with heists and that's it. Darren Cross is a pretty one-dimensional villain who I have a feeling will go down as one of the least memorable ones of the whole franchise to the point where people might even forget not just his name, but everything other than how he was Yellowjacket. I did like the inclusion of some other characters like Falcon, Peggy Carter, Howard Stark and HYDRA, but I definitely think the characters were weak overall.

ACTING: B–

I've got no real complaints for the acting, but also nothing really positive to point out, either. The flaws from characterization made it harder for me to distinguish whether or not certain scenes would have been better off with a different actor or if it was the directing or just the pacing itself, but outside of the holdovers from previous films and to an extent, Paul Rudd and Michael Peña, I didn't get the feeling that this was a film of Marvel's caliber. No stars are going to be made with this one. People know who Chris Hemsworth and Tom Hiddleston are from Thor, but is anyone going to start pointing out Corey Stoll or that guy who was also in The Dark Knight....whatever his name is? I doubt it.

VISUALS (FX, MAKEUP, COSTUMES, SETS): B–

Some shots looked a little sketchy when it came to the CGI—almost as if they had been made a couple years ago rather than in 2014/2015—but overall, I was a fan of the visuals. It was interesting to see something different with the shrinking when there was something to give perspective to it, as opposed to the water scenes which lost the size aspect in translation. The best costume is easily Yellowjacket, which was pretty badass looking for something that looks so ridiculous in the comics. The Wasp outfit at the end also looked quite cool, so kudos for designing those.

MUSIC & SOUND: C–

I don't want to give this a D, because it wasn't bad, but I honestly thought the music was one of the weakest points of the film. Other Marvel movies have had killer scores with catchy main themes and this one just doesn't. I've had the Iron Man 3 theme stuck in my head all day and I can't tell you a single note from Ant-Man, nor can I name any songs that showed up in the film other than "It's a Small World". As far as sound goes, I also didn't quite get a feel of just how other people could hear the smaller characters. Was there a built-in transmitter of sorts and I missed that explanation? If so, how does it know to project the volume of their voice only when they're small, so when they're normal sized, they aren't shouting at ridiculously high decibels? I know that's more of a script issue than a sound design one, but seeing as how we could hear what they were saying and other characters could as well, I would have liked some kind of explanation.

TONE (ACTION, ROMANCE, COMEDY): B+

ACTION: I didn't expect this to be action-heavy, so the amount that we got was perfectly fine for me.

COMEDY: Perhaps a bit too jokey, but Michael Peña's comic relief was definitely one of the most enjoyable parts of the film. A little less jokes and some more serious building of the plot would have gone a long way to me.

ROMANCE: There really wasn't any romantic stuff in this movie. Hank and Janet really is non-existent and Scott/Hope is literally a case of lampshade hanging where it happens out of nowhere and Hank points it out.

FINAL GRADE: C+

I went into this movie thinking that it was going to be a tough sell that could possibly suck, and I'll admit that I liked it more than I thought I would, but I also can't deny that I'm also disappointed. I had fun and enjoyed the film, sure. I also can't place it anywhere above the bottom run of the Marvel Cinematic Universe so far. This isn't going to be one that I can just put on at random and watch like I can with The Avengers and it's so far from being in the same ballpark as the two best ones in my opinion: Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Iron Man. I think it's one of the weakest outings in the franchise that really doesn't bring much to the table to be celebrated about. If there's a sequel, I'll naturally be seeing it opening night, but if this wasn't a Marvel film in that continuity and it was just a random movie out of nowhere called The Shrinking Man, I'd end up being harder on it.

Hey, hey, hey, Dacetacular nation! Check out episode 108 of The Dace Man Show with hosts The Dace Man Gibby, Franklin Ward, and of course the testosterone—Kimmy McTitties.

::SPORTS NEWS::

• The NHL, MLB, NFL, and our favorite: curling!

::WEIRD NEWS WITH GIBBY::

•  Gibby brings the class to the show with weird things going on in the world!

::FRANK'S CORNER::

• Frank-tastic facts for your everyday life

::CELEB NEWS::

• Dace is back, and he's packing a punch since he's on some diet pills and Red Bull. Get ready Hollywood!

Plus the occasional game of Who Said It, the crowning of The Doucebag of The Week, and much, much more, only on The Dace Man Show.



As always, check back regularly to see what Chris "The Dace Man" Dace is looking at (and no, not just porn), as well as all of the other bloggers here at Fanboys Anonymous. Remember, keyboard warriors: leave your feedback! Until the next time, for the few, the proud, and, of course, the Dacetacular, grab a beer—and in this case a comfy seat in front of your computer—and check out what's going on here in the Dace-Sphere. See ya next time!


Follow on Facebook: Mega Powers Radio | Fanboys Anonymous | The Dace Man Show | Nerd Court | Sports Talk Weekly | Addicted to Anime

After years of Star Wars storytelling avoiding the time period between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, the Lucasfilm Story Group is now filling the gap with its new material. James Luceno's (Darth Plagueis, Labyrinth of Evil) first fully canon Star Wars novel tells the tale of how Governor Wilhuff Tarkin became Grand Moff of the Empire, as well as filling out his backstory and giving life to the character.

All spoilers will be relegated to the end section and relatively brief, but first I would like to give a spoiler-free review and a grading for this novel. My perspective is that of someone who has read almost everything with a Star Wars label on it and enjoys the stories and the world that this explores. I read almost all of the Expanded Universe before it was relegated to a non-canon Legends label, but I approach the new stories with excitement.

My first impression of Tarkin was that it is really short, with the page count of the actual novel at just over 260 pages. A book does not need to be long to be good, however, so while the page count was disappointing, it did not factor into the way I read the story.

The tale is essentially two different stories about the titular character that weave together to tell a broader story about who Wilhuff Tarkin is beneath his frown. The main story takes place around 5 years after Revenge of the Sith. It is a team-up story of Tarkin and the other character featured on the cover, Darth Vader. The two of them are brought together to find a small cell of rebellious revolutionaries (well before the formation of the Rebel Alliance that we all know and love from A New Hope and, more recently, Star Wars Rebels). Tarkin has had some experience with their methods from his days fighting in the Clone Wars. This is the first mission that he is working together with Vader on, so the reader can watch their camaraderie develop as the mission plays out.

The second story is a flashback to Tarkin's youth. He and his uncle, Jova, come from a wealthy and prominent family on a world far from the Galactic center. They are put together by Tarkin's parents because Jova lives in the wild and will train Tarkin to survive. This story is meant to show how Tarkin thinks and the reasons that his personality is as calculating and ruthless as it is in all the other media where he has appeared.

Quite honestly, I found the secondary story, that of Tarkin's upbringing, far more interesting than the primary tale. While it might be entertaining to many to see Tarkin and Vader getting in sync with one another and pursuing rebels without regard for anything in between them and their goal, for me it was a greater story to see where Tarkin came from and the planet which spit him into the undisputed third place in the Imperial hierarchy.

The Imperial characters in this book—mainly Tarkin and Vader but also the Emperor and some officials—feel in character and are fleshed out in interesting and mostly fulfilling ways. Tarkin comes across as a bit of a snob and comes to some correct conclusions too easily, but in some places his confidence in his intelligence and underestimation of his opponents hurts him as it does in A New Hope. The rebel characters in this book, however, are generally uninteresting and one-dimensional.

Overall, I would give this book a C+. I know of some online reviewers who really enjoyed and raved about Tarkin, but I cannot bring myself to fall into this category. The primary story was too dry, and, despite the shortness of the novel, dragged on too long for me. I understand that some important things happened throughout the course of the book, but I did not feel that the plot itself was important enough to the character or the galaxy to write or read about. The storytelling, as is Luceno's way, is great and probably of a higher class than most licensed novelists bring to the table. However, the first chapter of this wonderfully written prose is spent talking entirely about the design of a uniform. One of the things Luceno has excelled at in the past is pulling from all the other Star Wars material that exists, so I think he suffered here primarily from two things: a lack of ideas about what to do with the plot and where to bring the characters, and a lack of other resources to pull from since this is only the second canon novel in the Star Wars galaxy.

Now, a couple of notes for those who have read the book or do not care about spoilers.


1) So there's a lot of talk going around about how Palpatine's first name is Sheev, which is first introduced to us in this book. Do you like it or not like it? For me, I think this is mostly a moot point because it's not likely to start popping up everywhere. It's not the best name he could have been (I was kind of pulling for Frank, myself).

2) I can understand Tarkin's reasoning to come to the conclusion that Darth Vader was Anakin Skywalker, because he's working closely with him and has previously worked with Anakin. However, I believe it's a much bigger leap to see Tarkin determine that Palpatine is also a Sith Lord. And Tarkin doesn't care because he sees Jedi and Sith as basically the same, but Palpatine has unified a galaxy. Of course, Tarkin also knows that Palpatine started the war. I don't think that Tarkin just shrugging off this information is entirely rational, and I probably would not have had him reach the conclusion that Palpatine is a Sith Lord. Let him think Vader is the only Sith in the galaxy.

3) So Palpatine uses the Jedi Temple as the Imperial Palace. That's fine, I can understand that. But he does it because the Jedi Temple was built on a Sith lair? That's a little stranger and needs development in a future story. Does this mean that the Jedi have not been pure lightside since they built their Temple on Coruscant? Does this have no effect whatsoever, but maybe Palpatine wanted to recover Sith knowledge? Is this meant to be a social commentary exclusively, about how the Jedi and Sith go after the same things (like power and knowledge and exact locations for building)?

4) Just how important is Tarkin's ship? I don't think that Vader and Tarkin are going after these rebels because they stole the ship, because that is pure overkill for a ship that is basically falling apart by the end of the book. I think they are going after the rebels because these are the first rebels who are actually able to pull off something like this, and they must be shut down before they can organize into a larger force.

Of course, my opinion does not matter nearly as much as everyone else's. If you've read the book, want to comment on the points I've raised or should have raised, or if you'd like to discuss anything else about it, please leave a comment below.

DC and Warner Bros. hit Hall H with a couple of hard punches, such as confirmation that the Green Lantern film will be titled Green Lantern Corps, but nothing will get fans more pumped up than the latest trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice. Check it out:

My thoughts?

• I love the idea of the world examining Superman as a false god who needs to step up and actually become a source of hope for the world, since that's what his character revolves around the most. I love the idea that Bruce Wayne is pissed about the destruction because of the people who have died.
• Lex's hair is ridiculous. Why is it so hard to do this character justice on screen? He's either campy as hell or he's Kurt Cobain? He's bald, too. Let him be bald! There's absolutely nothing that says you need to put a wig on him at any point in any movie!
• I love the idea of a dead Robin, but I'll tell you right now that if they kill off Dick Grayson instead of Jason Todd, I'm going to passionately hate this movie, especially if they've just merged the Robins together to skip forward to Carrie Kelley. That will show that they love The Dark Knight Returns too much and that they don't care about building an actual universe, because it kills off being able to use Nightwing, Red Hood (yes, I know, they could do Grayson as Red Hood, but that's stupid), and so forth.
• Zod's corpse? I guess those rumors about Doomsday are true. Not sure how I feel about that.
• Mercy Graves is awesome.
• Kryptonite = awesome. That should have been in Man of Steel instead of the weird atmosphere stuff.
• Gal Gadot is winning me over. I didn't quite love the casting before, but after seeing this, I'm starting to buy into her.
• Batman looks fucking SIIIIIIIIIIIIICK in action!
• That Bat Cave…seriously…OMG. I love it.

During the panel, Zack Snyder also revealed a few other things:

• Metropolis and Gotham City are sister cities on opposite ends of the same bay. This is something that they can play around with, as there's never truly a definitive explanation of where these two cities are located in relation to one another.
• He wrote a part specifically for Holly Hunter to be in the film because he wanted to work with Holly Hunter. This bothers me, because this kind of stuff shouldn't happen. I still maintain that a role like Hunter's should not be a brand new character, but something from the comics, and it certainly shouldn't have been created just to get an actor in the movie. General Swanwick should have been General Sam Lane and Colonel Hardy was unnecessary and took time away from establishing some others. We had no Jimmy Olsen, but we had Jenny Jurwich? This movie has Scoot McNairy in an original role and Holly Hunter, but no Lucius Fox?

I'm more excited about the movie than I was before, but I still have my reservations. Who they haven't screwed up from Batman's characters (hopefully, Dick Grayson is off being Nightwing in Bludhaven, Jena Malone is Oracle, Jim Gordon and Lucius Fox are still alive, Jason Todd's the dead Robin and Tim Drake hasn't been recruited yet, etc); how Lex Luthor is represented on screen, and how much time is wasted on Scott McNairy and Holly Hunter; and whether or not Doomsday is a bastardization of himself will play big into whether or not I like it, similar to how those kind of elements ruined Man of Steel for me even if the overall story of the film was good, just the same as this overall story seems great.

Above all else, don't screw this up and have this be Dick Grayson!!!

Fearing the actions of a god-like super hero left unchecked, Gotham City's own formidable, forceful vigilante takes on Metropolis's most revered, modern-day savior, while the world wrestles with what sort of hero it really needs. And with Batman and Superman at war with one another, a new threat quickly arises, putting mankind in greater danger than it's ever known before.

It's happening, everyone. One of the most influential Batman stories of all time is going to be translated into animated form!

Following in the footsteps of films such as Batman: Under the Red Hood, Batman: Year One, and Batman: The Dark Knight Returns - Part 1 and 2, the trend will continue with Batman: The Killing Joke!

While those films may not be perfect and the same kind of review could go to the other adaptations for Superman arcs and Justice League stories, one thing's for sure: they capture the spirit of the original work and present it in a way that is easier to digest for people who may not be too keen to pick up the actual books.

Even if you're unfamiliar with The Killing Joke, if you've played the Arkham games or you've watched Tim Burton's Batman film or paid attention to pretty much anything Batman-related since the story originally came out in 1988, you definitely know bits and pieces of it.

The Killing Joke was written by Alan Moore and is about the backstory of The Joker (or at least, one of them, as it has never been confirmed). The man who may or may not be named Jack Napier attempts to prove that all it takes to make a monster like himself is "one bad day" of tragedy to happen to someone and they'll snap. He tries to illustrate this to Batman and Commissioner Gordon while doing some of the most horrible things imaginable, including paralyzing Barbara Gordon (aka Batgirl).

This comic is the reason the Oracle character exists. It's the reason why the Red Hood is such an integral part of Jason Todd's story. It's quite possibly even the comic where Batman KILLS The Joker. Whaaaaat? Yeah, you heard me.

Mark Hamill, whom many (myself included) consider to be the voice of The Joker, has said numerous times in the past that he wanted to do an adaptation of The Killing Joke and it would definitely seem as though he would be involved in this, although that hasn't been confirmed. Imagine if both he and Kevin Conroy are able to do this together, especially with someone like Bryan Cranston returning to voice Jim Gordon and maybe even Melissa Gilbert or Tara Strong to return as Batgirl!

Also announced for 2016 were the titles Batman: Bad Blood and Justice League vs. Titans, which could all be cool in their own right, but come on, that's small news compared to The Killing Joke!

Are you as pumped about this as I am? Who would be your perfect cast for the different roles in this film? Tell us what's on your mind by leaving a comment below!