Disney XD (A Disney Channel aimed towards the slightly older children) announced their 2010-2011 programming lineup yesterday, and in the mix is a new Avengers cartoon that will be making its debut this fall! Here’s the official description:

“The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” — Further aligning the strength of Marvel’s hugely popular characters and stories with the burgeoning Disney XD brand and global reach, an all-new animated series, “The Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes,” will debut in fall 2010 on Disney XD and DisneyXD.com. Beginning with the “Iron Man” and “Incredible Hulk” movies in 2008, the release of “Avengers: Earth’s Mightiest Heroes” follows Marvel’s overall “Avengers Assemble” strategy introducing the greatest heroes in the Marvel Universe through various content platforms, including the upcoming feature films “Iron Man 2″ in May of 2010, “Thor” in May of 2011 and “Captain America” in July of 2011, all building up to the Avengers theatrical film in 2012. Produced by Marvel Animation, the animated series features 52 episodes targeted at kids 9-14, starring Iron Man, Thor, Captain America, The Incredible Hulk, Giant Man and Wasp — who form the Avengers, a team assembled when no single hero’s powers can save the world. A 20-part “micro-series” that focuses on each hero’s backstory will roll out in fall 2010 on Disney XD, immediately followed by the series premiere on Disney XD in the U.S. and, shortly thereafter, around the world. Disney XD, the single largest distributor of Marvel content around the world, currently showcases approximately 20 hours of Marvel series (including “The Spectacular Spider-Man,” “Fantastic Four” and “Iron Man”) each week.

And you all thought Disney obtaining Marvel would be a bad thing…

Last week the bio-pic Amelia, starring Hilary Swank and Richard Gere, came to DVD and Blu-ray. Fox Home Entertainment was kind enough to send us a review copy and last night I finally got around to watching this film.

I must admit, I had next to no interest in seeing Amelia. I am a bit tired of all these cookie-cutter “biographical” films that jump and skip around an infamous historical figure’s life, hitting all the major plot-points but lacking in the heart and realism that was present when said historical events actually occurred. I was less than surprised to find that Amelia was just another addition in a long line of these films.

Amelia is so blatantly aiming straight down the barrel at an Academy Award it’s actually laughable at times. Director Mira Nair has ditched her relatively low-key style for a grand classic period feel in this attempt at an Oscar and brought along with her writer Ronald Bass who is probably best known for penning Rain Man back in ‘88 and then going on to write a lot of popular romantic-type movies (I’ll refrain from the term “chick flick” here). Of course though, as with any good bio-pic, you need some big names to back it up. Filling the lead role of Amelia Earhart is Hilary Swank trying her hardest to do what seems to be an impression of Amy Adams playing Earhart in Night at the Museum 2. Seemingly trying to aim low for a “Best Supporting Actor” golden statue is Richard Gere as Earhart’s husband, reporter and publicist George Putnam.

The main issue I take up with Amelia is that it just feels like any other biographical film I have ever seen. Nair has made a point to hit very particular historical points in an attempt to bring us into the appropriate period – even going as far as to add news reel clips, which unfortunately do nothing but bring you right out of the world Nair has set up; which is too bad because she has created a world featuring painstaking period-appropriate detail. Surprisingly enough though, the film moves at a decent pace despite being pretty dull. The aerial scenes were actually pretty dynamic – until they cut to a scene of Swank in the cockpit in which the fact that she is just in front of a green screen is painfully obvious, frankly, I was shocked at the “cheapness” of these effects in a film this large. I’ll refrain from commenting too much at the overall predictability of Amelia because going into any biographical film the audience already has a certain level of knowledge on the subject, however, I just feel like there had to have been some way to tell this story in a more dynamic way, especially since they had a completely open-ended way to conclude the film.

I didn’t expect much in the way of story going in to Amelia, but what really surprised me was the acting. Hilary Swank usually turns in a pretty solid performance no matter how good or bad a script is, but Swank as Earhart felt like a very odd caricature of a historical figure. Gere, who has been struggling to stay relevant over the years, just kind of meanders his way through the role of male supporting lead. Frankly, the only person who did a good job with the role they were given was Ewan McGregor – who manages to be a welcome highlight in a film full of sub-par performances.

The video and audio transfer of Amelia is very crisp and clean, I will say despite my lack of enthusiasm over the film it’s at least a very “pretty” film to look at. Special features are about what you’d expect. There are ten deleted scenes featured here and while I feel like they actually would have added some good character development to Swank’s Earhart they still didn’t add much more depth to the film. Of course we have the obligatory “Making of” featurette, and it’s about what you’d expect it to be. A few historical featurettes quickly detailing the life of Amelia Earhart and her final plane, “Electra”, round out the featurettes and are mildly entertaining, but are quick and generic. A collection of eight Fox Movietone news reels round out the special features.

I honestly for the life of me can’t think of much positive to say about Amelia. If I were to really dig down deep I would applaud the film in not over-romanticizing Amelia Earhart as a person as she participated in more than one affair as a married woman – but good intentions don’t make a great film. There was no excitement during the course of the film and the phoned-in acting made Earhart’s tragic disappearance completely mute. Ultimately, the cast and crew of Amelia just make it too easy to not even think twice in recommending passing on this film.

Special Features Include:

Deleted scenes
“The Power of Amelia Earhart” featurette
“Making Amelia” featurette
“Movietone News” featurette
“The Plane Behind the Legend” featurette**
“Re-constructing the Planes of Amelia” featurette**
Digital copy of the film**

**Blu-ray only

You can purchase Amelia at Amazon.com

Super Hero Hype! – who is naming their source as ‘Sony Pictures Entertainment’ posted this bit of news earlier today:

Spider-Man will swing into theaters worldwide in 3D beginning July 3, 2012, it was announced today by Jeff Blake, Chairman of Sony Pictures Worldwide Marketing & Distribution. The new film which is still untitled, will begin production later this year directed by Marc Webb from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt. Avi Arad and Laura Ziskin will produce the film from Columbia Pictures and Marvel Studios.

Commenting on the announcement, Blake said, “Spider-Man is the ultimate summer movie-going experience, and we’re thrilled the filmmakers are presenting the next installment in 3D. Spider-Man is one of the most popular characters in the world, and we know audiences are eager and excited to discover Marc’s fantastic vision for Peter Parker and the franchise.”

Of course, release dates -especially for movies of this caliber- are always subject to change, but it looks like it’s going to be about 2 1/2 years before we see Spidey back on the big screen, and in 3D apparently.

Access Hollywood sat down and talked to 18-year-old actor, Logan Lerman, the star of the upcoming Percy Jackson & The Olympians: The Lightning Thief (he also was in 3:10 to Yuma, Gamer, and The Butterfly Effect). During the interview, Lerman revealed that he is currently “in talks” to play the titular role of Peter Parker/Spider-Man in the upcoming reboot:

“There have been a few discussions, it’s definitely something I’m looking into,” Logan told Billy on Thursday.

“It’s one of my favorite characters ever and I’m a huge fan of the series,” he continued. “I’d love to have more conversations about it. I’m definitely very interested in it.”

The “Percy Jackson” star explained that the interest in him playing Spider-Man was “vice versa,” and that both he and the studio have expressed interest.

“It’s just, you know, conversations are starting. It’s a long process with the studio and the producers and everything. But it’s definitely a project that I’m really interested in, of course,” he told Billy. “I’d love to focus on the human element a little bit more. It’d be such a fun experience.”

So there you have it folks. I think we may have our first official hat in the ring for our new Spider-Man. I remember him from 3:10 to Yuma and The Butterfly Effect and I don’t remember him being bad by any means. What do all of you think of this potential casting?

Scifiwire.com talked to The First Avenger: Captain America director, Joe Johnston, about starting production on our Star Spangled Avenger’s (good) feature film debut. Here’s what he had to say:

“We need to cast it soon,” Johnston said. “We have a very short list, but we’re still juggling actors here. I’d say within the next couple of weeks we’ll have ourselves a Captain America, I hope.”

As for who will actually play Cap, Johnston either ain’t saying or can’t yet say. Rumored actors include everyone from Will Smith to Aaron Eckhart to John Barrowman.

As for when the movie will shoot? Johnston said the movier is still “fairly early” in preproduction. Shooting won’t start until the end of June, he said, “but we’re getting ready to go to the U.K., it looks like.”

Hopefully we will be getting news of who will be playing Cap in the coming weeks (more likely months)! Personally, I’m excited to get more details.

The First Avenger: Captain America is currently scheduled for a July 22, 2011 release.

Sound off in the comments! Who do you think would make a good Captain America?

This episode features: Budgetron, Zombietron, Kill-Tacular-Tron, Arse-Bot, Mexicus Prime, Proletariatron, and special guest, Senator Kooche

In this edition of the Big Shiny Podcast! we talk a little about what’s getting started this year in comics along with Green Lantern casting news and of course we can’t avoid talking about the Spider-Man 4 cancellation/reboot. We wrap everything up with an in-depth discussion with Senator Kooche about Halo: Reach… also we give Mexicus Prime a pat on the back for managing to not tell his highly inappropriate “skull fucking joke”.

This podcast also features the inaugural episode of Swank’s Star Wars Update minicast, so be sure to watch for those monthly on our iTunes page!

Finally, we apologize for the “bleeping out” towards the end but Budgetron leaks some inside info that turns out we aren’t at liberty to release yet! Okay, enough reading, get to listening!

January Big Shiny Podcast

• iTunes – Be sure to subscribe, rate and comment!
• BSR mp3

The Simpsons have been on the the air for 20 seasons and yet Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie haven’t aged a day. To say The Simpsons is a legacy of creator Matt Groening’s at this point would be an understatement -  not only has the show been on for 20 seasons, but for all 20 of those seasons it has pushed the boundaries of what’s acceptable to air on television and remained culturally relevant.

As the years have gone by and The Simpsons has evolved some might say that the show has “lost its way” or “isn’t the same” – but I ask, who are you to say how The Simpsons should or shouldn’t be? For 20 seasons I have watched every single episode and I think the show has never been anything else except for just unapologetically The Simpsons. Sure, we have seen some characters come and go and the show is a perpetual shark jumper, but in my eyes this series has always maintained the perfect balance of slapstick and satirical comedy – which is probably why it has been around for so long and maintained consistent wild popularity through most of them.

Though, The Simpsons is not infallible; the creators and writers have experienced the occasional criticism, controversy, and misses just like any critically-acclaimed television show. The difference with this series though is that they keep pressing on and keep making a quality prime-time show. Perhaps one issue with a series like The Simpsons that runs for so many seasons is that they all kind of begin to blend together. Of course, you have the early years that stand out as the “golden years” (seasons 1-9) and then after that we have the kind of adolescent years (seasons 10-16) and now we are getting into the “later” years of The Simpsons (seasons 17-current). I do feel that the series experienced a bit of a slump in some of those middle years, perhaps I was burnt out, maybe the appearance of more “edgy” cartoons like Family Guy drew my attention away, in either case I am quite enjoying these later years of The Simpsons as they experience somewhat of a resurgence.

It may seem a little odd that Fox decided to jump from releasing The Simpsons: Season 12 on DVD to releasing Season 20 but they obviously wanted to commemorate this monumental event. The Simpsons: Season 20 includes all 21 episodes from the 2008-2009 season that include guest appearances by the likes of Denis Leary, Emily Blunt, Anne Hathaway, Jodie Foster and Ellen Page. Season 20 had some memorable episodes in it like, “Mypods and Boomsticks” in which Homer becomes suspicious of Bart’s new friends being terrorists based on their religion and Lisa gets addicted to downloading music to her “MyPod”. Also in this season is the relevant “No Loan Again, Naturally” in which the housing market is harpooned, and the great season finale with “Welcome to Homerica” where Springfield citizens play border patrol against the Ogdevillians who are swarming to Springfield after their economy collapses. The Simpsons has always been great at political satire and this season has some really great examples of this – somehow getting us all to laugh at serious subjects that were/are plaguing our society.

There isn’t much in the way of special features in this 2 Blu-ray/4 DVD set. In fact, the only one included in the set is “The Twentieth Anniversary Special Sneak Peak by Morgan Spurlock” which is a bit of a let down because I fail to see why they couldn’t just include the twentieth anniversary special in its entirety with the twentieth season. The video transfer of this season is of course far superior to seasons past; starting with episode 10 of this season The Simpsons started being broadcast in 720p High Definition (a decision that also justified a new opening sequence!).

For any Simpsons fans out there, this is obviously a “must have” to add to your collection. The Simpsons: Season 20 is available now on DVD and Blu-ray!

Blu-Ray Disc Content
Disc One:
o Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes
o Lost Verizon
o Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
o Treehouse of Horror XIX
o Dangerous Curves
o Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words
o Mypods and Boomsticks
o The Burns and the Bees
o Lisa the Drama Queen
o Additional Bonus Features Include:
• “The Twentieth Anniversary Special Sneak Peak by Morgan Spurlock”

Disc Two:
o Take My Life, Please
o How The Test Was Won
o No Loan Again, Naturally
o Gone Maggie Gone
o In The Name of the Grandfather
o Wedding for Disaster
o Eeny Teeny Maya Moe
o The Good, The Sad and The Drugly
o Father Knows Worst
o Waverly Hills
o Four Great Women and a Manicure
o Coming to Homerica

DVD Content
Disc One:
o Sex, Pies and Idiot Scrapes
o Lost Verizon
o Double, Double, Boy in Trouble
o Treehouse of Horror XIX
o Dangerous Curves
o Homer and Lisa Exchange Cross Words

Disc Two:
o Mypods and Boomsticks
o The Burns and the Bees
o Lisa the Drama Queen
o Take My Life, Please
o How The Test Was Won

Disc Three:
o No Loan Again, Naturally
o Gone Maggie Gone
o In The Name of the Grandfather
o Wedding for Disaster
o Eeny Teeny Maya Moe

Disc Four:
o The Good, The Sad and The Drugly
o Father Knows Worst
o Waverly Hills
o Four Great Women and a Manicure
o Coming to Homerica
o Additional Bonus Features Include:
• “The Twentieth Anniversary Special Sneak Peak by Morgan Spurlock”

About THE SIMPSONS
The longest-running comedy in television history, The Simpsons exploded into a cultural phenomenon in 1990 and has remained one of the most groundbreaking and innovative entertainment franchises, recognizable throughout the world. Matt Groening created the infamous Simpson family: Homer, Marge, Bart, Lisa and Maggie Simpsons – all now identifiable by their silhouettes alone. Currently celebrating their 20th Anniverary, The Simpsons will air their 450th episode in January 2010. The show has received a Star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame, enjoyed the successful release of their first feature film, The Simpsons Movie, opened The Simpsons Ride at Universal Studios in Orlando, Florida and Hollywood, CA. and been honored with five U.S. postal stamps personally designed by Matt Groening.

The Simpsons is a Gracie Films Production in association with 20th Century Fox Television. James L. Brooks, Matt Groening, and Al Jean are the executive producers. The Gracie Films Worldwide Brand Division develops and produces the DVD collections for the series. Film Roman, a Starz Media company, is the animation house.

You can find The Simpsons: Season 20 at Amazon.com.

I want to preface this post with that I am by no means an Apple hater. I own an iPhone that I am constantly glued to, and up until recently I owned a Macbook that I loved dearly.

That said however, I think Apple may have a flop on their hands at first glance with the iPad. Here are my thoughts:

First, let’s start off with the facts. Here are the iPad specs:

• .5 inches thin
• 1.5 lbs
• 9.7 inch IPS display
• Capacitive multitouch
• 1GHz proc Apple A4 chip (PA Semi!)
• 16GB, 32GB, 64GB
• 802.11n WiFi
• BT 2.1
• Compass
• 10 hrs battery life
• 1 month standby

At first glance, I can see the appeal. It’s bigger than an iPhone/iPod, has a pretty screen, and is relatively portable – but dig under the surface and you have a product that doesn’t really seem to have a realistic demographic.

Let’s start with current Apple customers with iPod Touches and iPhones. What’s the use of buying this product? My iPhone can do everything the iPad can, it’s more portable, has a camera, and along with my monthly AT&T service I can make calls and send texts. iPod Touch users, you can do all the same things the iPad can as well. This iPad is essentially a giant iPod Touch with optional 3G service – that will further slow down AT&T’s already struggling network.

It’s my understanding that this is meant to compete with all of those netbooks out there. Again, Apple missed the mark. Sure, you can surf the web, but beyond that what else are you going to do with it? I know, I hear you Kindle and Nook fans out there, you can read books and stuff on it – but a Nook is in color and far less costly. You can also store photos and music on there – again, I can do that on my iPhone that fits in my pocket. Finally, a lot of netbook users out there want their netbooks for two main reasons – web and basic office functions. iWorks? I’m sorry, you want to compete out there you need Microsoft Office. Most of the white collar industry out there still functions on PC’s and Microsoft Office programs – the traveling business community out there is not going to risk compatibility issues while they are on the road between Microsoft Word and iWorks Pages. And even if you were okay with that risk, how are you going to type it? A touch screen keyboard works well on a small device, anything bigger than that you need a physical keyboard to do any meaningful work that requires typing (And yes, I know, there is a keyboard dock for it- I’m about to get to that). Not to mention no multitasking like the iPhone/iPod Touch – meaning you can’t have Pages and Safari open simultaneously.

Perhaps the biggest problem for Apple – which is a common one – is pricing. I know you get what you pay for, but let’s break this down. You can get a relatively top of the line (by netbook standards) HP netbook for about $35o. Seems reasonable for a stripped down laptop that is meant to be used mostly for web and basic office uses – all packaged together in a nice smaller package. Well, here’s Apple’s pricing on the iPad:

I own a 16GB iPhone, with all of my Apps, music, videos, and photos, it’s nearly to capacity. To me, a 16GB iPad-meant-to-be-a-laptop-thing isn’t reasonable; you start adding other files, more videos (because “…the iPad is awesome for TV shows and Movies!”) you are going to burn through that 16 GB pretty damn fast. So let’s say you go for the 32GB (again, they make iPhones with this capacity) and you can live without the 3G -which would cost you an additional $30/month from AT&T – so you are at $600+. Okay, well that’s “only” $250 more than that HP netbook; but then you buy the iPad and decide to reasonably use it at home or to type anything significant, you need that keyboard dock, and you better believe for a touchscreen device like this you are going to want that case. Let’s say this all costs another -and I’m being generous here I think- $100; BAM! You’re more than double the price a netbook that would more than likely meet all your needs.

So who is this iPad meant for? There’s not enough there for a traveling business-type to feasably use it, it’s too expensive for someone who wants to buy something like this to just surf the web, and I don’t see any reason a college student could use one (and I know, I am one). There are little components to each of these demographics, but nothing substantial it seems to justify the costly price tag (a price tag that Apple laughably advertises on their site right now as an “unbelieveable price”); you get up to that 64GB+3G range and you may as well just drop the extra 200 bones to get a more reasonable and useful Macbook.

The iPad is a device that you can use to:

• Surf the web without Flash plugin
• Create “office” documents without a physical keyboard (stock) and risking compatibility issues with the more widely used Microsoft Office
• Store photos and videos
• Store music
• Download and read books
• Utilize the many App Store apps on a larger screen than your iPhone/iPod Touch
• Look up maps and directions – because using this thing in a car would be safe…

Does that sound like it’s worth the $500+ price tag?

I think the Kindle and the Nook are both great ideas and products – they are also ideas that are aimed at a specific market. The iPad feels too much like a shotgun blast at several different markets with little substance to back it up. There isn’t enough included to compete in the netbook market and it costs too much to compete in the e-reader market, so where does it fit? Had apple maybe just comeout with an e-reader like a Nook or Kindle that maybe did a little more to give it an edge but still keep the price tag under $400 Apple might have a product that makes sense.

I assure you, I’m not a tech snob, and the iPad looks… neat and will probably in some way revolutionize computers down the road and it’s impressive that we even live in a world where a product like this exists, but Apple missed a mark. I love my iPhone. I use it all the time: It’s my iPod when I’m at the gym, it’s my social network outlet while I’m at work, it’s my internet on the go, it’s my handheld gaming device when I’m bored, and it even had a Kindle application for books, and most importantly it fits in my pocket and only cost me $300. Ultimately, I think Apple fanboys are going to rush out and buy the iPad, but without a clear market to corner and a hefty pricetag, I think Apple may have a flop on their hands.

Diamond Select has finally revealed their entire line of Iron Man 2 Minimates (almost)! These little guys should be coming to retailers shortly before the movie hits theaters, so be on the look out for them because there are of course some “chasers”!

From diamondselecttoys.com:

Iron Man 2 Minimates – The Reveal!

Fans all over the world are gearing up for Marvel Studios’ next sure-fire blockbuster Iron Man 2 and at Diamond Select Toys we are excited to reveal details surrounding our previously Top Secret Iron Man 2 Minimates! Due in stores this March, two new assortments of Minimates are sure to thrill fans of all ages!

While one particular high-flying armor-clad character will remain hidden until the March release date, we can now reveal the full contents of our upcoming Marvel Minimates Series 35 Assortment and Iron Man 2 Single Pack Minimates Display. Rounding out the cast of Series 35 is the high-tech army builder paired with Pepper Potts and Happy Hogan – Hammer Industries’ Hammer Drone! Glimpsed only briefly in the Iron Man 2 trailer, not much is known about the Hammer Drones – except that Iron Man and War Machine will apparently square off against an entire squad of them at some point during the film!

The biggest reveal comes in the form of our Iron Man 2 Single Pack Minimates Display, a special set of individually boxed Iron Man 2 Minimates limited to only 500 cases. This set was under complete lockdown, however now we can reveal the full contents!

Each display will include 12 individually packaged Iron Man 2 Minimates, including:

• Air Assault Drone
• Ground Assault Drone
• Sea Assault Drone
• Tactical Assault Drone

Plus limited short-packs found in every case featuring:

• Battle Damaged Hammer Drone
• Justin Hammer

Styled after the four branches of the US Military, exact how these high-powered armors will come to exist and what their creation means for Iron Man remains to be seen – but we can’t wait to find out! Retailers can still order this limited set as part of their January 2010 Previews orders, so if you want these Iron Man 2 exclusives to become a part of your collection make sure you let them know before it’s too late!

So, any guesses as to who the unrevealed figure is? Perhaps Iron Man Mark 4? You can check out the full line at Diamond Select’s website!

As we all know by now, (500) Days of Summer director, Marc Webb, is taking on the Spider-Man reboot from Sony. However, The Risky Business Blog over at THR had a little bit more to add to this news surrounding some possible details about what form the reboot will take:

Webb, who has options on two sequels, will now tackle a Jamie Vanderbilt script that sees a “Spider-Man” movie that will look and feel very different from the big movies that went before it.

The plan for the movie is to be in the $80 million range and feature a cast of relative unknowns (so you can quash those Rob Pattinson or Gordon-Levitt rumors at this point). And the story will be pared down to center on a high school kid who is dealing with the knowledge that his uncle died even though the teen had the power to stop it.

The touchstone for the new movie will not be the 1960s comics, which were the inspiration behind the movies by Raimi, who grew on up on them, but rather this past decade’s “Ultimate Spider-Man” comics by Brian Michael Bendis and Mark Bagley where the villain-fighting took a back seat to the high school angst.

Even though (500) Days of Summer is all we have to judge Webb on right now I remain optimistic because frankly, that film was one of the best things I saw in all of 2009. On top of that now, some news that they might be heading in the ‘Ultimate Spider-Man’ direction is even more good news in my opinion. Bendis has done amazing things with the Ultimate version of our wall-crawler and I think a lot of them would work well on the big screen – at least more-so than some of the campy 60’s Spider-Man stuff Raimi was trying to translate (which, don’t get me wrong, for the most part he did very well).

As you read, production will start this year, so I have a feeling we are going to be getting quite a bit of news and rumors off and on about this reboot throughout the year.

And I thought I’d get a break after Spider-Man 4 was cancelled….