This is an open letter to anyone at 20th Century Fox, with how I would handle their X-Men Universe in the wake of The Avengers and their successful First Class Pre-Boot-quel-thing. 

The X-Men cinematic universe was the first major franchise launched in this modern era of comic book blockbusters. The original X-Men film managed to successfully lay in the groundwork of how these types of films can be a success without losing their comic book soul.

The sequel was a massive leap forward in both action and general cinematic quality. While the other sequels have received mixed reviews, it was clear that despite the reboot happy tendencies of modern hollywood. Fox remained committed to the continuity of the universe they established in 2000.

Just a few weeks ago The Avengers made more money than conceivable in its debut, representing the culmination of a five-year, 6 movie plan. The newly established ‘shared universe’ model demonstrated by Marvel Studios could be a new gold standard for what a studio can do with these types of properties.

So it is with that context that I present my plan for a smaller scale ‘shared X-universe’ that can allow Fox to use it’s already established property in an exciting new way.

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Let’s be clear about one thing right from the start. This article is by no means making a blanket statement that all piracy is okay. Piracy in the broadest sense is theft and is wrong. But with most things, it’s not just a black and white, yes or no, right or wrong topic. There is that gray area up for debate and here, we are going to take a look at piracy specifically as it relates to the video game industry.

If a game is about to be or has just been released to retail, is it okay to download off of a torrent site because someone leaked the code out from the manufacturer or was able to rip the files off the disk? Is it okay to use a key generator to claim ownership of a disk so you can play a copy that has been passed around your dorm? No. These are blatant acts of theft. These are where people are trying to mess with the system for their own personal benefit and denying payment to the people and companies behind the created game.

Some will argue that games are too expensive nowadays and piracy is their way of “sticking it to the man” to show them they aren’t okay with high prices. The truth of the matter is that, in relation to inflation, games are cheaper today than they were twenty years ago. During the heyday of the NES and SNES where larger cartridge memory required higher manufacturing costs resulting in some games costing well above even today’s norm price of $59.99. Don’t believe me? Go ask anyone in finance (or even your third grade math teacher) if something that cost $79.99 in 1990 is cheaper than something that today is sold for $59.99 and expect a slap in the face from them.

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There are times in my life when I look at myself in the mirror and ask why? Why don’t I let go of the childish things from my past? Why do I choose to allow myself to be swept away in the adventures of superheroes, dashing knights and evil wizards?

Why do I dream of miracles increasingly fantastic and take for granted the miracles all around me? I never have an answer. I’m nowhere near wise enough to truly understand the machinations of my mind.

That doesn’t stop the asking though, and I would wager that I am not the only one in the geek community who feels the same way. So, if I can’t answer the question why, perhaps I can answer a different question and start the long road to personal understanding? What do I get out of a life as a geek?

It’s a dangerous business, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don’t keep your feet, there’s no telling where you might be swept off to. - Bilbo Baggins

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To say when gamers find something they really care about, they take it to extremes can sadly sometimes be an understatement. Back in 2007, Mass Effect was released for the XBox 360 and PC to much critical acclaim and commercial success. The game’s follow up, Mass Effect 2, would release in January 2010 for the XBox 360 and PC and almost a full year later on the PlayStation 3. The final part of the Commander Shepard trilogy was released on March 6th of this year with, as you guessed it, Mass Effect 3.

One of the biggest draws for Mass Effect was the promise of an epic storyline that not only spanned three full games, but contained choices that would affect the rest of the player’s story throughout the remainder of the story. Destroy a race in Mass Effect and they would not appear in Mass Effect 2. Let a character die in Mass Effect 2 and don’t expect to see them in Mass Effect 3.

So in a series all about choice, many players were floored to learn that upon completion of Mass Effect 3 and whichever choices they ultimately made, the game presented them with one of six different endings. The “perfect” ending would feature an additional five seconds of footage. The six “different” endings however were merely palette swaps. No matter what choices were made through the entire story or even in the ultimate decision of the player, they just received a different color explosion, particle effect and small changes in animation, but essentially the same ending.

Look at the side by side comparisons in the video from Crosscade (obviously, spoiler warning).

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Talk to almost anyone you meet and they will probably admit to playing a game at some point in their life. Interestingly enough, many would never consider themselves gamers. Some would even scoff at the idea.

For the purposes of this article, let’s consider our definition of gamer as someone who spends a majority of their free time playing games, regardless of what format, board, video or whatever, said game is in. Being considered a gamer also requires active participation, so watching and betting on sports is not a part of the definition. Although, someone who is participating in games of chance like cards and casino gambling may fall into this category as well.

The world stepped into modern gaming as far back as 1947 with the first video game, Cathode Ray Tube Amusement Device. It wasn’t until Pong was released in 1972, and later the home version in 1975, that playing a video game began to work its way into everyday life. Because of the high cost of entry, the first to play Pong on their home tv were fairly well off and gaming took some time before making its way to the masses.

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It is really easy to sit behind a keyboard and bitch. It is really easy to fling bile at filmmakers who make films that don’t match our personal version of the movies we want to see. This has been true for as long as there has been the internet, and will likely be true for our children’s children and their children as well.

There has been a disturbing trend in the general internet fan community that has played off that universal truth. It has manifested as one of the biggest problem facing Hollywood today, there is no trust anymore. There is no faith that the professionals, who are talented and/or driven enough to make this their career, can actually make quality cinema from our beloved franchises.

The most recent example of the internet’s pigheadedness is the backlash to Michael Bay’s comment that the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film will feature an expanded back story that exposes potential Alien origins for everyone’s favorite heroes in a half shell.

Kids are going to believe one day these turtles actually do exist when we are done with this movie. These turtles are from an alien race, and they are going to be tough, edgy, funny and completely loveable. – Michael Bay

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At the start of the month, rumors consumed PC and console gamers alike at the thought of a Steam created console. Most PC gamers thought to themselves, “Well I’ve already got a Steam box. It’s called my PC.” Console gamers had mixed reactions whether it was excitement at the thought of Steam powered games being available on a home console for the first time while others worried about the thought of adding a fourth major console to their home collection, especially with the impending release of the Wii U, next XBox and PlayStation 4 within the next few years.

These rumors were dispelled in under a week when Valve spoke to gaming site Kotaku saying that the company was a long way off from releasing a home system and that the rumored boxes that had been created were meant for internal purposes only to test streaming content from a PC to television, not acting as a console in and of itself. Valve told Kotaku, “We’re always putting boxes together,” he said. “Going all the way back to the Half-Life 1 days, we built special boxes to test our software render…it’s just part of development.”

While on the surface the concept of a Steam box might sound good, there are a few essential problems it must overcome before this idea should attempt to become a reality. The first is the current state of the home console market. Right now, the console market is dominated by the big three: Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft. While Nintendo diverged from the hardcore gamer with the Wii, they claim to be aiming at taking a hold back on that market with the release of a more powerful Wii U.

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Tim Heidecker and Eric Wareheim work best in sketches. If you’re reading this, I suspect you’re a fan of Tim and Eric Awesome Show, Great Job!. If not, it’s a sketch show that’s best bits mock public-access television, from the strange and self-aggrandizing programs to those car commercials from the local dealer who insists on inserting himself into nearly every frame, regardless of appearance or vocal stylings.

All this is done with hyper editing, bizarre imagery, and hopelessly cheesy special effects. The trailer gives a pretty good idea.

Either way, it’s very creative but can’t last beyond a minute or so. And that’s the biggest failing of Tim and Eric’s Billion-Dollar Movie – the sketches are great, the main storyline is horrible.

I was in utter stitches at the opening commercial with Chef Goldblum (Jeff Goldblum, and the movie gets at least a star for capturing the only non-bad-ass image of Goldblum) and loved the actual billion-dollar movie itself, but then the lights go up and it all goes downhill.

Imagine if the sublime Jackass films actually forced the gang into an actual plot—and how traumatic an experience that would be.

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Everyone knows that Wednesday is new comic book day. While picking up your new issues consider looking at some of the trade paperbacks and hard covers of past issues and story lines. But which ones should you choose?

That’s why every Tuesday, The Flickcast will recommend a collection of comics that are just as good, if not better, than the issues you are currently buying. Books that deserve to be read, and bought the next time you walk into your local comic book store.

As we end the first month on the New Year, I thought it would be nice to pick up and read the best comic series published last year. Batman: The Black Mirror is a Batman story at its best. Mystery, murder, and clues mixed in with a personal and scary story from Commissioner Gordon’s past. In fact, The Black Mirror is one of the greatest Batman stories of all time, and it doesn’t even star Bruce Wayne. It stars Dick Grayson.

After the Final Crisis, when everyone thought Bruce Wayne was dead, Dick Grayson took up the cowl and became Batman. Bruce finally returned and decided to travel the world creating Batman Incorporated, a corporation of Batmen dedicated to protecting people. He left Dick Grayson in charge of Gotham City, and even let him continue to be Batman as Gotham will always need a Batman.

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Now that Marvel has its own movie studio, it’s time for the House of Ideas to try out some fresh ones on the big screen. Sure, we all know the Iron Man and Thor sequels will make a billion dollars, but Marvel needs to think long term and use this opportunity to branch out.

Black Panther has never ranked in readership with Marvel’s flagship titles, but the movie-going audience is more diverse. A superhero film featuring a strong black cast could bring in a whole new audience to comic book movies. And the hardcore fans will always be along for the ride so long as the movie stays true to the source material.

Of course, in order to do that, the studio has to nail the casting.

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Everyone knows that Wednesday is new comic book day. While picking up your new issues consider looking at some of the trade paperbacks and hard covers of past issues and story lines. But which ones should you choose?

That’s why every Tuesday, The Flickcast will recommend a collection of comics that are just as good, if not better, than the issues you are currently buying. Books that deserve to be read, and bought the next time you walk into your local comic book store.

Preacher is The Godfather of comics. Its brazen, over-bearing, and loud tone leave a distinct aftertaste when you finish reading. The characters are mean and hateful. The locations are gritty and gross. Preacher is the sum total of all the dark corners of America combined into a tale of the problems of religion. It is a series that is not for everyone, and will turn some people off of comics forever. However, if someone asked me what my favorite comic book series of all time was, I would be hard pressed to not choose Preacher.

Preacher was a mature and violent comic book series published by Vertigo in 1995. It lasted sixty-six issues as the main characters blasted and hunted their way through America on their quest to find God. Oh, by the way, their quest was not metaphorical; it was literal.

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Over the past two decades, Neil Gaiman and Terry Pratchett’s Good Omens has almost been made into a movie several times. Monty Python alum Terry Gilliam tried for years to put the comic fantasy on film, but the infamously unlucky auteur (see the wonderful doc Lost in La Mancha) could never make it happen.

There has been talk lately of a possible TV miniseries, but many of the book’s fans still hold out hope for a feature. But who could bring Good Omens‘s outrageous characters to life?

Take a look at our picks after the jump.

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