Jun 30, 2011

The Matrix Lobby: A Capella



If only Matt Mulholland had done this years ago, I think it would have gone about 40 times more viral than it currently is going. This video features the infamous Matrix lobby scene completely redubbed with his own a capella rendition of the music (Spybreak By Propellerheads) and sound FX layered to create a hilarious new take on the classic movie moment. The end result turned out absolutely amazing.

Dimension Bomb By Koji Morimoto



Continuing with our mission to expose everyone to all the Genius Party shorts, featuring the works of some of the most successful and celebrated anime directors and artists of their time...Here is a trailer for Dimension Bomb, a visually striking short by Koji Morimoto (Memories, Tekkonkingreet, Macross Plus) about a girl who unleashes something terrible by summoning a boy from another dimension for her own amusement. The colorful style, the beautiful animation and surreal, at times abstract imagery left an impression.

If you're looking for a mind blowing short, check out Part 1 and 2 of Dimension Bomb right after the break!

Just Don't Trip Over The Wire

(Via)
This is where the magic happens: the entire East African Internet (well, except for satellite links) squeezes through this little sea cable system. Its fascinating that every piece of information that we know can be accessed while being sent through that one tiny pipeline.  Isn't technology beautiful?

Infamous 2: The Cole That Wasn't Quite There

Cole, prior to the 'Metrosexualing.' Awesome, badass Cole by Wes Burt.
The guys from the awesome concept art house known as Massive Black released a ton of preproduction art, showcasing the evolution of a Cole that would end up ultimately causing a massive backlash by fans. Why? Due to the design being way too radically different from what they had grown accustomed to. In a way, its totally true, the final design that Suckerpunch chose didn't even facially resemble the original Cole, resulting in a furor that caused a revert to the original design for the recently released sequel.

However, the guys at Massive Black..in my opinion created some fantastic designs that would have been perfect for an evolution. Check out some of the process after the break!

Be Africa By Soandsau



A fantastic music video by the French directors/animators known as Soandsau. The piece, by Bibi Tanga and the Selenites pays tribute to African culture and tribal costuming while mixing bits and pieces of Electronica, Jazz, Funk and a few other influences that I really can't place to create a really unique sound. At points, the music video kind of reminds me of a lower budget version of Kanye West's 'Power.'

Wilfred The Dog


For someone who doesn't have cable, I love television more than I should. When I first saw the trailer for FX's series Wilfred (originally aired in Australia), I was ecstatic for such an original looking comedy to make it's way onto American cable television. With Elijah Wood holding the lead role, I expected greatness, because let's face it, a story about a suicidal neighbor befriending a man in a dog suit is a beautiful thing.

Now, with the first episode already aired (I never caught the original Australian airing), it's safe to say that this show is goddamn amazing. If you haven't seen Wilfred, I suggest you get on the boat, because it's simply fantastic. It has a relatively dark overtone with all the dick, fart and drug jokes that one could want from an FX show. Check out the trailer after the break!

I Would Eat KFC If They Greenlit This Ad



I think Peter Serafinowicz did an amazing job with this commercial, showing off how KFC can greatly benefit a family unit straight out of a snuff film. If this doesn't make you crave a bucket of fried chicken matter, what will?

Jun 29, 2011

Mission Icefly Countdown Nears It's End; Asks For Help In 15 Cities

It has begun.
Last week, we showed off the unkown viral marketing campaign for Test Subjects Needed, an ARG that's been predicted to be a campaign for The Dark Knight Rises, Halo 4, 5gum, or something completely unrelated to all three. Now we're nearing the end of the websites countdown with a call out to all of the game's "test subjects". Starting tomorrow, if you reside near any of the 15 cities listed bellow, you may have the possibility to delve deeper into this mysterious ARG.

Cities listed with a chance to "intersect with destiny":

Atlanta
Boston
Chicago
Dallas
Denver
Las Vegas
Los Angeles
Nashville
New York
Orlando
Pheonix
Portland
San Francisco
Seattle
Washington DC

Make sure you have an acount and a phone with text messaging capabilities by tomorrow and you may be selected as 1 of 15 test subjects chosen for each city. Anyone else have more theories on what this could possibly lead up to? If we are selected, we will be investigating the ARG in our respective cities.. (San Fran and Seattle) Stay tuned.

Del Toro's Hulk Tv Show Gets Ready To Rage


Poor Hulk. Whilst Louis Leterrier's Incredible Hulk film was close, and I love the Hulk, I just feel we haven't had a great adaptation. So when it was announced that one of the best directors in the entertanment industry, Guillermo Del Toro, was working on a Hulk TV show I f***ing freaked. His practical effects and style are perfect for a Hulk adapatation. Following the announcement things went quiet for a while... Until now.

Guillermo Del Toro told FEARnet the team is "lining up the pages" after turning in and rewriting an outline. This is going to be good. Stay tuned for more updates!

Claudio Giambusso's Brujos


I have seen pieces like this projected on solid walls, such as 600 Years by The Macula, but projecting onto an organic surface is something on an entirely different level. The way Claudio Giambusso animated this piece gives an extremely eerie, yet natural vibe that can only be described as beautiful. Creating a tree on a tree is so incredibly meta that I can't help but fall in love with this.

Early Green Lantern Movie Art

An early take on Hal Jordan's Green Lantern suit. (Via)

We recently ran into a cache of early preproduction for the Green Lantern movie by 3d artist Tsvetomir Georgiev, one of the guys behind fleshing out the looks of the characters in the movie early on.

Unlike what most of the critics might have been telling you recently, Green Lantern actually wasn't half as bad as they made it out to be. Most of us at Awesome-Robo went to see the movie recently, due to hearing from friends that it didn't warrant the harsh review that it received. If you liked Thor, or Xmen: First Class, this is another origin story that doesn't do anything differently from the other summer super hero movies. I actually liked Green Lantern more than Thor! We've discussed it quite a bit on our forums, come join the discussion!

A bunch of early movie art after the break. Pretty cool to see how some of the designs changed over the few years it was under development.

Awake to Asleep in 0 to 60



"Well, that was a delicious dinner.  Time to lay down on this here bed and relax.  Oh, what's on the TV there?  Hmm, what is she looking at on the internet over?  What time should I go to sl-- ZzzZzz..."

Hipster Extraordinaire Review

(Via)
Okay, just hold the f**k up.  This is absolutely beyond ridiculous.  Is this for real?  IS THIS REAL LIFE?!  Let me break it down:  A suit coat and fancy ass tie, coordinated with denim overalls?  Denim overall shorts, no less!  Let me guess, since they're opposites in the fanciness department, it's supposed to be ironic, right?

Then we have the black dress socks with sock suspenders.  Except he doesn't need those suspenders because he's wearing shorts.  It's, like, tongue-in-cheek, right?  And do NOT get me started on his slicked back, old timey hair and matching mustache.  I just.  Can't.  The only okay thing about all of this?  His shoes.  I'll allow it. The only thing he's missing is a can of PBR in hand..Oh wait, they sold out already. Make that a can of Rainier.

They'll Kill U


Guy #1 and Guy #2 ain't nothing to f*** with, especially when dropping their beautiful chorus halfway in. The Lonely Island's second album Turtleneck & Chain was released May 10th, 2011, but that didn't mean we wouldn't be treated to more gold. It's always great to see Akiva and Jorma get the spotlight every once in a while, especially when it's a part of the Just 2 Guyz trilogy

Jun 28, 2011

Followup: Brave Teaser Released



Following yesterdays write up about Brave, Pixar released their first teaser for their new project, featuring an early look at the world that Princess Merida will be exploring in her quest to undo the chaos she brings unto her kingdom unwillingly. Its definitely a work in progress at this point, but the settings are looking beautiful..The only thing that bugged me was that Princess Merida has some crazy eye action going on..Lower those eyelids a little! O_O

You've got a great ass, Pilgrim


Get me a game of Frisbee with this guy please. He's got a great ass. If you haven't heard about Hard Ticket To Hawaii, its one of the most amazing so bad its good flicks quite possibly ever created. You thought the scene above was good? Well you haven't seen anything yet..The way this skateboarder dies will absolutely blow your mind. If you love bad movies, this one is in the top ten..hands down.
 

If Pixar Made X-Men


As someone who doesn't have a strong opinion on either X-Men or Pixar, I find it strange that I really like this picture.  Well, really, the whole concept in general.  This is CG artist Victor Hugo's idea of what a Pixar made X-Men movie would look like.  Why not?

11 Amazing Posters By Ron Guyatt


Normally I enjoy a witty title for amazing pieces like these, but in instances like this it's appropriate to get straight to the point. Artist, Ron Guyatt, designed these amazing video game and movie posters for some of my favorite films and games in a style that I can't help but fall in love with. For more of Ron's work check out his deviantART

Hit the jump to check out 10 more posters and let me know what you think.

Exploding Wine Box



For all of you wine snobs out there, this one is for you.  You don't want that crummy box o' wine?  Here's your solution.  Blow that mofo up!  Sure, you may leave a giant mess of a hole in the wall.  But who cares?  That spiked grape juice won't touch your lips.

Jun 27, 2011

Nightmare On Alice Cooper Street


Johnny Depp recently joined Alice Cooper on stage in London to play guitar. Need I say more? Check another awesome video out after the jump.

Akira Bluray Finally Available In The Uk


Only took 2 f***ing years, but the UK is FINALLY getting a PAL release on Bluray. If you didn't import the region free American release, or get it through less than....legal means then it's certainly worth picking it up. I personally couldn't pick it up because it had sold out at every store I had been to! Either means limited supplies were ordered or these bad boys are being enjoyed by people as awesome as me.

The Rocketeer: For Kids



In honor of the 20th Anniversary of the Rocketeer, a the guys at the French animation studio known as  Digital Banana created this amazing fan tribute to the series in the form of a TV show pitch. And man, they presented a rock solid argument as to why this would make a fantastic kids show with their stylized take on the series. Lets just hope Disney takes note, and makes a kickass series based off this proof of concept with some cool toys to boot.

XC2V: A Military Vehicle Designed By The Public

Experimental Crowd-derived Combat Support Vehicle (XC2V)
We don't usually cover military stuff here on Awesome-Robo, but this was way too interesting to just pass up. As a result of Hummer going completely out of business DARPA (Defensive Advanced Research Projects Agency), the US research & development agency for military purposes literally issued a public call for designers to create the look of the next multi role vehicle that would fill the role of the Humvee, with a $7,500 award for the winning design.

This is how the XC2V was born,  designed via crowdsourcing with the purpose of being a combat resupply and medical evacuation vehicle. The vehicle looks pretty sharp, with a much more futuristic look than its chunky predecessors. The proof of concept you see above was the winning design submitted by Victor Garcia. Check out a bunch of other submitted concepts after the break!

Rob Zombie Takes On Woolite



Have you guys ever used Woolite? The laundry detergent? Well I'm still in disbelief after finding this video, directed by Rob Zombie to promote detergent. That's right, this isn't fake at all..Hell has officially frozen over. And I have a feeling we won't be seeing this on US screens during prime time anytime soon. I was kind of glad that he didn't go the safe route with this one, opting to make it his own with an ad featuring clothes being tortured. The company behind Woolite was supposedly horrified after seeing the storyboards to this ad, but what the hell were they expecting from the guy who made House Of 1000 Corpses? Oh well.

The Bride Of Godzilla

It was love at first sight.
Godzilla and his newly wed wife, Mecha Shezilla enjoying the fruits of their destructive labors. Love the top hat Godzilla, its a classy touch and really brings out the classy gentleman lurking inside that irradiated mutant lizard body.

The Archiver



Thomas Obrecht and ArtFX produced this amazing sci-fi short following the story of a traveller returning from an important mission. The build up for this short is absolutely beautiful and the payoff is far from the expected, yet fully appreciated. While the character design holds a strong resemblance to Isaac Clark and Commander Shepard's armor, this animation is nothing short of awesome.

Will You Be My Friend?


Hey, it's a cheap supermarket toy-- Ohh, I see it now.  This probably wouldn't make for an awkward gift, not at all.

Jun 26, 2011

Vintage Green Lantern Cosplay

(Via)
Even in the 40's cosplayer's were really popular. Fred Lipps Jr. masquerades as the Green Lantern on Mardi Gras March 5, 1946.

Fred Lipps Jr., 13, donned the costume and was photographed at his aunt's house on Polymnia Street, near the corner of Dryades, in Central City.
Home sick from school a few days earlier, Fred and his mother dyed some long johns, and a sheet for the cape, an appropriate shade of green and painted the yellow circle, with the iconic lantern, on a shirt.

Alan Scott always was the best Green Lantern.

Riot In A Jam Jar : A Viral Campaign?



I can't quite wrap my head around what the significance of this Youtube channel is, but there is definitely something going on with the slew of videos the channel, 'Armchairdestruction' has been releasing in the last 3 weeks. A series of 54 videos called 'Jam' have been released, each featuring a jar with a moment of a riot frozen in time and recreated in miniature..And with really creepy music. The amount of work that went into this project is pretty astounding, but what is it for? See for yourself.

Paul Robertson's Pokebinge

Grass bros. (Via)

Paul Robertson, the amazing Australian sprite creator/animator behind works such as Pirate Baby Cabana Battle has kind of been on a Pokemon flavored binge. So far he's released three pieces, each featuring an elemental flavor interpreted in his own awesome style. Hell yes.

Fire bros.

Water bros.

Seagull Steals GoPro Camera



Imagine you're traveling, walking around with your GoPro camera.  You don't have one?  GO GET ONE! They're awesome.  Anyways, as I was saying: You're walking around, just filming your surroundings.  You set the camera down to do... Something.

Out comes a stealthy, bastard seagull, and woosh!  He's flying away with your camera.  That's what happened to this guy.  According to the YouTube video description, the bird landed with it on a castle wall (he was in France).  Dude had to scale a castle wall to retrieve it, but on the flipside the footage is pretty damn amazing.

So what have we learned? Having a GoPro + placing it on the ground, in reach of a bird = Profit!

Robonyan



A look at Japan's brand new Robonyan project, featuring stunningly lifelike mechacats interacting with humans. This video focuses on the cats advanced object tracking algorithms and reflex time as its 'owner' attempts to comb it.

Mesmerized By Shadows In The Basement


Dennis Binnekade, one of the guys behind the Amsterdam based musical group known as Shadows In The Basement sent us this really chill demo track, which is perfect Sunday listening. Describing their sound as 'atmospheric, instrumental pop,' its an interesting hybrid of different styles that I found really soothing. Check out their website here!

Jun 25, 2011

Stephen Colbert's "Charlene II (I'm Over You)"

(Via)
We love Stephen Colbert here at Awesome-Robo. We also love Jack White. We also love cats (Though I'm more of a dog fan.)

Stephen Colbert new single, "Charlene II (I'm Over You)" is produced by Jack White and featuring The Black Belles. You can order the 7" single via the official site, or buy the single via Itunes. Either way the thing is cool, and thats The Wørd.

Edit: Seeing that Unicorn forgot to post the actual music for context, check it out after the break.

Kirk Vs Kirk: Kirk Will Win

(via)
EpixHD tweeted out this photo of William Shatner, who played Captain James T Kirk in Star Trek: The Original Series taking on Chris Pine, who plays Kirk in the JJ Abrams‘ Star Trek reboot, in an arm wrestling match. No, it's not a time paradox or a scene from the new Star Trek film.

As part of documentary that will be airing on Epix, William Shatner’s The Captains has Shatner sitting down with all of Star Trek’s captains (Patrick Stewart, Kate Mulgrew, Avery Brooks, Scott Bakula and Chris Pine). Awesome.

Saints Row The Third: Looking Kickass



Volition just recently dropped this fresh gameplay walkthrough of their Saints Row The Third gameplay, and in my opinion its got everything going for it. Seriously..this video is seven minutes of gameplay with an emphasis on nothing but fun. The game doesn't take itself seriously, and I could give a damn less. This game is being built from the ground up to be a polished, rewarding and fun experience..Taking all the funnest elements of Grand Theft Auto and cranking them up to 11. Not a bad thing if you ask me, I kind of felt like that last GTA took itself way too seriously and abandoned all the over the top aspects that I really enjoyed.

For starters, you start off at the top of your game already, having had the last two games to build up a brand and reputation. In this world, you're recognized for being a baron of violence and mayhem. The Luchador that gets shown in the trailer has wrestling themed takedowns to accompany his flavor, and then sh** just gets crazy. Dildo weaponry? Vertical take off aircraft with microwave lasers? Fursuits? Airstrike guns? YEP! And to wrap it up, a pedestrian catapult. And what they showed is nothing but a tiny piece of the game. Make this game a day one purchase for me. And if you haven't seen the amazing intro trailer that we covered a while back, do it here!

Epic Anime Time



GakAttack is the non gun equivalent of FreddieW, featuring really well edited martial arts over the top choreography. He's still got a relatively new partner channel, but his first collaborations are already looking pretty awesome. Back to this video, Gak filmed himself fighting various cosplayers at Anime conventions and then added a little layer of postproduction polish and editing to elevate the cosplayers to a truly new level, showing off attacks from each respective anime. Pretty badass.

A Look At Pixar's Brave


If there was one reason I'd go to check out Cars 2 this Friday, it would probably be to check out the sneak peek for Pixar's next big effort, 'Brave.' Afterwards I'd probably walk out in a hurry, before experiencing severe disappointment at their completely phoned in, merchandise and ad spam attempt of a sequel to an already forgettable (Don't even get me started about Disney's Planes spinoff) movie. I'll just act like that flop never happened.

Anyways, this new movie seems to be quite a departure for Pixar, tackling darker themes. In a nutshell, Princess Merida sets out to undo the turmoil she brings onto her Kingdom after defying a sacred custom. She is also accompanied by three lords of the kingdom, which makes it seem like Pixar might be paying tribute to the Wizard Of Oz. Its a pretty refreshing departure from the body of work that Pixar has put out so far, lets just hope this doesn't turn into their Black Cauldron. Brave will be released in summer 2012. A high res image of the heroine after the break!

A Derp Dog Appears!



This just made my day.  Nothing goes better with a smoosh face than a crazy ass reaction to having your stomach touched.  No, you are not derp-dog.  You are THE derpiest-dog.  EVER.  And we at Awesome-Robo would like 3 of you please.

Jun 24, 2011

Sony Gets The Documentary Treatment


It's been well over a month since Busted Pixel was able to push out a new skit, but we're back today with this years most important documentary; Sony: A Hack Story. 

Dogs Will Be Dogs


They will either be dorky or violent. As long as they don't hurt me! A whole lot of derp going on in this image.

That's One Stealthy Kitty!



He lies in wait, anticipating a trespasser.  He has his timing down to the millisecond.  And when that time has come, he strikes with the precision of viper.  He is... Ninja Kitteh!

Bloom: Pogo's Newest



Pogo just released his latest Disney flavored remix, mashing up snippets of various female princesses from various movies into a relaxing track that's perfect for the mid week. Using dialogue snippets to form a melody is just awesome. In case you didn't know, you can download Pogo's tracks from his website, right here..and he even offers a 'name your own price' feature, similar to what Radiohead did back in the day.

He Draws Nintendo


A couple weeks ago I had seen this piece floating around the internet and fell in love with the artist's awesome style. Today, I come back with presents for you, created by artist Zac Gorman, for his tumblr I Draw Nintendo (which is awesome and I recommend you all follow). Zac's style has a neat retro-90's-vibe (are the 90's considered retro yet? Good god I hope not, but I'll leave that there just in case) while also mixing in animated cells to get your artsy private parts all tingly.

Seriously though, I never thought about using chickens this way. They're possibly the most powerful beings in Hyrulean existence, able to withstand EVERYTHING, only to turn around and peck the ever living sh** out of you. F*** those guys.

Hit the jump to see a large collection of Zac Gorman's comic work and then jump on over to his Tumblr to check out even more!.

Team Fortress 2 Introduces You To The Medic, Then Invites You To Play For Free. . . FOREVER


If you play Team Fortress 2, you probably know about the Uber Update. If you don't, now is probably the best time to find out about Valve's big update, because after you do, you're invited to play for free. That's right, Valve is now offering the game to be downloaded and played for free by anyone with Steam. For all you complainers who purchased the game already, you're now premium members, allowing access to exclusive hats that free members can't get. So stop being a b*** and have fun (I paid for the game too).

Free games aside, this new entry to the Meet The [class name here] series is my favorite one yet. The animation is beautiful like always, and the Medic's pigeon, Archimedes, is damn adorable. Valve never ceases to amaze me with how much effort they continue to put into this game. Here's hoping this free-to-play model for Team Fortress 2 is an indication for even more updates.

P.S. Would anyone be interested in an Awesome-Robo TF2 server?

Jun 23, 2011

How games developers see the world

(Via)
I think a sewer level is in there as well....

Phantom Vibrations



I really think we're in love with the Phantom cameras here on AwesomeRobo...We've covered films shot with the Phantom series quite a few times in the last few months. As a refresher, the cameras are insanely expensive (Up to $150,000) pieces of equipment especially designed for capturing absolutely incredible slow motion footage that the naked eye could never see. This latest video focuses on the theme of vibrations from various activities. The footage is absolutely jaw dropping.

World's First Dog To Get 4 Bionic Paws



Naki'o got a second chance, with a full set of bionic paws that allow him to do everything a normal dog could. After losing his paws due to cold related injuries as a puppy, seeing technology come this far and give a pet a completely new opportunity to enjoy life just cheers me up to no end. Hell yes to cyborg dog companions.

The Best-Worst Movie Scene



I'm sure a lot (if not most) of you have seen, or at least know of "The Room".  Released in 2003, it was written and directed by the prodigal talent that is Tommy Wiseau, who also starred in this classic.  It is one of the most god awful brilliant films of all time, and if you haven't seen it yet, then get off of the computer and go do so.

Here we have a crucial scene, in which Tommy's character 'Johnny' is on a quest to procure flowers for his beautiful girlfriend, Lisa.  Sometimes I wish I still worked in retail, just so I'd have the opportunity to awkwardly tell a customer that "You're my favorite customer".  While they're walking away, no less.  Naturally.

2,000 Pound Transformers 3 Cake



This insanely over the top cake, featuring Bumblebee straddling a Camaro (The f..?) was created for a staff wrapup event for the upcoming Transformers 3: Dark Side Of The Moon movie. Michael Bay was nowhere to be seen in this video, but I'm sure he was disappointed to find out that the cake didn't explode at the end of the countdown..I kind of was.

Anonymouse

Why so serious?
A fun play on words...Guy Fawkes seems to be smiling more than usual. The best part about this image is the fact that the creator of this piece of art was also anonymous. Go figure. On a related note, have you guys been following the whole Lulzsec Vs Anonymous ordeal? Kind of disappointing that two groups with similar origins would turn on each other. Lets see what happens.

Jun 22, 2011

Indie Game: The Movie



While I was writing this article,  the Kickstarter for this project just surpassed its $35,000 funding goal on Kickstarter, gaining over a $1000 in donations in less than 20 minutes. So I'm happy to say that this documentary will get made, as it focuses on the rising stars of the video game industry..The indie developers. Having had a chance to play a ton of amazing, truly innovative games during GDC earlier this year, I really found myself questioning how the mainstream game industry had become so stagnant, corporate and unwilling to try new concepts.

There was something so honest about these guys, who had spent countless hours and made so many sacrifices to bring their games to life. I came out of that experience with a newfound respect for these guys, many of whom are doing their best to push the envelope as forward as possible, creatively unconstrained and free to explore new gameplay formulas. I'm glad this documentary will go forward.

My Re-Ment Collection



There is something incredibly relaxing about watching this man show off his insanely extensive collection of miniaturized, gorgeous toy food. The amount of detail on these is nothing short of awe inspiring, and the breadth of RRCherrypie's collection is neverending. Seriously, how many of these sets were made? His collection is covered in three parts. The first centers around restaurant style presentation, the second on kitchen preparation, and the third one focuses on baking and desserts. Its kind of weird, but videos of a woman playing with her tiny food toys, in a tiny kitchen, inside a doll house, located in her actual house is really relaxing to me for whatever reason.

Check out part 2 and 3 after the break!

Luke Million: Arnold



I'm not sure whether to feel completely inspired or simply violated by this collage of seventies Arnold doing what he did best...Sweating and making strange facial expressions. I could totally see this track becoming a musical aerobics hit with the usage of Ah-nulds repeated, "DOWN, COME ON!" clip getting repeated a few thousand times in this music video. Let this music video inspire you.

Frank Miller's 'Holy Terror' Out in September (Minus Batman)

Wait, what?
I doubt most of you will remember the outrage caused when this project was announced. Why? Back in 2006, legendary comic book creator Frank Miller announced that he would be writing and drawing a story called 'Holy Terror, Batman!,' a self-described piece of revenge fantasy/propaganda that would feature the Dark Knight taking on the now disposed of Osama and "kick[ing] Al Qaeda's a**" after a terror attack on Gotham City."

5 years later?

According to iFanboy, Holy Terror will have a hardcover graphic novel release, and will be priced at $29.99 - with an unknown page count. Its set to be released this September, the tenth anniversary of the WTC attacks. Classy. I expect there will be whores.

City Of Heroes Going Free To Play


Later this year, City of Heroes will be re-named as City of Heroes Freedom and offer both subscription-based and free-to-play models. Following their merger with free to play specialists, Perfect World, this move seemed pretty obvious.

Oh Hey, It's Zoobooks!



Like, omg, it's an 80's/90's throwback!  We giddily present you the Zoobooks commercial (an oldie but a goody) narrated by the offspring of Bruce from "Family Guy" and the guy who does "The Honey Badger."  My older sister had these, I'll never forget the spider issue.

No, sis, I wasn't that 5 year old who tore it a bit when she turned the page too fast because she was scared by the close-up of the bazillion spider eyes.  You're thinking of some other little girl who was snooping in your room.

Country Dog Photobomb

(Via)
"Gee, thanks Barney for ruining my rustic barn photo.  Don't you know who I am?!  I'm Mr. July of the upcoming 2012 Country Cats calendar, thank you very much!  Dagnabbit! It's gonna take me hours to get back into the zone now."

Medic = Necromancer?

Oh god. Videogame logic does not apply to real life.
Is there a mod for this in Battlefield? Check out more of Greg Hoyle's work here.

Jun 21, 2011

Death Of Spiderman Tomorrow


Just a friendly reminder. Ultimate Spider-man's newest (and most depressing saga) comes to an end tomorrow. I won't comment on the spoilers that Marvel leaked, because I want everything to be a surprise and I've been avoiding spoilers. I've been following Ultimate Spider-man since Peter Parker began within the Ultimate Universe, and I'm very curious as to how this is going to pan out.

I have my copy on order, but us UK citizen's get new comics on Thursday. Either way, I'll give a review after that point. I'm guessing I might be sad, depressed and in tears.

Watch the First Footage of 'Green Lantern: The Animated Series'


Last October fans were excited to hear about the Green Lantern TV show. Today, almost a year on? We get our first look at the series.

Produced by Bruce Timm, the much loved animator behind such DC Comics-based hits as Batman: The Animated series and Justice League Unlimited. The series is animated with 3D CGI models, stars Green Lantern Hal Jordan and the rest of the famous characters of the Green Lantern Corps, and will debut this year on Cartoon Network.

Anatomy Of A Computer Virus


Stuxnet: Anatomy of a Computer Virus from Patrick Clair on Vimeo.


A fascinating, and uniquely presented look at the mysterious Stuxnet virus..A virus so advanced that it can disable and sabotage factories undetected by exploiting Zero Days, security gaps that the creators of various interfaces are not even aware of. And considering that this virus is now available online for anyone to download and tinker with, its kind of terrifying to think what a weapon of this kind could do in the wrong hands. Digital destruction has come a long way.

Mexican Nyan Cat Makes The Meme Fresh Again



I was getting so insanely sick of the whole Nyan Cat meme till I was introduced to this amazing south of the border adaptation of our favorite space cat, now decked out in a Sombrero, thick mustache and with a neverending trail of Mexican flag. And screw Pop Tarts...We're all about the Tacos now, bitches. Go Mexinyan!

Thundercats: HOOOOOOOOOOO! by Synthezoide

(Via)
Another poster worthy tribute to the Thundercats, courtesy of the New York based comic artist Synthezoide (AKA Gael Bertrand) over on Deviantart. I really loved that he chose to make Mummra the focal point of the artwork, instead of just copping out and going with Lion-o. Mummra doesn't get enough love, ladies and gentlemen.

Flux



I could watch this for days. Its like a visualizer on crack and explosions combined. This was created by Turkish artist Candas Sisman for a museum as a wide video installation. The purpose was to create an audio visual experience about the subject of flow. Its mesmerizing to watch, but to get the full experience be sure to full screen this sucker.

It's Only Tuesday

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We are only one day down this week, and already am I ready for the week to be over.  I just wanna kick up my paws heels and say "ahhh...".  But alas, I am no rich kid.  Someone's gotta help pay the bills, you know? So onward! Let us continue our AwesomeRobo blog journey.

Jun 20, 2011

Test Subjects Needed Begins! UPDATED




It started as a possible Dark Knight Rises campaign? Now? We have no idea. We just know that we are needed. TestSubjectsNeeded.com... This site has confused a large amount of people, but we've had a chance to be recipients of the envelopes and packages for the campaign for whatever reason. We don't know much, but we do know that the site was first noticed at E3 through black envelopes, and secretly put into ads in both issues of DC Comic's two biggest sellers right now: Flashpoint and Batman: Arkham City.


Adverts and QR codes have appeared on a number of different sites, but we seem to be ahead of the game. Currently, the QR Code leads to Mission Icefly, a site with a countdown as of writing, at 9 days, 21 hours, 34 minutes and 14 seconds. The Awesome-Robo team will have more information as it comes, but we are as confused, and speculative as you.


Join today, or keep track on this thread on the forums. Because we have as little clue as to what is happening as you probably do.

What do I think it is? Bungie had a viral involving bees and flying insects, a certain recurring theme in this campaign.

UPDATE: After tracking it back to the source, we realized that this campaign is by the same guys that brought you Why So Serious and I Love Bees (The infamous Halo 2 viral campaign), 42 entertainment. The plot thickens.

Rest In Peace: Ryan Dunn

I'm really lost for words. Just confirmed via the official Jackass site;

I don't really know what to say right now everybody because the sadness is overwhelming, but today we lost one of our own. Our brother Ryan Dunn has passed. He died in a car wreck in West Goshen,Pennsylvania this morning at 3am. Goddamn that's tough to write. As we get more info we will let u know, but right now our hearts go out to his family and to his beloved Angie. Ryan will be missed and remembered by us all. Thanks for the kinds words of support everybody. Sincerely and Love, Knoxville,Tremaine, and the entire Jackass Family

No jokes about his past, and I'm refusing to post the pictures that you can easily find on the internet. Right now, I would rather celebrate the life of someone who affected the lives of everyone here on Awesome-Robo. It really does feel like I've lost a close friend (as silly as it is). We'll miss you sir, and thank you for the laughs.

Enter The Dragon



This interesting mini-documentary has nothing to do with Bruce Lee, but more on the wide reaching subculture of Dungeon & Dragons and roleplaying. Like the LARP-centric Darkon documentary (Its on instant queue on Netflix, check it out), it focuses on the aspect of being able to do whatever you want in the game in an otherwise mundane life. Its an escape, and a chance for people to be bigger than they are. I think everyone has their own approach to escaping the daily grind, and this is no exception. For ten minutes, it does an amazing job showing the appeal of the game from the players perspectives.

Hangar

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Your mech art of the day, courtesy of the guys at the amazing freelance art studio known as SixMoreVodka. Great attention to light and especially texture in this piece. If you want to look at pretty art for a few hours, they've got it in spades.

An Unofficial Music Video By The Black Keys



Here we have an "unofficial" music video for The Black Keys song "Next Girl", playing itself off as a precursor to the real thing.  Hot chicks + stuffed boss dinosaur + retro look = Awesome.  Oh, let us not forget the smart-ass scrolling text at the bottom of the vid explaining why this music video turned out so bizarre, as well as the conflict of interest between the music creators and the higher ups.  Though it does create a bit of a dilemma.  What do you pay attention to: the hot girls or the text?  Thank goodness for the ability to replay, amirite?!

The Clone Orchestra

Click for mind blowing fullsize. (Via)
Good god, this photoshop must have taken a few months to complete. This guy basically took pictures of himself occupying just about every possible space in this orchestra hall, and playing out every role. The fullsize of this image must be seen to be believed. The setting makes sense, being a place that would have consistent lighting at all times...But how long did he have this place to himself to take every single one of these photos? Pretty insane, and amazing.

Jun 19, 2011

Fake Dark Knight Rises Trailer Is Fake (But Still Really Cool)


Is this the most elaborate The Dark Knight Rises fake we’ve seen in some time? It's supposed to be a short teaser for The Dark Knight Rises, the last of the Nolan Batman films. People fall for it (And who can blame them? It does look pretty official) but has been debunked as fake.
I still think it's worth a watch because it's actually pretty chilling how great this short trailer is.

So, whilst we wait for some more information or a official trailer.....here is the fake trailer for the most anticipated film of next year.

More Awesomeness By Dan Hipp

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If there's one thing we love about Dan Hipp here at AwesomeRobo, its that he's one heck of a productive guy. Since our last update, he's cranked out nearly a few dozen more pieces, a lot of them focusing around movies that have come out recently or will be coming out soon. 10 more pieces after the break!

Ready 2 Go


READY 2 GO - Martin Solveig feat Kele from Sÿclo on Vimeo.


There's nothing like using pixel animation to spice up your music video. This really took me back to Junior Senior's memorable Move Your Feet music video from a years back. Its a catchy track, but if you're epileptic, stay the hell away from this occasionally strobetastic spectacle. Enjoy.

Shredder's Propaganda Poster

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Hell, if Shredder ever wants some new recruits and put up a poster like this, I'd so be there. The old school rendering and the usage of retro movie Shredder gave this poster a really sweet vintage feel. The art was created by Brandon Schaefer, an amazing graphic designer/illustrator. If you want this Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles propaganda on your wall, get some prints here!

Hamster Vs Tin



I guess Hamsters and Cats share a thing in common, they like getting into compact spaces for whatever reason. The music absolutely makes this video.

Ray Harryhausen's War Of The Worlds


Did you know Ray Harryhausen was working on his own adaptation of War of the Worlds? I didn't.

According to Ray Harryhausen:
"Yes, originally, after Mighty Joe [Young] I made a lot of sketches for War of the Worlds. I wanted to keep it in the period that H.G. Wells wrote it, of the Victorian period, and I made eight big drawings, some of which are published - in the book and it would have been an interesting picture, if it was made years ago. But since then so many pictures of that nature have been made that it wouldn't be quite unique as it would have been."

After World War II, Ray Harryhausen shot a scene of a dying alien falling out of a Martian war machine, test footage for an abandoned project to adapt the story using Wells' original "octopus" concept for the Martians. This footage is in a documentry, 'The Harryhausen Chronicles', which is on almost every Harryhausen DVD. It's also available seperate on DVD with tons of bonus stuff.

Doodles Coming To Life

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I love drawings like this. Ones that combine real reality and fiction and looks good whilst doing it. Is this real life? Or is the doodle battle of Notepad beach during Paper War 1 all my imagination?

Jun 18, 2011

The Worst Of E3



Now that we've had a week or two to let E3 settle, I have to say..My god, the press conferences were among the worst I've seen in the last few years. It just felt that companies kept hiring these spit shined actors that they thought would 'click' with gamers to present the games they were offering. Microsoft's horrific Xbox Kinect presentations were cringe inducing, with terrifyingly fake child actors and groan inducing father/son combos to present a new generation of Kinect games that about 99.8% of games could give two sh**s about.

And worst of all, there was Mr. Caffeine. Holy sh**. Ubisoft hired a guy straight out of 1996, a mid thirties guy who couldn't be farther out of touch in his mindset to presenting these games and his fail train of attempts at video game humor and relating with the audience. Press people were literally writhing in their seats as the artificially over excited Mr. Caffeine delivered his now infamous 'DIDDLY DIDDLY DIDDLY DOOOOO' before games would appear on screen. In his last presentation, he even tried to engage the audience to do his retarded diddly doo routine with him, at which point the longest silence in crowd history probably occurred. During his presentation, I recall sitting in my chair in full double facepalm mode. If Ubisoft hasn't fired this guy already, the game industry might as well be over.

Eating Competition

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The tables have turned, gentlemen. This is an amazing design by RandyOtter that just finished scoring yesterday on Threadless. There's nothing like an adorably gory picture to make your day. Will it ever be printed? We're keeping our fingers crossed.

KI By Michael Levin



A really cool, chill and understated look at the process of Michael Levin in capturing his beautiful photos in Japan. Using simple subjects and long exposure, Michael ends up with some incredibly surreal photos that all have a very dreamy quality to them. The type of pictures you'd love to frame gigantic prints of and put in your relaxation room. Its the perfect video for a relaxing start to the day. Check out more of his beautiful photos over on his website.

The Devil's Double : Something To Look Forward To

Eye catching much? Click for full size.
With the glut of stale sequels, reboots and brainless films that studios have been crapping out for the last few months it was kind of refreshing to see a giant golden carboard cutout poster in the local movie theater of this upcoming July 29 film centering around the body double of one of Saddam's absolutely insane sons, Uday. It will be based on the true story of the double, who was forced to take on his role or face death. Early reports from Sundance are calling this flick the equivalent of a 'Middle Eastern Scarface.' I'm super curious to see just how crazy this guy was...If his Wikipedia is any indication, this movie is going to be a hell of a rollercoaster. Check out the awesome trailer after the jump!

This Star Wars Poster Is Beautiful


Artist, Shan Jiang created this amazing Star Wars piece, which once again, needs to be in my house. Jiang managed to create a poster that doesn't come off as the, "HOLY SH** I F***ING LOVE STAR WARS" feeling that a lot of Star Wars art does. Instead, Jiang focuses on the sceneray in an attempt to display a typical morning in the Star Wars universe. [via]

Hit the jump for the full poster.

Jun 17, 2011

Glee Lantern

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I heard Hal didn't make the audition! Time to break into a song about how Sinestro sucks.....

Portal Dog

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Don't let the eyes fool you; she's in it for the science.

Halo 1: Tower to Tower


You know what's impressive? Someone has been trying to do this for 7 years. Me? In that time I've completed 6 Halo games and lost my virginity.

I was 14 when Halo first came out, and watching this brought back so many memories of me and my friends trying to do the exact same thing; this clip has made me feel reaaally old.

The Many Mirrors Of Daniel Rozin


Wood Mirror-1999

Daniel Rozin is a New York based artist who has set out to create interactive experiences in which the viewer would become part of his high tech mechanical mirror based installations. Over the course of 13 years now his various mirrors have traveled the world and engaged people in just about every country imaginable. I loved the fact that each of his unique mirrors were created out of stranger and stranger components as the supposed 'reflective' surface. Check out six more of his mirror creations after the jump.  My favorite by far was the Trash Mirror. I'm not sure he'll be able to top his latest creation, the 'Mirrors Mirror.'

Xmen By Marcio Takara

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An amazing tribute to the Xmen by the Toronto based Brazilian artist Marcio Takara. What I really enjoyed about this piece was that he actually didn't cop out and stick fan favorite Wolverine in the foreground..In this day and age having Cyclops as the front runner just feels really bold. On that note, did any of you guys check out Xmen: First Class?

Legend Of A Rabbit : China's Kung Fu Panda

Legend Of Bootleg
It seems like China has decided to respond Dreamworks' Kung Fu Panda with a little flick of their, as this blatantly similar poster for the upcoming 'Legend Of A Rabbit' flick seems to show. Now creating a photocopy of the movie would be too damn obvious, so they kind of pulled a switcheroo in which the main bad guy is a Panda this time around and the main protagonist is a fat, cake making Rabbit who learns to be a great warrior. Back in 2008, the success of Kung Fu Panda led to a furious debate about foreign film companies handling China's cultural heritage. This is the result of that discussion, a movie in which the Panda will be on the receiving end of the beat down this time.

Gaiking Pilot



This was one of the two pilots that Toei Animation put forward in the last two years for a possible western adaptation to be released in 2012-2013, along with Captain Harlock..both classic anime series from the golden age of Japanese animation. I've heard news about the Captain Harlock reboot, but what about Gaiking? This pilot was insanely cool with its giant mecha action and redesigns..I just hope Michael Bay never discovers it.

The Final HP Trailer



I've previously posted some trailers for "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part II", but here we have the last one.  I don't normally use the word 'epic', but I really can't think of many other words that describe how I feel about this final glimpse into one of the greatest movie series of the past decade.

Jun 16, 2011

In Brightest Day, In Piggy's Light


Sometimes it's not easy being Green, especially when you are the only frog within the Muppet Lantern Corps....This is one of the newest posters for The Muppets Movie, a reboot of the classic series that I am pretty excited about. The poster is a great tie in to the upcoming Green Lantern movie, another movie I am super hyped for.

On that note, expect to see a Green Lantern review up tomorrow...Not only for the flick, but for the video game too. Double whammy.

Update: A Green Lantern flavored trailer just got posted too! Go figure.

Tokyo Jihen Delivers A Catchy Music Video



Tokyo Jihen, which translates to 'Tokyo Incidents' is a band that was formed in 2003 after the female lead singer, Ringo Shena decided to start a band after a successful solo career. This recent track is an energetic mix of Jazz, Rock and Pop..and its catchy as hell. Seeing that the band has always attempted to push its limits creatively, this recent track is sung completely in English. These guys need to migrate to Western shores, and bring this sound with them.