Chris Hardwick on True Nerds, Trendy Geeks, and The World's Most Important Debate

Categories: Fanboy, Interviews

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Chris Hardwick
Comedian and television personality Chris Hardwick is a nerd -- and with a best-selling book, a dedicated YouTube channel, and the long-running Nerdist Podcast - he's leading a powerful uprising of pasty Poindexters worldwide.

Case in point - Hardwick's upcoming Course of the Force, a 135-mile relay race from Santa Monica to San Diego, run by costumed Star Wars fans.

Our Fanboy caught up with The Nerdist in advance of his show at Stand-Up Live this Friday night.

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The Three Worst Mistakes Made in Time Travel Movies

Categories: Fanboy, Film
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After alien invasions and Samuel L. Jackson appearances, time travel is the next best plot device Hollywood can inject into a film to maximize audience attendance.

The latest example: Men In Black 3 (released next week -- in 3D!), in which Will Smith goes back to the 1960's to meet a younger version of Tommy Lee Jones' Agent K (this time played by Josh Brolin). Hilarity and a catchy, non-offensive rap tune will no doubt ensue.

Later this summer, Joseph Gordon Levitt and Bruce Willis will appear together in Looper about an assassin sent back in time to off himself. As a fan of the genre, I'll no doubt see both of these movies -- only to be disappointed as soon as the theater lights go up.

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Five Reasons We're Not Excited About Black Ops 2

Categories: Fanboy

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Like_The_Grand_Canyon
The Call of Duty franchise boasts millions of players, the most successful online console community, and (perhaps most important) commemorative bottles of Mountain Dew.

With the recent announcement of a direct sequel to the franchise's 2010 title Black Ops, an overwhelming sense of stagnation permeates throughout the gaming community.

Terrorists are doing a mean thing that was ripped from the headlines. Again. Players are going to need to navigate a series of linear set pieces inspired by action movies, and then move on to multiplayer (the only feature they've cared about since the release of Modern Warfare). Sales are up, map packs are selling, and Modern Warfare 3 is still the most popular online console game.

Here's why you shouldn't race to the camp-out for Black Ops 2:

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Five Ways to Live Like an Action Figure This Summer

Categories: Fanboy

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Disney Pixar
Among the rites and ceremonies of summer is the release of new action figures. As bombastic blockbusters hit the theaters, their 3¾-inch tie-ins flood store shelves and allow 120 minutes of popcorn-fueled entertainment to last an extra three months.

Marvel fired the first salvo of the season with The Avengers (out Friday), but as the studio output grows though June, July, and August, so will the selections of little plastic totems. Even if the movies themselves turn out to be disappointments, the sweet, sweet merchandise that accompanies them will turn a profit.

The reason is simple: Action figures work because we project a little bit of ourselves onto their ideal forms -- giving ourselves permission (at least temporarily) to be awesome.

However, you don't have to (as my dad would say) "play with dolls" to reap positive benefits. And though we can't legally condone getting a full-body latex paint job and a subsequent wrap in plastic, we've composed a list of how you can spice up your summer by living like an action figure.

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Three Video Games You Can't Miss This Summer (and Two for Right Now)

Categories: Fanboy

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Monica Guy

Summer is a slow time for gamers. Publishers put the kibosh on triple-a titles until the holidays rear their three-pronged check, credit card or money order. After prestiging in CoD, becoming a master spartan, and even whipping out the SNES for an hour or so gamers come to the same conclusion: I'll die if I go outside, but the hole in my heart for entertainment must be filled.

So here they are, three games coming out this summer all available for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360. Oh yeah, and a couple of budget games to plug the hole temporarily.


3. Dragon's Dogma

Release Date: May 22

Taking its cue from the success of the recently released title Dark Souls, legendary developer Capcom seeks to reclaim the action-horror throne. Players will enjoy the cinematic combat they've come to expect from Capcom, as well as an all new RPG-styled system of advancement. A Shadow of the Colossus

grappling ability creates a sense of scale, as the player will be tasked with climbing on multi-story abominations seeking just the right vital organ.

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Three Chip Tune Covers to Warm Up with for The Legend of Zeldaâ„¢: Symphony of the Goddesses at the Orpheum Theatre

Categories: Fanboy

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http://www.zeldauniverse.net
Even if Roger Ebert maintains that video games aren't art, the music that accompanies those virtual worlds most certainly has to qualify.

If arranging a series of repetitive bleeps and bloops into something resembling a harmony that can be listened to for hours on end isn't an artistic achievement then nothing is.

Plus, the market has spoken and critics be damned -- video game music is its own cottage industry now. Before racking up Oscars for Pixar and whipping up soundscapes for any project JJ Abrams lays his hands on, Michael Giacchino got his start as the composer behind the Medal of Honor series.

Motor-mouth Tommy Tallarico, formerly of G4TV, now tours the country with Video Games Live, and this weekend, arguably the greatest score from gaming's classic era gets the full orchestral treatment with The Legend of Zeldaâ„¢: Symphony of the Goddesses at the Orpheum Theatre.

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Phoenix Geeks on the Local Scene, Nerd Popularity, and Their Awkward Yearbook Photos

Categories: Fanboy
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Bob Beard
The young Fanboy. His specs can see anything - except a future with a woman.

It's a good time to be a nerd.

Tricorders, laser cannons, and commercial space flight are all becoming closer to reality. Marvel and DC are pulling out all the stops with this summer's offerings. And our own Valley is crawling with venues to get your geek on.

Nerdgasms abound. But maybe this is a problem.

Over the past few years, nerds have been elevated from a socially maligned subculture into the realm of highly desirable. 

No longer is "geek chic" about ironically wearing horn rims and a bow tie. It's an enviable cultural identity, and with the abundance of information on the Internet about any dweeb-tastic pursuit, all anyone needs to do is drop a few buzzwords to gain instant access to the dork domains.


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Top 5 Video Games as Art

Categories: Fanboy
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Mass Effect
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Roger Ebert is a very angry man. The award-winning film critic and all-around grouch has been railing against video games as a style that "can never be art," and has caused a community of gamers and artists debating the artistic value produced for small and large screens.

The Smithsonian in Washington DC decided to weigh in on the debate rather heavily by hosting an exhibit on video game art, which focused on the evolution of gaming as a medium by featuring playable copies of Pac-Man, Super Mario Brothers, The Secret of Monkey Island, Myst, and Flower. The exhibition is on display through September 30.

Here are the top five examples of video games that prove once and for all that, yes, video games are just as artistic as film, a medium that boasts classics like Delta Force and Gigli.


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EnemyGraph: A New Facebook App for Enemies

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enemygraph
Voldemort. Darth Vader. The Daleks.

If Kick Ass taught us anything, it's that great heroes are essentially panty-waist do-gooders until a flamboyant-but-deadly villain arrives on scene and forces them to elevate their game.

Sadly, most day to day existences typically lack the alien invasions, horrible lab accidents or psychotic breakdowns from which arch-enemies are born -- so what's a would-be Superman to do without a challenge?

Introducing the EnemyGraph.

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This Week in Top Gun: Sequels, 3D Releases, and More Conspiracy Theories

Categories: Fanboy

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Every once in a while, the chaotic randomness of the Universe emits a series of patterns that, when pieced together and read as whole, align the great cogs of the cosmos and reveal a colossal truth about the whole of human existence. We now sit on the precipice of one of these momentous occasions - and the discovery may rattle you to your very core.

Apparently, the Universe is a big fan of Top Gun.

In the past few weeks, several seemingly unrelated news items have emerged related to the high-flying 1986 blockbuster. But what does it all mean? Don your Ray-Bans, read the evidence and decide for yourself after the jump.

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Tags:

3d, Fanboy, Top Gun
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