Apr 25 2015

Psylocke Comes to the Big Screen, Ant-Man’s Big Little Trailer, and DareDevil’s Golden — Nerd Girl Corner

Hey there, devotees!

It’s been a month since my last post (forgive the delay), but I’m back with a new entry and it’s chock full of nerdy goodness. The headline barely covers the amount of ‘ish that I’ve been in my feelings about, but I’ll try my best to get through it all as quickly as possible.

First up in NGC news: Newsroom star and super geek girl Olivia Munn is set to portray Elizabeth “Besty” Braddock aka Psylocke in the new X-Men: Apocalypse movie.

So why is this a big deal to me? Well, for starters, Psylocke was always my favorite character to play in the Capcom video games back in the day and then again in X-Men Mutant Academy 2 for PlayStation. Next, I always loved the look of the character, even though the only incarnation I knew of her was of the Japanese assassin. And lastly, when I did finally dabble into the world of comics, it was with the Uncanny X-Men featuring Psylocke.

I must admit, however, I didn’t keep up with the comics, but I still maintained a soft spot in my heart for her. Also doesn’t hurt that she has purple hair and I did desperately wanted to streak my hair purple in high school. Yes, it was a phase, but I eventually got over it (not really).

Anyway, I’m excited to know she’s going to be portrayed by Ms Olivia, who was the chick I wanted to be at San Diego Comic Con’s coverage on G4. She knew her stuff when chatting with guests, looked like she was having a great time, and could hang with the rest of the “nerds,” while still flicking her fabulous hair. She’s also of Asian ancestry, which I think it a good look on Marvel’s part to get someone who many won’t question (too much) with regards to cultural relevance.

Moving on…

Mavel’s Daredevil is on Netflix!

Marvel’s Daredevil Season 1 officially released its 13 episodes for screening on April 10. Like most people, I kicked myself for not taking the day off from work to sit at home and binge watch them all, but I was able to sneak in one episode during the day, and I have to say, the premiere episode was interesting. If it’s one thing that got me, it was the fight choreography. My first reaction to it all was “I really like this fight choreography.” Then, when I got home, I watched the second episode (while live tweeting with Black Girl Nerds) and I really fell in love with the fight scenes. They were visceral and real. When homeboy got punched in the face, he took the punch, and when he gave them, he dolled them out, but not without showing just how much energy he exerted in the act. I like a fight that looks like a real fight in movies.

I decided that I was going to pace myself, and watch only two episodes a week, but I missed the bar (this week and last week), and am several episodes behind. Nevertheless, I will get around to watching the rest of the episodes in due course, savoring every fight — which I’m told gets better with every episode — and I’m so happy to announce that the show’s been renewed for Season 2! Sucky part? The show’s coming with new showrunners (*hiss*). Cross your fingers that they keep the momentum going ’cause this show has the makings to be something pretty great.

Oh, Charlie Cox aka Matt “Daredevil” Murddock gets honorable mention in this post for being a much better DD than Ben Affleck. Sorry, but search your feelings. You know it to be true.

And last but not least…

The trailer for Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice finally dropped. Go ahead, check it out if you haven’t already.

It starts out with news reporters, telecasters, and the like talking about Superman’s power and you, there are those who idolize him, and then those who loathe him. You know, the usual reaction foreign entities get when people are aware of their presence. Holly Hunter’s voice is clearly audible, which makes me a little happy to know that she’s going to be involved in this movie. Anyway, there’s a shot to a giant Superman statue which somehow has “False God” painted on it. (Note: who the hell got up there to right that in the FIRST DAMN PLACE?)

Next thing you know, ~~Scar~~ Jeremy Iron’s voice is heard talking about “that’s how it starts, the anger, the powerlessness” and we get a shot of Ben Affleck (aka Bruce Wayne) looking at his ol’ Batman suit. I’m guessing he’s put the cape away for a bit, but thanks to Superman causing villains and nimrod civilians to catch their feelings, he feels it’s about time to venture back into the night and fight crime. But lo! It’s not crime Batsy is after —it’s Superman! And with all the high-tech planes and cars from the The Dark Knight movies — oh, and an auto-tuning helmet, Batman comes after the sexy Henry Cavill — uh, I mean Superman, and the two appear to square off.

Now, I will not lie to you guys: I do not know the comic book history behind movie’s plot. I’ve seen a couple of DC animated films and this reminds me of Justice League: War, where all the superheroes kind of fight each other until they find a common enemy and then battle that. I’m going to hypothesize that this film is going along that route, especially since a Justice League movie is in the works, and several of the JL characters are going to be making cameos.

My thoughts thus far? I’m going to give it a chance. I shall admit, I’m not a fan of the whole “Batfleck” deal just because I didn’t like Ben as Daredevil. But, many people thought Ryan Reynolds sucked as Green Lantern and now he’s getting tons of love for Marvel’s Deadpool. So maybe the transitional magic will work for Ben shifting from Marvel to DC… I don’t know. I just hope his helmet isn’t set to auto-tune all the time. I get that maybe he’s supposed to be an older version of The Dark Knight‘s Christina Bale, but his voice was annoying enough and this mechanical version of it is not doing it for me.

Before I sign off on this post, I did need to give a condensed geeking to a couple other pieces of news that broke in the weeks that I’ve been gone. Brace yourselves because some of this is just pure awesome:

Finally, I’ve got some exciting news regarding the Suicide Squad movie: Jared Leto is officially the prettiest ugly Joker out there! Director Dave Ayers posted the first official look of Jared as Mr. J for the 75th anniversary of the character and I DIG IT.

The Suicide Squad wishes you a Happy Anniversary Mr. J! #Joker75 #SuicideSquad @WarnerBrosEnt @DCComics pic.twitter.com/LZXz0x947Q

— David Ayer (@DavidAyerMovies) April 25, 2015

I was weary that he was going to be too pretty, but he’s got this pretty ugly thing and I can only imagine where he’s going to go with the role. I also can’t wait to see his interaction with Margo Robbie who plays Harley Quin. Bottom line, I approve.
Is it time to pour one out for the homies? Word around town is that Avatar: The Last Airbender and Legend of Korra co-creators Bryan Konietzko and Michael Dante DiMartino have parted creative ways after working together for 10 years. Hypable reports that are their recent art show, where they give us that beautiful pic of Korra and Asami in the spirit world together, the duo announced that they were parting ways.
I’m not sure if this report should be taken seriously — since no other outlet that covers ATLA and LOK has covered the news, nor has “Bryke” taken to the internets to confirm such split, but Hypable said the creators claimed they were “tired”, “burnt out”, and seeking to do other projects, but they were ultimately open to joining forces again in the future.
The Ant-Man trailer dropped. And as much as I love Paul Rudd, I have a feeling this movie will be one of Marvel’s lowest-performing films. Don’t get me wrong — it’ll make a good chunk of change. And there may even be some solid acting and fight scenes, but I don’t foresee a ton of people rushing to the theaters to see it. After watching some Avenger cartoons on Netflix, I’ve grown a bit of appreciation for Ant-Man, but it also left me curious as to why Marvel decided to introduce the superhero with this new incarnation that’s not Hank Pym. In the film, Hank is played by the elderly Michael Douglass. If Hank and Tony Stark created Ultron, why isn’t Hank Ant-Man? Ugh, I’m not even going to try to understand that. Anyway, here’s the trailer:
Archangel has also been cast for the X-Men: Apocalypse movie in the form of actor Ben Hardy (of East Enders).
Director Bryan Singer also released images of what Archangel will look like this time around since, you know, he’s going to be one of the Four Horseman of Apocalypse.
shiny…
Speaking of X-Men, it looks like one X-Men we spoke in length about isn’t going to be showing his face in X-Men: Apocalypse after all! In a recent interview with MTV, Channing Tatum broke the news that it was a possibility his Gambit was going to first hit the screen in a solo film. Channing dished, “You know, I don’t know if I’m at liberty to say, but I don’t think I want to introduce Gambit until you can really explain who Gambit is.” Looks like we’ve gotten ourselves about two years before we finally meet Chambit, which should be well enough time for Channing to get that Cajun accent down… along with any other shortcomings people were weary of.

That’s all the nerding out I’ll do this time around. I did want to give a Season 1 exit review for some pilots, but since I stopped watching several of the shows I was geeking over… I’m going to have to go time some time, finish a couple shows, and then come back.

Until then, keep geeking folks and always, drop a line in the comments or hit me up on le Twitter!

x Nerd Girl Out x

Dec 24 2014

Legend of Korra Series Finale Post Cap Coming Soon!

Hey guys!

*Update* So, it’s taking a little longer than I thought. As such, I promise you guys a post for Saturday!!

Original Post:

So I know some of you are probably like, “where the hell is the Legend of Korra series finale post-cap”, right? Well, I promise you it’s on its way! The past few days have been pretty hectic and when you add all the feelings I had about the finale, live-tweeting it, AND the revelations that kept coming out, it was just a lot to take it and then try to seriously jot down. However, this Friday (December 27), you can expect a possible two-part post on it all (because seriously, that ending, the battle, the tears, too much).

Also, I recorded a little something with some new-found friends of mine discussing the show, so hopefully by the time I get you guys the post-cap, it’ll be ready.

If you can’t wait for the post-cap, then BY ALL MEANS, telling me how you’re feeling about the show and vent your emotions to me here! I’ll be sure to check in for it. If you want to wait until Friday, then you can do that as well.

Until then, enjoy your holidays and, uh, Long Live Korra!

– Alja

x Nerd Girl Out x

Dec 5 2014

Legend of Korra Final Four Episode Titles Revealed Marking the End of an Era — Nerd Girl Corner

Hey Korra Nation!

I rarely do “newsy” stuff for damn near anything that I write, however, Nickelodeon just confirmed the Legend of Korra Season 4 final four episode titles and, well, I’m beside myself. The end is near. After these four episodes, we don’t know when next we’ll see anything from the Avatar and/or Korra universe. Essentially, these four episodes mark the end of an era.

Sigh…

But, back to business.

So the final four episodes have been confirmed as follows:

Chapter Ten:
“Operation: Beifong“

Chapter Eleven:
“Kuvira’s Gambit“

Chapter Twelve:
“Day of Colossus“

Chapter Thirteen:
“The Last Stand“

It’s also confirmed that Chapter Twelve and Thirteen will air as a one-hour episode (as other finales have aired through the seasons). The names are pretty damn intriguing and as such, I’ve decided to do quite the bit of speculation based on them all.

“Operation Beifong” – This episode title seems simple enough to deduce that this episode will deal with Opal, Lin Beifong, and Bolin breaking out the Beifong clan — with the help of ol’ Toph Beifong — held in captivity by Kuvira in Zaofu.As I’ve previously speculated, this may also be the episode where Baatar ~~Jr.~~ aka Kuvira’s fiancé aka Kuvira’s puppet will have to make a choice of family or girlfriend. I see Baatar’s involvement going one of two way: either he turns a blind eye to his family’s escape plans and chooses to stay with Kuvira (who he’ll later realize only got with him to solidify her ranking as a world leader with his Zaofu ties) OR Kuvira uses him as bait for the Beifong women to back down and he makes some sort of sacrifice to stay as Kuvira’s prisoner of sorts to help his family get away. If it does or doesn’t happen, what I do expect is to see a ton of rapid fire earth and metal bending, and a little lava bending on the Bolin front.

“Kuvira’s Gambit” – This episode sounds to me like Kuvira’s wagering something. We all know Kuvira likes a wager (ie. “If the Avatar can defeat me, I’ll leave Zaofu”). I’m guessing at this point, Kuvira’s probably got her spirit nuclear bomb ready and she might be telling President Raiko to hand over the land Republic City took from the Earth Kingdom OR she’ll level the place. I’m also going to wager that President Raiko isn’t going to back down to Kuvira’s demands (because he’s hella stubborn himself) and he calls her bluff, which brings up to the next episode…

“Day of Colossus” – I have a feeling that the “Day of Colossus” is going to have something to do with Kuvira setting off her weapon of mass destruction. I don’t know what to expect or speculate other than maybe Asami and Varrick come through at the end with a weapon to counter Kuvira’s bomb that offsets the total devastation, but still causes major damage nonetheless.

“The Last Stand” – This episode will definitely entail a ton of fighting. Just the title alone is giving me “Sozin’s Comet” feels where everyone will be battling someone on an epic scale. Korra will have her re-match with Kuvira, as the rest of Team Avatar and Friends will have to battle Korra’s army of robots, tanks, and soldiers. I would hope since this is the last stand and all, Toph, Zuko, and maybe even Katara may get in on the action — though I really don’t see Katara doing anything other than waiting for people to travel to see her in the Water Tribe for healing.

So just how will Korra take down Kuvira in this instance? Well, the creators can bring it all full circle and have Korra take away Kuvira’s bending like Aang did during “Sozin’s Comet” or Korra can do something extra daring and like send Kuvira into the Spirit World to be trapped there forever. But I don’t think Korra’s that daring. Furthermore, Of the last three seasons, Korra’s only ever once “did away” with her enemy, and that’s when her uncle Unalaq merged with the spirit Vatu. If she does handle Kuvira, it’ll have to be with some brute force and then she’ll have to be locked up somewhere where she can’t bend… like on a ship like Red Lotus member Ghazan.

But aside from all that, I’m hoping that this much is true: everyone ends on a somewhat happy note! I’m gonna speculate that either Korra learns that she’s totally in love with Mako or she achieves total Avatar realization being single and all. I hope Asami and General Iroh II start dating (which prob won’t happen because they don’t like to see Asami happy), and that Bolin and Opal really reconcile because Bolin needs a woman in his life that loves him. I also hope to see Bolin rise to some kind of power in the Earth Kingdom since he seems to have a genuine care for the social issues and welfare of the people.

Legend of Korra Season 4, Episode 10: “Operation: Beifong” is out now, so make sure you tune in. And of course, expect a post-cap for the episode to come later today!

Dec 1 2014

Legend of Korra Season 4, Episode 9: “Beyond the Wilds” Post-Cap — Nerd Girl Corner

Hey there, Korra Nation! As many of you know, The Legend of Korra Book 4: Balance aired its newest episode, “Beyond the Wilds” on November 28th. As promised, I’ve written a recap (which can be found on Black Girl Nerds) in case you haven’t checked it out yet, but now it’s time for this week’s post-cap!

By now, you guys know what a “post-cap” is. But in case you still don’t get it, it’s my make-believe term that by definition is part summation, part review, and tons of thoughts and feelings that one may have after watching an episode (and writing a full-blown recap). Got it? Good.

http://jaegermyavatar.co.vu/

Now let’s dig into The Legend of Korra Book 4 Balance, Chapter 9, “Beyond the Wilds”: Continue reading →

Nov 22 2014

Avatar: The Last Airbender-Inspired Jewelry By Pretty Poet Ink [PHOTOS]

In case I haven’t made it apparent by now, I’m kinda an Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra fan. I mean, you guys must’ve noticed what with all my essays and post-caps and all. Either way, what I’ve probably never really mentioned on here is that I’m also a bit of a beader and jewelry maker with a store called Pretty Poet Ink. It all started when I worked in a craft store in Queens, and it quickly spiraled out of control. I started buying all kinds of beads without any kind of thought, but sometimes they would speak to me. And one day, as I watched several episodes of Avatar Book 2, particularly “The Tales of Ba Sing Se”, inspiration hit.

First, it started with these earrings, which I called “Red Paper Lanterns”:

Continue reading →

Nov 22 2014

Legend of Korra Season 4, Episode 8: “Remembrances” Post-Cap — Nerd Girl Corner

Hey there, Korra Nation! As many of you know, The Legend of Korra Book 4: Balance aired its newest episode, “Remembrances” on November 21st. As promised, I’ve written a recap (which can be found on Black Girl Nerds) in case you haven’t checked it out yet, but now it’s time for this week’s post-cap!

By now, you guys should know what a “post-cap” is. But in case you don’t, it’s a make-believe term I created that by definition is mixed of thoughts, feelings, etc. that one may have after reading (in my case, writing) a recap. Hence, “post-cap”. I know I could as easily call my post-cap a “review,” but I like to do things my way. Got it? Good.

http://heartisanengine.tumblr.com/

Now let’s dig into The Legend of Korra Book 4 Balance, Chapter 8, “Remembrance”: Continue reading →

Nov 16 2014

Legend of Korra Season 4, Episode 7: “Reunion” Post-Cap — Nerd Girl Corner

Hey there, Korra Nation! As many of you know, The Legend of Korra Book 4: Balance aired its newest episode, “Reunion” on November 14th. As promised, I’ve written a recap (which can be found on Black Girl Nerds) in case you haven’t checked it out yet, but now it’s time for this week’s post-cap!

So just what is a “post-cap”? Well, it’s a make-believe term I created that by definition is mixed of thoughts, feelings, etc. that one may have after reading (in my case, writing) a recap. Hence, “post-cap”. I know I could as easily call my post-cap a “review,” but I like to do things my way. Got it? Good.

via: http://joongie.net

Now let’s dig into The Legend of Korra Book 4 Balance, Chapter 7, “Reunion”: Continue reading →

Nov 7 2014

Legend of Korra Season 4, Episode 6: “Battle of Zaofu” Post-Cap — Nerd Girl Corner

Hey there, Korra Nation! As many of you know, The Legend of Korra Book 4: Balance aired its newest episode, “The Battle of Zaofu” on November 7th. As promised, I’ve written a recap (which can be found on Black Girl Nerds) in case you haven’t checked it out yet, but now it’s time for this week’s post-cap!

via: http://asamigoreng.tumblr.com

Now let’s dig into The Legend of Korra Book 4 Balance, Chapter 6, “Battle of Zaofu”: Continue reading →

Nov 3 2014

Legend of Korra Season 4, Episode 5: “Enemy at the Gates” Post-Cap — Nerd Girl Corner

Hey there, Korra Nation! As many of you know, The Legend of Korra Book 4: Balance aired its newest episode, “Enemy at the Gates” on October 31. As promised, I’ve written a recap (which can be found on Black Girl Nerds) in case you haven’t checked it out yet, but now it’s time for this week’s post-cap!

via http://makos-lightningrod.tumblr.com

The Legend of Korra Book 4 Balance, Chapter 5, “Enemy at the Gates”: Continue reading →

Nov 2 2014

Legend of Korra Season 4, Episode 4: “The Calling” Post-Cap — Nerd Girl Corner

Hey there, Korra Nation! First of all, I apologize for the tardiness of this post — I never intended for this post to take this long to make it to your eyes, but it’s here! As many of you know, The Legend of Korra Book 4: Balance aired its newest episode, “The Calling” on October 25. As promised, I’ve written a recap (which can be found on Black Girl Nerds) in case you haven’t checked it out yet, but now it’s time for this week’s post-cap! Some of you are probably wondering just what is a “post-cap,” but just know it’s a make-believe term I created that by definition is mixed of thoughts, feelings, etc. that one may have after reading (in my case, writing) a recap. Hence, “post-cap”. I know I could as easily have called it a “review,” but I like to do things my way. Got it? Good.