http://wiw.org/~jess Scintillating adventures in pop culture Wed, 23 Jul 2008 12:15:08 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en As we all know, the success of any superhero flick has as much to do with the villains as the good guys. So, with The Dark Knight setting box office records around the world, which of his many foes should Batman face off against in the inevitable follow-up? Let's take ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/07/22/bat-villains/ Warning: Minor Spoilers Ahead! Is Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight the best superhero film of all time? I've mulled it over since seeing the movie on Saturday, and I'm inclined to say "yes." Heath Ledger's performance as the Joker is just as devilishly brilliant as all the critics have said -- ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/07/21/dark-knight/   Clockwise from the upper left, that's Eric Bana as Nero, Zoë Saldana as Uhura, Chris Pine as Kirk, and Zachary Quinto as Mr. Spock. TrekMovie.com has more details about the exclusive Star Trek posters debuting at next week's Comic Con in San Diego; high-res wallpapers are available at the film's ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/07/19/boldly-going/ What's the most embarrassing song on my iPod? So many worthy contenders... I'm extending a free pass to anything by the Monkees or Neil Diamond, because both acts are kinda awesome (in spite of their cheesiness). Yes, I'll cop to having an Ashlee Simpson song on my iPod (the Timbaland-produced "Outta ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/07/18/worst-song/   Just a few more days until The Dark Knight... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/07/15/clown-prince-of-crime/ The Darrin Effect: twenty jarring cases of recast television and film roles. Includes dueling Dumbledores, a coterie of Catwomen, and Sarah Chalke as Roseanne's fake Becky. http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/07/14/darrin-effec/ You know, MTV's trailer for the upcoming season of the Real World/Road Rules Challenge -- apparently a shameless Survivor ripoff this time around -- actually has me a little psyched. As usual, my love of awful television knows no bounds. Besides, the Lord of the Flies setting probably presents our ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/07/11/rwrr-the-island/   Sandwiched between comic book features like Iron Man, The Incredible Hulk, and the upcoming Dark Knight, I can't help but think this was simply the wrong summer to release Hancock. A film that, at a more opportune time, might have been a mildly entertaining -- if uneven -- deconstruction of ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/07/10/hancock/ What's not to love about a TV show that references both Barry Allen and Wally West in the pilot episode? Okay, so The Middleman -- a self-referential superhero/sci-fi spoof airing Monday nights on ABC Family -- is more or less made for nerds just like me. The series follows the straight-laced, ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/07/08/the-middleman/ An inspired montage of the most clichéd phrase in reality television: "I'm not here to make friends." http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/07/07/not-here-to-make-friends/ io9.com fills us in on what we can expect from the pilot episode of J.J. Abrams' Fringe. Spoilers ahoy! http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/07/01/fringe/ I realize it's only 2008, but I received this comment a few days ago here at Apropos of Something, and I think it might be an early front-runner for the coveted Comment of the Millennium award. Please pardon the commenter's language; I'm sure she'd apologize herself if she were here.   What ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/07/01/haterade/   I'm sure I'm not the first to make this comparison, but if I had to describe Wanted using the familiar "X meets Y" formula, I'd go with The Matrix meets Fight Club. The Matrix elements -- i.e. bullets that curve through the air, slow-mo shootouts, the whole "Chosen One" theme ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/06/29/review-wanted/ Yikes! According to this New York Post article, the upcoming seventh season of Fox's 24 will jump ahead four years from the events depicted in Season 6 (signified in the new season by the presence of Chloe O'Brian's four-year-old son). The article goes on to suggest that this now places ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/06/27/24-timeline/ 8 Rules for Surviving the Apocalypse, including my personal favorite: "Do not join a theme gang." http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/06/26/8-rules-apocalypse/ Hold on a second...did I just watch a 90-minute cartoon about tentacle rape? Without treading too far into spoiler territory, that's the central plot of Futurama's latest straight-to-DVD feature, The Beast with a Billion Backs. An anomaly opens up in space, allowing a giant tentacle monster from another universe (voiced by ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/06/25/beast-with-a-billion-backs/   Slightly sillier than the average episode of Alias, slightly less silly than the average Austin Powers flick. As a loyal fan of the Don Adams/Barbara Feldon series from the '60s, I went into Get Smart with a degree of trepidation, expecting relatively little from the spy spoof. Much to my surprise, ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/06/23/review-get-smart/   Lost is a television show known for its convoluted plot twists, enduring mysteries, shifting alliances, bizarre coincidences, shocking reveals, and its ability to make viewers take a step back every few episodes and ask a simple question: "WTF?!" Below, you'll find my picks for the top 30 "WTF?!" moments in ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/06/19/lost-wtf/ A handy list of spoilers for M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening...so you can make fun of the film without actually having to watch it. http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/06/16/the-happening/ Yay! Stephanie wins! I'm kinda obsessed with Top Chef (and, for that matter, most of Bravo's reality programming), and I was thrilled to see Stephanie come out on top in the finale. I picked Steph and Richard as my favorites at the beginning of the season, and it was delightful ... http://wiw.org/~jess/archives/2008/06/12/top-chef-finale/