Sean Bean loves him some Medieval storytelling. Of most recent history, he is attached to HBO’s Game of Thrones and now getting the lead in the gritty tale of the Bubonic Plague, Black Death, from Magnolia Pictures.

Outside of Monty Python’s Holy Grail, not many cinematic representations of the Black Plague come to mind very easily, and that’s where this film is planning on stepping in (with less British humor and more gore). Here’s the official synopsis.

The year is 1348. Europe has fallen under the shadow of the Black Death. As the plague decimates all in its path, fear and superstition are rife. In this apocalyptic environment, the church is losing its grip on the people. There are rumors of a village, hidden in marshland that the plague cannot reach. There is even talk of a necromancer who leads the village and is able to bring the dead back to life. Ulric (Sean Bean), a fearsome knight, is charged by the church to investigate these rumors.

He enlists the guidance of a novice monk, Osmund (Eddie Redmayne) to lead him and his band of mercenary soldiers to the marshland, but Osmund has other motives for leaving his monastery. Their journey to the village and events that unfold take them into the heart of darkness and to horrors that will put Osmunds faith in himself and his love for God to the ultimate test.

From what we got in the trailer, you can expect this to be a very gritty representation of the times, with plenty of guts and blood. Fun! Check out the trailer after the jump, and catch the flick in theaters on March 11th

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As we get closer to the release of the Verizon iPhone 4, details of the voice and data plans available for it are starting to emerge. Yesterday, we told you about Verizon’s intention to offer an unlimited data plan with the iPhone. Now, other details have been revealed at Apple’s website which pretty much complete the picture.

On Wednesday, the company posted details on its website showing voice, data and messaging plans that will be offered with the upcoming device. The company also posted a utility to check subscriber eligibility for the discounted prices. If you’re eligible for upgrade pricing you will get to pay $199 for 16 GB and $299 for 32 GB. If not, plan on spending $599 for 16 GB and $699 for 32 GB.

Also, as we thought, the Verizon iPhone will have two data plans at launch: unlimited data for $29.99 per month and unlimited data with 2GB of Personal Hotspot and tethering services for $49.99 per month.

Here are the full details:

Voice

• 450 minutes/month: $39.99
• 900 minutes/month: $59.99
• Unlimited minutes/month: $69.99

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Not since the first talks of the Twilight adaptation has there been this much chatter about the casting and production of a film. Now, with Suzanne Collins’ Hunger Games, fans everywhere are all salivating (no pun intended) to get more details about this big film adaptation.

Not long ago, director Gary Ross (Pleasantville) was announced to take on the big screen adaptation for Lionsgate, with Billy Ray (Shattered Glass) taking on the screenplay. Now that we have the crux of the pre-production lined up, we’re now getting a release date. From THR:

Lionsgate has chosen a release date for high-profile event picture The Hunger Games: March 23, 2012.

By going out in theaters in late March, Lionsgate is looking to prosper from spring break and the Easter holiday (Easter Sunday falls on April 8 in 2012). So far, Hunger Games has the March 23-25 weekend to itself.

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Things are moving right along in 2011 with just about a week to go before January is a thing of the past — at least until next year. Of course, this week sees the release of a bunch of new comics from our friends at Marvel.

Let’s take a look at what they are dropping for our reading pleasure this week. Among the new coming out on Wednesday, we’re most interested in Magneto #1, X-Men #7, Secret Avengers #9, Avengers #9 and Fantastic Four #587 (Three).

As with most weeks, new comics arrive on Wednesday, so hit your nearest comics book store early for best selection.

Don’t know where your nearest comic store is? Use this handy guide to find one.

Comics On-Sale:
AGE OF X ALPHA #1
AGE OF X ALPHA #1 COIPEL WRAPAROUND VARIANT
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #648 2ND PRINTING VARIANT (BIG)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #649 2ND PRINTING VARIANT (BIG)
AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #650 2ND PRINTING VARIANT (BIG)
ASTONISHING THOR #2
AVENGERS #9
BLOCKBUSTERS OF THE MARVEL UNIVERSE #1
CAPTAIN AMERICA #614
CAPTAIN AMERICA 70TH ANNIVERSARY MAGAZINE #1
CHAOS WAR #5 (CW)
CHAOS WAR: X-MEN #2 (CW)

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Since he struck gold back in 2004 with Saw, James Wan has taken the horror world by storm. Continuing in that trend, his next major film in the genre, Insidious, is finally making some buzz with it’s first trailer.

Starring Watchmen’s Patrick Wilson and Damages’ Rose Byrne, the film is an interesting take on a child’s possession. Here’s the full synopsis.

INSIDIOUS is the terrifying story of a family who shortly after moving discover that dark spirits have possessed their home and that their son has inexplicably fallen into a coma. Trying to escape the haunting and save their son, they move again only to realize that it was not their house that was haunted.

The first trailer finally hit for the film, which is set to release on April 1st, and needless to say, it’s pretty haunting inside of the 51 seconds we’re given. Check it out after the jump, and be sure to catch Insidious in theaters this April.

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Because it’s nice outside and I’m feeling sorta lazy, I’m just going to tell you we’ve got a new trailer for the Call of Duty: Black Ops “First Strike” Map Pack  for you today. Previously, we had a preview for the new maps and even had some video. Now, we’ve got a cool trailer that features some great music.

As you probably know from our own John Carle’s exhaustive discussion of the new map pack, the “First Strike” Map Pack will include four traditional multiplayer maps as well as one additional Zombie mode map. Who doesn’t love those zombies? Am I right?

Check out the trailer after the jump. Look for the “First Strike” Map Pack to arrive February 1st for XBox 360 and then later for PS3.

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One of the most important things when you own and use a smartphone is the data plan. Sure, having the phone to make calls is great (that is when you can make calls. I’m looking at you AT&T) but the real purpose of all that cool phone goodness is to do other things like check email, post on Facebook and Twitter and surf the web while in line at Trader Joe’s.

When the iPhone first hit AT&T, the company offered an unlimited data plan for it. That plan has changed over the years and now features tiered pricing with the word “unlimited” left for the level of frustration many users feel when trying to make a call or, in some cases, send a simple text message.

Fortunately it seems Verizon understands the data needs of smartphone users and will offer a $30 unlimited data plan for the iPhone 4. This was confirmed to The Wall Street Journal by the company’s CEO Lowell McAdam who also said that offering the iPhone with a capped data plan would create an unnecessary barrier for customers looking to switch from AT&T.

“I’m not going to shoot myself in the foot,” he said. Smart man. Verizon will launch the iPhone on February 10th. Will you be getting one?

Mimobot Flash Drives are a great meeting between the world of geek and the world of tech. Starting off with their line of flash drives based on popular Star Wars characters, the company made it’s way into the hearts of fanboys (and fangirls) everywhere. Now they’re upping the ante and stepping into the realm of comics with a new limited edition flash drive based on the original 1939 Batman comics.

Like all Mimobot drives, this one comes in a variety of sizes, from 2GB to 16GB, and runs relatively cheap compared to other USB 2.0 drives out there.

Unlike those other drives, this one comes pre-loaded with tons of digital content, such as wallpapers (for the computer, iPad, and mobile device), icons, avatars, and even a cool animated screensaver.

If you’re a Batman fan, you’re going to want to pick this one up soon, as this one is limited to 5,000 units. And if you miss out, don’t worry, as Mimoco has a whole line of DC Comics characters planned for upcoming release, including Batman, Robin, Joker and Catwoman.

So what are you waiting for? Pick this limited edition flash drive up today!

Even though the show just wasn’t the same without Andy Whitfield as Spartacus (although he did make a small cameo) that didn’t stop Spartacus: Gods of the Arena from debuting to impressive numbers last Friday night on Starz. The premiere episode of SGOTA had over 1.1 million viewers for its first run at 10 PM, 66% higher than the original series’ premiere a year ago.

In addition, the show had 1.9 million viewers combined for the 10 PM and 11 PM showings, 77% above the debut of the original series. Yes, that’s a lot of people indeed.

I’m guessing audiences were probably just hungry for more awesome gladiator action and to learn the story of the rise of the House of Batiatus. Even though, if you’ve seen the original series, you know how it all turns out for many of the characters, it was still fun to watch their first appearances and see how it all comes together.

It was especially interesting to see how Batiatus himself (John Hannah) began as quite a different person and how he will evolve into the evil man he is later in the series. In some ways its too bad this series will only be six episodes.

Although, in the end, that’s probably just enough to get us ready for season two of the original series, which is returning next year with a new actor (Liam McIntyre) taking on the role of Spartacus.

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced the  nominees for the 83rd annual award ceremony this morning. The King’s Speech was the front-runner with 12 nominations. Overall, there weren’t too many surprises.

Many were disappointed  that Christopher Nolan did not receive a best director nod, but as a consolation prize, Inception was nominated as a contender for best picture.
True Grit did quite well, with Hailee Steinfeld nabbing a best supporting actress nod, and nominations for best picture, best director(s), best actor, and best adapted screenplay. Winter’s Bone was recognized for best actress, best picture, and best adapted screenplay. Dogtooth, Jackie Weaver, and Javier Bardem were nice surprises.

Here are the nominees in the order that they were announced.

Best Supporting Actress

Amy Adams The Fighter
Helena Bonham Carter The King’s Speech
Melissa Leo The Fighter
Hailee Steinfeld True Grit
Jackie Weaver Animal Kingdom

Best Supporting Actor

Christian Bale The Fighter
John Hawkes Winter’s Bone
Jeremy Renner The Town
Mark Ruffalo The Kids Are All Right
Jeffrey Rush The King’s Speech

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This week’s pick salutes the American Caesar, and the hero of the Pacific War. Joseph Sargent directs MacArthur (1977) which is a biopic about famed American General Douglas MacArthur who led Allied forces to victory in World War II and years later in the early days of the Korean conflict. Riding on the studio success of Patton and what it did for Twentieth Century Fox several years earlier, Universal believed that a story about MacArthur would be box office gold as well.

Gregory Peck turns out a tour de force performance as General MacArthur. The film is set as a flashback as he is addressing a graduating class at the United States Military Academy at West Point, New York. The film also stars Dan O’ Herlihy as President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Marj Dusay as Mrs. Jean MacArthur, and Ed Flanders as President Harry S. Truman.

As the General is addressing the cadet corp at West Point, the film then opens up in the Philippines just before the battle of Bataan is about to begin. MacArthur is holding on and waiting for much needed men and supplies to come to his aid but following the attack on Pearl Harbor, MacArthur and his forces are made to hold on and hope that some relief will come from President Roosevelt and the United States Navy.

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Take a bunch of women in their late forties to mid-fifties and show them graphic images of violence and mutilation from the upcoming Dead Space 2 (which comes out tomorrow, January 25th) and record their reactions ranging from utter terror to complete revulsion. Then make sure to tell people just how violent your game is over some not so violent in game videos. Slap a “M for Mature” tag on it and there you have your ad campaign with the tag line, “Your Mom Hates This.”

Give me a break. There are so many problems with this campaign that is insulting to the gaming community as well as general consumers. Let’s break this down in a logical manner, even though obviously the advertising agency didn’t.

Dead Space 2 is a rated M game, meaning it should only be targeting players over the age of 18. But, the message of “Your mom hates this” is something that marketers would gear towards a younger self righteous and rebellious person in their early teens. By the age of 18, most people have evolved in to at least somewhat freethinking individuals who make decisions based more on personal preference than just trying to do something to tick their mom off.

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