It’s the most wonderful time of the year. It’s finally here! After a long and cold winter (well for the East Coast anyways- us West Coasters only had the infrequent earthquake) the glory of Summer movies is upon us. Can’t you tell I’m excited?

In an effort to make your choices clear, I’ve devised a list of movies in May based on their geekiness, hotness, and a few other gauges of greatness. Read on to see which films you should wait in line for and which should wait for you in your Netflix queue.

MAY MOVIES

May 7th
Iron Man 2

Pure, unadulterated, awesomeness.  I will be going, as in I bought my 12:01 Arclight ticket weeks ago. I expect Iron Man himself to introduce my movie-going experience. If I’m lucky John Favreau and a host of Marvelites will be sitting behind me watching my every emotion with bated breath.

Geekiness Factor: There are cool gadgets only a brilliant mind like Stark or Favreau could devise. There’s a shot in the trailer of Iron Man and War Machine unleashing holy Hell to all comers. It’s also based on a comic book (whowouldathunkit) which ups the geekiness factor dramatically.

Screen Steamer: Robert Downey Jr., or for those thinking they’re cool by calling him RDJ, is in it. He is 5 feet 10 inches of hotness in a scruffy, arrogant, decisive package. And oh yeah, Scarlett Johansson is also wearing tight black leather.

As I have yet to hear more than 2 words from her in the trailer, I will guess the bigwigs believe her bottle of red hair dye #10 is all the hotness needed to make fanboys line up. I, on the other hand, have seen her films and expect her to talk. She has a great personality beyond that pout… really, she does I swear.

Great Expectations: Just a little (note sarcasm). “I am Iron Man.” Tony Stark better bring it in this one. But, does that mean more villains, more suits, more plots, more romance, and more action? Yes, apparently that’s what constituents as better to the studios, to the detriment of us. Hopefully Favreau wised up, but from what I’ve heard and seen, that’s not the case.

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Here we are and another week sees more new comics coming out from the House of M. This week there’s a few we’re particularly interested in incuding Amazing Spider-Man & Wolverine #1, X-Men: Hellbound #1 and the second issue of Avengers: The Origin.

Remember, comics go on sale this Wednesday (tomorrow) so get to your nearest comics store early for best selection. Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:
ALIAS MGC #1
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #630
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #630 QUINONES VARIANT
ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #1
ASTONISHING SPIDER-MAN & WOLVERINE #1 FOILOGRAM VARIANT
AVENGERS, THOR & CAPTAIN AMERICA: OFFICIAL INDEX TO THE MARVEL UNIVERSE #1 (HA)
AVENGERS: THE ORIGIN #2

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Wow! That’s the first thing I would like to say at the conclusion of this episode. The last ten minutes were were easily some of the most riveting moments that I have ever seen on television. As always, there are heavy spoilers ahead. These recaps are meant to be read by fans of Breaking Bad who have already seen the episode, and trust me, you don’t want this one spoiled.

I absolutely love some of the opening sequences that Breaking Bad has featured since the inception of the show. My favorite is still the teddy bear in the pool, but the opening scene of “One Minute” will stay with me for a long time. We finally get to see a bit of back story on the cousins (who are referred to as brothers in the opening.) It is obvious that the two men basically have ice water running through their veins, and in a chilling (in more ways than one) flashback, we find out how their steely detachment runs in the family.

The two young boys are playing in a yard with some sort of doll, and one of the boys tears a limb from the toy. The other boy approaches his Uncle (who is talking on a satellite phone) and tells him that he hates his brother, and wishes he were dead. The Uncle calmly tells the second boy to fetch him a beer from an iced down bucket. When the boy leans down, he holds his head under the ice water while the first boy frantically struggles to make him let go.

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In a surprise announcement Friday, popular 3D desktop software firm, Bump Top revealed it had been acquired by Google. 3 years ago, the company founder, Anand Agarawala discussed their innovative interface at the 2007 TED Conference.

Built for Macs as well as Windows PC’s, Bump Top re-imagines the computer desktop as a three-dimensional desk-like space filled with icons and images piled up on the surface and pinned to the virtual walls. Agarawala at the time, famously described his interface as designed to “(move away from the) same old crap.”

With Google acquiring Bump Top, the speculation begins as to how the company may integrate this 3D environment into their existing product line. The Android mobile OS is a natural fit, initially launching on smartphones, but eventually making its way into the inevitable Android-powered tablets that are on the near horizon. The Bump Top multi-touch interface would allow Google to better compete with Apple whose multi-touch on the iPhone, iPod and recently released iPad are the industry benchmark.

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This week’s pick takes us to ‘Nam with Go Tell the Spartans (1978) which shows the first ever encounter among American forces and the Viet Cong before major American involvement in Vietnam took place. Director Ted Post adapts Daniel Ford’s book “Incident at Muc Wa” and turns it into one of the most brutally honest war films ever made.

In 1964, only a few hundred American personnel deemed as “military advisers” aided their South Vietnamese allies. These advisory commands were stationed in lone outposts in the countryside. Their mission: to observe and report enemy activity in their spheres of influence. Burt Lancaster stars as Major Asa Barker, a seasoned American officer who heads a small squad of American troops and a handful of Vietnamese rice paddy farmers turned militiamen.

Barker’s command is situated near the Cambodian border which was a major battle ground some years earlier during the French-Indo China War (1946-54). Barker is isolated in the jungle w/o any logistical support. Many of the weapons used in the film are old, outdated weapons like M1A1 sub-machine guns from World War II and Korea, and Springfield M1 Carbine rifles also leftover from America’s previous wars.

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Transformers: War for Cybertron has had a recent outpouring of information lately. New characters, Pre-Order Exclusives and box art reveals.

First, let’s hit on two new playable characters that will be joining the game’s roster. Ironhide is the oldest of the Autobots. While his age makes him the slowest member, he is also the meanest and war hardened of the group. He is the definition of the Soldier class for multiplayer play. Warpath takes a page out of Ironhide’s gameplan and kicks it up with pure muscle with a massive cannon as his primary weapon.

Autobots aren’t the only ones getting reinforcements. Barricade, a scout class Decepticon that transforms in to a car, may be one of the fastest characters in the game, even outrunning many of the jet based characters. Along with Barricade, Decepticon Skywarp has been added to the game. This Scout class jet, much like Starscream, has cloaking abilities to reign down heavy damage on the unknowing Autobot forces.

As we reported before, Gamespot and Amazon will offer exclusive multiplayer characters Demolisher and Shockwave. Best Buy has joined the fray and added their own exclusive preorder bonus, Jazz. Check out the videos of all three of these exclusive characters below.

Transformers: War for Cybertron is set to hit shelves June 22 for the XBox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC. Check out all the screen shots and trailers below.

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With all the hype leading up to this event, Marvel is finally giving us some new info about their upcoming Secret Avengers comic in the form of some covers and a few pages from the first issue. Of course, as soon as we got it, we’re bringing it to you right here.

Here’s all the info directly from the source:

Marvel is proud to present your first look at Secret Avengers #1, from superstar, award-winning creators Ed Brubaker and Mike Deodato. As the Heroic Age begins, Steve Rogers begins a top secret mission that requires a team of Avengers unlike any other before. What is this mission? And who will make the team? When you see the full line up, your jaws will be on the floor!

Plus, visit www.IAmAnAvenger.com and submit your photo for a chance to have your picture appear in an upcoming issue of an Avengers comic book. This limited-time invitation is only open to those at least 18 years old and therefore old enough to join the greatest heroes in this universe—or any other!

Secret Avengers hits stores on May 26. In the meantime, check out the full preview and some covers after the jump.

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UFC Undisputed 2010 has been doing a hell of a job getting ready for their upcoming release on May 25th. In addition to the updated career mode and fighting styles, it proudly boosts the largest roster in MMA gaming history. While MMA doesn’t have a very extensive history in gaming, it is impressive compared to the rosters of other similarly styled fighting games.

Super Street Fighter 4, the sequel to arguably one of the biggest fighting games of all time has a roster of 35. WWE’s SmackDown vs. Raw 2010, a game similar in execution being from the same developer boasts a 67 superstar roster. By combining these two games, you are finally able to just come close to the size of UFC’s roster.

This is especially impressive considering the level of detail brought in to replicate both the look and signature in ring mannerisms of these real life combatants. The list below contains all fighters including those who will be available as DLC and those exclusive to the PlayStation 3 edition, specifically Dan Severn and Royce Gracie.

Check out the trailer after the jump revealing this massive roster as well as a full breakdown by division below.

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Warning: This review contains mild spoilers and contains disturbing subject matter. Read at your own risk.

Tom Six is one sick bastard, and that isn’t necessarily an insult. The Danish filmmaker wrote and directed The Human Centipede (First Sequence), one of the most visually disturbing films I have ever seen. I almost had to take a break while watching it, and that has never really happened to me before.

The Human Centipede takes place in Germany. Dr. Heiter is a maniacal ex-surgeon who became world renowned for separating Siamese twins. Now he is obsessed with connecting things, and his first experiments are on his three Rottweilers. A tombstone on his property is engraved with “My sweet 3 dog,” a foreboding sign of things to come.

He is ready to start experimenting on humans, and much to his delight, two unwitting victims literally come knocking on his door. American tourists Jenny and Lindsay get lost on their way to go clubbing, then get a flat tire. While they are trying to decide what to do, they are approached by a gentleman in a Mercedes, who doesn’t speak English and starts making lewd gestures toward the gals.

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May might not be the month for premiers of amazing shows, but there is something that May always brings us: amazing, shocking, mind-blowing season (or in the case of many, series) finales. This month on Cortney’s TV Digest, we’ve got the end of some of our favorite shows, the continuation of some of tv’s biggest and brightest, and one new show you’re really going to need to watch.

Lost

As heartbreaking as it may be that one of our most beloved and mind-blowing television shows will be coming to an end this May, ABC has a full five hours of programming on the night of Lost‘s finale. There will be a two-hour retrospective on the series prior to the two-hour finale at 9 PM, and then a special “Jimmy Kimmel Live” right after in honor of the show.

We don’t know much yet about Lost‘s upcoming finale episode, only that is is titled “The End” and will be airing on a special night, Sunday the 23rd. Curiously, the number 23 is one of Lost‘s infamous numbers, and if you’ve been keeping up with the show this season, you’ll remember 23 corresponds with one of the candidates written on the ceiling of the cave. Whatever this means will be revealed later this month when Lost finally comes to an end.

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Well, it didn’t make a killing, per se, but the Nightmare on Elm Street remake took in a healthy $32 Million over the weekend to win the box office. The film only cost about $35 Million, so it will easily make back its budget. Entertainment Weekly is reporting that there was a drop in box office from Friday to Saturday, which is never a good indicator of box office stamina.

That other 80′s horror franchise, Friday the 13th, opened to about $40 Million in February of 2009. It also had a drop off from Friday to Saturday, and  went on to gross about $65 Million domestically during its run. Looks like Nightmare will follow a similar trajectory.

How to Train Your Dragon took the number two spot, after occupying the top spot last week.  It only dropped 29%, and it has been out for six weeks now. HTTYD made $10.8 Million over the weekend. Date Night continues to enjoy brisk business after one month in release. The film only dropped 27%, and earned an additional $7.6 Million, and was followed very closely by The Back Up Plan with $7.2 Million.

Limping across the fifth place finishing line was the Brendan Fraser film Furry Vengeance.  It had a reported budget of around $35 Million, and has an embarrassing Tomatometer reading of 2% on Rotten Tomatoes.  I think that is lowest I have ever seen. Ouch.

The real money making went on overseas. It’s rather unusual to see a big tent-pole movie released overseas before it is released in the States, but Iron Man 2 opened up to over $100 Million.  According to the Los Angeles Times, the film is trying to open ahead of the World Cup in June, and the opening is 26% greater than the foreign opening of Iron Man.

It’s pretty much a given that Iron Man 2 will win the box office next weekend, but the question is, how much money will it rake in? If you’ve got an answer, let us know in the comments.

With strong sales of over 300K units this past weekend for the iPad Wi-Fi + 3G version, Apple today issued a statement that it has now sold over one million iPads in 28 days. A pretty amazing achievement considering it took the iPhone 74 days to reach that milestone during its initial release way back in 2007.

Other items of note from today’s announcement include: over 12 Million apps downloaded from the App Store and over 1.5 Million books downloaded from the new iBookstore. That’s a lot of apps and books and they are really just getting started, especially with the book offerings. Imagine that section in six months or a year.

Given today’s announcement, the iPad appears to be a success. Although, even with strong initial sales, it still has a long way to go to catch up with iPhone’s over 50 Million units sold to date. That said, I think it will make it.

Check out Apple’s full press release after the jump.

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