Home » Tag: lord of the rings

May 12th, 2008

Categories: Comic books, Movies, The 7

One of the best parts of any geek movie is debating the casting. Fan favorites are chosen years before comics or books even get optioned by Hollywood, so we feel strongly about our opinions. While dreams can’t always come true, and rarely do, here are some of the best performances by actors portraying our favorite geek icons.

chris_evans_human_torch7. Chris Evans as Human Torch

Amid the bright and perky mediocrity that is the Fantastic Four movie, Chris Evans shines surprisingly bright. Even without being blond, Evans played the arrogant, womanizing, spotlight stealing narcissist as if he lived the role everyday. Every funny like came from this man’s mouth. On top of that, but this guy has a real super-hero’s body, and filmmakers didn’t seem to mind showing off that fake, regulating Evans to nothing but a towel or spandex for the majority of both films.

6. Mickey Rourke as Marv

Innovative film techniques alone didn’t make Sin City one of the greatest comic book movies. Mickey Rourke portrayed Sin City’s most recognizable hero with all the subtly of a fist to the face, just the way he should. Rourke mixed Marv’s self-hatred with a chiseled exterior, eventuated by the awesome visual effects, creating the perfect movie representation of the modern film noir bad ass.

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March 11th, 2008

Categories: Comic books, Movies, The 7, Video games

Reading books sucks, unless those books teach you something like, say, magic.  These 7 masters of mystics have done their reading and know all the best, most flashy, and powerful spells in the book(s). 

malificent 7. Malificent

Best known for her master Sleeping Beauty curse, this mistress of the dark arts has a real fire inside her.  Yup, a dragon joke.  Sure the pretty Prince Charming stabbed her an apparently killed her, but the Kingdom Hearts video game series showed she can spring back from anything - even a little boy with a giant key.

6. Voldemort

The Dark Lord has cheated death and has remained one of the most fearsome names in magic even though he was beaten by a little baby.  Hubris aside, Voldemort’s got a bevy of scary spells from the Killing Curse to mind control and talking to snakes (and he looks like one too).  Maybe if he stopped fighting adults and took kids seriously he’d be alive and higher on the list.

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March 7th, 2008

Categories: Geek-Out Moment

frodo_lives Lord of the Rings began as a moderate success, garnering mixed reviews but an avid following.  The book took on a unique persona as a catch phrase for the hippie movement of the 60s and 70s with "Frodo Lives" appearing on t-shirts, buttons, graffiti, and even an album.  The saying is linked to the theory that Frodo lives forever after the end of the Lord of the Rings trilogy, though Tolkien himself said Frodo will die (presumably of natural causes).  Another meaning could simply be that Tolkien’s books will be remembered forever.  The phrased gained in popularity as the books did, especially after the releases of paperback editions encouraging the cult following and embracing by the stick-it-to-the man counterculture, transcending geeks to becoming a true pop culture moment.

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February 26th, 2008

Categories: Geek-Out Moment

you_shall_not_pass_lotr On a tiny bridge with a wooden staff and a terrible case of split-ends, Gandalf the Grey stood his grown against the giant fire demon Balrog.  Gandalf had to protect Frodo, the One Ring, and all his companions so we could make it to the sequels.  Until now, Gandalf was just an old guy with a bad ass sword and some surprisingly kick ass moves, but for a powerful wizard, he wasn’t much.  Until now.  With an energy shield protecting himself from Balrog’s whip, Gandalf prevented the demon from pursuing the Fellowship, echoing the magic words "You shall not pass."  The constant repeat and emotional climax led the demon’s fall, and ironically Gandalf’s as well, for now.  So sad.  The book original had Gandalf saying "You cannot pass."

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February 25th, 2008

Categories: Movies, The 7

Geeks don’t get much respect at the Academy Awards.  No science fiction film has ever won Best Picture and just a handful have been nominated.  Fantasy got some more wins, but that’s only cause of music - Wizard of Oz wouldn’t worked as well if it was Somewhere over the spatial anomaly.  This list recognizes the best geek movies also nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture ranked not only by how many awards they had, but also for how much geeks also like them (sorry Armageddon).

 7. Jaws - 4 nominations, 3 wins

Duh dun. Duh dun.  Aside from being scary as swimming with man-eating sharks, Jaws began the blockbuster mentality in Hollywood (not necessarily a good thing) and made the career of a small time director clockwork_orangeknown as Steven Spielberg.  This sea classic has chewed its way into geek hearts the way any move can - with a giant mechanical monster bent on destruction.

6. A Clockwork Orange - 4 nominations

Hailed as one of the greatest movies ever and the Academy Awards failed to give it one Oscar.  It’s a common trend (where’s Blade Runner).  Stanley Kubrick’s twisted sci-fi adventure lost out to French Connection’s famous car chases, but remains iconic for its hats, music, and malicious intent.  Not the happiest of movies, but that just makes us love it more.

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