iPhone users take note, your device is not the one that most people want anymore. How do we know? The Nielsen Company on Tuesday released the findings of its latest smartphone survey, which asked people planning to purchase new smartphones which platform they intended to use.

When asked that question between June and September of last year, 33% said iOS, 26% said Android and 13% said BlackBerry. When a new group was asked the same question between January and March of 2011, Android moved ahead of Apple’s iOS platform to become the most wanted.

In this new survey, 31% planned to purchase an Android phone, 30% planned to buy an iPhone and 11% were considering BlackBerry devices. So there you have it, the iPhone is dead.

Oh wait, its only 1%. I guess iPhone is probably going to be okay — at least for now.

Machinima has been blowing up over the past 3 weeks with their new original series with Warner Premiere, Mortal Kombat: Legacy. The first two episodes features an utra-real storyline with Michael Jai White as Jax and Jeri Ryan as Sonya Blade. Now we’re moving onto another universe favorite, with Johnny Cage.

Right off the bat, this episode takes a different turn than the previous two, as Cage’s background is a Hollywood action star, the episode starts off as with an Insider feel, delving into the life of Johnny Cage. Here’s the official synopsis.

After unsuccessfully trying to sell his reality television pilot pitch to a studio exec, Johnny Cage, an American action-hero movie star who has fallen on hard times, is recruited by Shang Tsung, a powerful sorcerer who has the power to suck souls from people, to fight in the upcoming Mortal Kombat tournament.

Not as much star power as the previous two episodes, as Matt Mullins is returning from the original Rebirth short to reprise his role as Johnny Cage. There are a few nice potshots at Steven Seagal’s Lawman, so it’s definitely worth a watch.

Check out the episode after the jump, and stick around till the end to catch links to the previous two, if you haven’t already seen them.

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It’s interesting when the cast of a downloadable map pack for a video game is cooler than casts for most of the movies being released these days. What the heck am I talking about? Why, its the eclectic ensemble assembled for Activision’s upcoming Call of Duty: Black Ops Escalation “Call of the Dead” map pack of course.

Some of the names featured in this release include Robert England, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Michael Rooker Danny Trejo and legendary zombie master director himself George Romero. Oh, and did we mention that this map pack is chock full of flesh eating zombies? Who doesn’t love that, amiright?

It’s cool that Michel Rooker is involved in this seeing as how he’s become such an important part of AMC’s The Walking Dead series. Also, nice to see Sarah Michelle Gellar back in action as well.

Check out the full press release after the jump. In addition, we’ve got a new trailer and more screenshots for the map pack too. Check ‘em out!

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If you’ve been wondering what the heck happened to Sony’s Playstation Network (its been “unavailable” for several days), now we know. On Tuesday, Sony issued a statement explaining the recent PlayStation Network and Qriocity issues. The company said it discovered that between April 17th and April 19th someone broke into its network and stole user information.

In an effort to stop the security breach, Sony temporarily denied access for everyone to its PlayStation Network and Qriocity services. The company also hired a security firm to investigate and started increasing its security infrastructure.

Sounds goo so far, right? Sony found a problem and is taking steps to correct it.

Well, it gets worse. Here’s part of Sony’s statement:

We believe that an unauthorized person has obtained the following information that you provided: name, address (city, state, zip), country, email address, birthdate, PlayStation Network/Qriocity password and login, and handle/PSN online ID. It is also possible that your profile data, including purchase history and billing address (city, state, zip), and your PlayStation Network/Qriocity password security answers may have been obtained.

Sony said that it doesn’t think credit card data was taken, but it will not rule out the possibility. The company said it’s possible credit card numbers – excluding security codes – may have been obtained by the intruders. The firm advises that its customers “remain vigilant” by closely monitoring credit statements.

Sony says the Playstation network and related services will be reactivated as soon as possible and that customers can dial 1-800-345-7669 with any questions.

Click through for Sony’s official statement. Why do a few assholes have to ruin it for everyone else?

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There is a fantastic new trend in the world of film music, more and more main stream artists are bringing their talents to feature films.  These artists are crafting music that serves to make the films better and stand on their own. Last year two of the best scores were written by Trent Reznor for The Social Network and Daft Punk for Tron Legacy, the line between film composing and main stream music is blending, and we all win for that.

The latest established act to venture into the cinematic music world is the Chemical Brothers. The long standing electronica duo lend their considerable expertise to the film Hanna, an action adventure movie that is high on adrenaline, and they deliver a score to match.

The music sounds very much like The Chemical Brothers would make. That is to say that we don’t get an orchestral hybrid, or their best impressions of John Williams. What we do get is music that pumps and flows with all the frenzy and furry expected from a standard Chemical Brothers album.

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This has been a rather eclectic week in the world of theatrical trailers.  It seems that most of the big summer blockbusters have already been revealed, and now we’re getting a glimpse into the late summer indies that should save us from the mindless big-budget films of the next few months.

What do all these selected trailers have in common?  They all have surprisingly original concepts, which is getting rarer and rarer these days.

Another Earth

Click to see the trailer

This trailer alone is worth a few viewings.  One of the most exciting trailers to come out this year, it is refreshing to see something original finally being produced.  While the idea of a parallel or alternate world is nothing new, I have never seen it taken so literally.  Usually the other world is in an alternate universe, not on a physical planet visible in the sky that you can actually travel to.

Part science-fiction, part philosophical, and part indie-romance, it’s hard to say exactly what this film is going to be like expect that it is sure to be compelling and original.  Starring Brit Marling, who actually wrote the screenplay with the director Mike Cahill, and William Mapother, better known as Ethan from Lost, this film is full of talented people new to the feature film world.  This is Cahill’s first narrative feature, having directed only documentaries prior to this.  But if Blue Valentine is any indication of what a documentary director can bring into narrative storytelling, then this film is definitely not one to miss.

Personally, I am really excited to see what Ethan from Lost can do in a real role, as well as how the filmmakers execute this unbeatable concept.  If this film maintains the heart-wrentching vibe of the trailer while staying true to some real science-fiction, then this could be one of the most exciting films of the year.

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Gratuitous underwater lesbian makeout sequences, severed limbs flying at the audience in 3D, and comic amounts of blood flying everywhere.  These are the elements that made Piranha 3D one of the most successful crowd pleasers last year.  Not since Snakes on a Plane have we seen a movie so terrible, yet so entertaining, that it is worth a viewing from even the most sophisticated film buffs.

How could you not make a sequel? Dimension Films just revealed that they started production on the sequel to the Roger Corman remake in Wilmington, NC.  The press release reads:

“There’s something in the water . . . again.  And this time no one is safe from the flesh eating fish as they sink their razor sharp teeth into the visitors of the best summer attraction, The Big Wet Water Park.”

John Gulager is taking the helm for this one after having directed the Feast trilogy prior to this.  A rather eclectic cast of smaller horror/thriller actors has already been announced, including Danielle Panabaker from The Crazies, Chris Zylka of My Super Psycho Sweet 16 and the upcoming The Amazing Spiderman, and, most surprisingly, David Koechner of Anchorman and other Apatow comedies.

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Before you flip away thinking this is just another trailer for Marvel’s upcoming blockbuster due in theaters next week, think again. This gem comes from Asylum, the studio that brought us such films as Titanic 2 and Transmorphers. That’s right, this is the official Syfy movie dedicated to the God of Thunder.

A few differentiators for this one (aside from the obvious budget) is the interesting casting for the film. Filling in for the villainous Loki is 21 Jump Street star Richard Grieco, alongside The Mummy star Patricia Velasquez and former professional wrestler Kevin Nash as Odin, king of the gods.

Those looking for a replacement for Chris Hemsworth will be met with Cody Deal as the titular thunder god. You may remember him in such shining roles as Roman Soldier at Caesar’s Palace in The Hangover or Strip Club Patron in Get Him To The Greek. Rich stuff.

Luckily for Asylum, the tale of Thor is that of mythology, so Marvel doesn’t have much legal ground here. We’ll have to see exactly how close the film plays to the comic or it’s adaptation when it hits the Syfy channel on May 7th at 9pm. In the meantime, you can check out the trailer after the jump.

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X-Men: First Class is supposed to be a return to form for Fox’s mutant franchise. First, they brought in franchise hero Bryan Singer to shepard the project, then they hired up and coming director Matthew Vaughn to direct, both of whom were in line to helm X3 back when the franchise was golden. So there has been a conscious effort from the execs to tap into the memories of happier times.

That trend is continuing now that the marketing team has their hands on the movie. The two most recent international posters have been released and they share some stark similarities to some of the finer X-Men works of the last decade.

The first new poster shows most of our main characters walking towards the viewer from a dutch angle. This is a clear homage to the one of the most famous panels from Joss Whedon’s ‘Astonishing X-Men’ run. Also, the general design with all of the main characters on a single plane with the more important characters standing progressively more forward is extremely reminiscent of a popular X-Men 2 poster.

More analysis after the jump!

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It’s that time of year again. Sure, the flowers are coming out and it’s getting warmer, but we’re talking about a brand new season of South Park!

Last season brought us some amazing stories like the 200th episode with Tom Cruise and the profit Muhammad, an epic tale of superheroes vs Cthulu, and Jersey Shore being mocked by way of Teen Wolf. Things are already getting steamy for the upcoming 15th season, and Steve Jobs will be the first to be subject to ridicule.

Here’s the official synopsis for Wednesday’s premiere:

The latest Apple product to hit the market is revealed in the 15th season premiere of South Park titled, “HUMANCENTiPAD,” premiering on Wednesday, April 27 at 10:00 p.m. on Comedy Central.

Kyle is intimately involved in the development of a revolutionary new product that is about to be launched by Apple. Meanwhile, Cartman doesn’t even have a regular iPad yet. He blames his mother.

Check out the hilarious clip after the jump, and catch South Park as they kick off their 15th season this Wednesday at 10PM E/P.

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Unless you live under a rock you probably know Joss Whedon is directing The Avengers. You also may know filming on the movie started today.

What you may not know is Joss himself posted a message for fans over at Whedonesque to commemorate the event. So, without further comment, here’s Joss’s message. Enjoy.

Film Greatness. On the Eve of Our Endeavor, I celebrate an american classic — or possibly all of them.

Hi Pumpkins, joss here.

Tomorrow we start shooting (I THINK I’m legally permitted to say that). Day one. That’s right. We’ll be shooting the pivotal death/betrayal/product placement/setting up the sequel/coming out scene, at the following address:

[Marvel Lawyers rush in, take Joss's keyboard, blowtorch a picture of his family like in "Stormy Monday", drink his milkshake, leave the seat up, fluff his pillows, violently unfluff his pillows, leave]

Went too far. My bad. Anyhoo, it should be a fun day, followed by the eighty thousand other fun days it will take to finish this. I’ll be checking in from time to time, if there’s news or I crave attention (i.e. am awake) . None of it will be Avengers news — I have some very denty pillows to remind of that — but I may have tidbits. (They’re not about Firefly. I should say that up front, if only to protect Sis Mo from the HATORZ.)

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This week’s pick is The TNT original film Andersonville (1996) from acclaimed film maker John Frankenheimer (Seven Days in May, Against the Wall). The film stars Jarrod Emick (Pvt. Josiah Day), Frederic Forrest (Sgt. McSpadden), Ted Marcoux (Martin Blackburn) Gregory Sporleder (Dick Potter), Cliff De Young (Sgt. John Gleason), William Sanderson (Munn), Peter Murnik (Limber Jim), Frederick Coffin (Collins), Olek Krupa (Olek Wisnovsky), Jan Triska (Captain Henry Wirz), and William H. Macy (Col. Chandler).

Andersonville was the most infamous of Confederate prisons during the American War between the States. It was made to house only eight thousand or so Union troops, but in its short existence, it housed nearly thirty thousand Union POWs. From 1864-65 nearly seventeen thousand men lost their lives due to starvation, disease, and at the hands of marauding gangs of prisoners known as the “Raiders”who murdered and stole from their fellow inmates.

The film opens in Virginia in April of 1864 where Union troops are pushing back Confederate forces. Josiah Day (Emick) acts as a runner between his unit and the main force which has encountered heavy resistance.

While running back to tell his Sergeant that their commanding officer has ordered them to break through the rebel positions, Pvt. Day is shot and taken prisoner. When he arrives at a clearing, he realizes that Confederate forces have overrun his unit who have now joined him as prisoners.

The men are ordered to lay down and to stay put until they’re moved in the morning. If any of them attempt to rise or flee, they’ll be shot. Josiah’s cousin attempts to escape and he is shot down instantly. The rest of the men lay quietly until the following morning.

The next day the men are taken to a rail head where officers and enlisted men are separated. Pvt. Day and Sgt. McSpadden’s (Forrest) Captain tells them that they are in charge and to look after the rest of the men. Sgt. McSpadden assures the Captain he will, and that they will all one day meet again in Boston.

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