I’ve not heard of Branded until I stumbled across this trailer on Google +. At first blush, it looks pretty fantastic though! You could say it looks like it was here to chew bubble gum and kick ass, and it’s all out of bubble gum.

Okay, that was cheesy. But…you can’t deny that this looks like the spiritual successor to “They Live” from this trailer! Subliminal commands, some kind of weird alien stuff going on under the ‘surface’. All in all, this really strikes a chord with my inner dystopian sci-fi geek! Casting Max von Sydow is just icing on the freaking cake, man.

WARNING! THERE ARE SOME HELLA SPOILERS IN THAT TRAILER!

Longtime friend and fellow movie nerd P pointed me over to Aint it Cool News this morning where the brand spanking new “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hollows Part 2″ trailer was streaming and wow. I’m impressed! Everything looks nice and dark with a lot of heavy emotional turmoil which for me, Mr. Negative Nancy when it comes to my stories, loves!

With the build up over the last seven years on how supremely evil “He Who Cannot Be Named” is, how can you possibly expect this series to end bright and sunny? No, you have to have some loss and some heartache, there’s no way around it. Thankfully, this trailer seems to nail that sentiment!

In other Potter news, friend Opie send me word of this big ole tease for Pottermore. On the page, you’ll see nothing more than a pair of owls and JK Rowling’s autograph. Curious for the Harry fans, yes? A little sleuthing (Read: Typing Pottermore into Google) takes us to a slew of sites covering this new Potterverse website, such as this one on Mashable that leads us to believe that Pottermore will be a large interactive ‘official’ fansite. I’m guessing this will bring us news, more merch to throw our money at and, Facebook lite and things of that nature.

Really, something like an official Rowling sanctioned fansite isn’t a bad idea. Let’s face it; writing is indeed ‘art’ but when you’ve reached the level of Ms. Rowling, it’s also a business. For those die hard fans, this will be a great place for them to congregate, let JK get a firm grasp on ‘Potter news’ as rumors spring up around the internet and frankly, keep the cash cow giving milk for years to come. I don’t fault Rowling for wanting to squeeze her franchise for every cent she can, she’s earned the piles of money she sleeps on every night! Me though, I’d rather see a new book from Ms. Rowling instead, to see what she has to offer outside of Hogwarts. I’d like to think she’s a pretty good author and has some more good stories to share with us all.

Life as a ‘Star Wars’ geek is rough. I know, I’ve lived it. “Fanboys”, the 2008 geek opus had a long road to tow to get a release. Plagued with a number of delays, re-shoots and other unexplained issues, it seemed for awhile there that Obi-Wan would be their only hope. Thankfully, the force was strong with this one as it finally sees a DVD release on May 19th.

I’ll be perfectly honest here; “Fanboys” isn’t going to be for everyone. It follows a fairly standard road trip comedy formula. It IS a decent movie to sit through, but unless you’ve lived the life of the obsessive “Star Wars” nerd you may have a hard time getting into the movie. Standing on its own, stripped of the nerd jokes, the movie is still a passable comedy. It looses some of its luster though and becomes run of the mill. The “Star Wars”-centric jokes are what make this one stand out on its own which is going to be off putting to those that are not fans or even unfamiliar.

Four nerdy friends decide to embark on a dream that has festered in their minds since the fifth grade; road trip across the country to Skywalker Ranch and steal the rough cut of Star Wars Episode 1: The Phantom Menace. They’re too eager to wait. Setting off, they get into many contrived escapades including a few Trekkies, insane pimps and all sorts of craziness.

As I said, there is nothing new here for the comedy road-trip genre, but that’s okay. It’s safe to admit that you’re really here for the “Star Wars” jokes. While the main plot is not going to wow you, the gags will. Our four nerds are carried off quite well. Dan Fogler’s Hutch is uncanny; I’ve now a guy or two that was just like him. All the way down to the tape case filled with nothing but Rush. Throwing in Jay Baruchel and Sam Huntington ads some more nerd cred to the cast, both being familiar from previous nerd roles. All carry off the anti-social and obsessed side of the characters to a T. As I’ve said, I’ve seen these people before; go to any “Star Wars Celebration” convention, you can see them too!

I’ve got to admit, the first two acts of “Fanboys” left me feeling pretty overwhelmed. The movie suffers from a slow start and flat jokes. It’s not until late into the second act that things start to pick up and thankfully they pick up enough to make the wait worth it. With a ton of cameos thrown in to spice things up, little things like the many faces of Seth Rogen and a ginger wigged Ethan Suplee acting as AintitCoolNews’s Harry Knowles are worth a laugh. There’s some good writing in these last acts weaving in many facets of nerdom that are nice and subtle if you’re hip to the lingo. But once again, if you’re not part of the ‘scene’, you may find yourself a bit bored and left behind.

I enjoyed myself quite a bit by the end of “Fanboys”, even despite the fact that they are obsessing over a movie that came out in 1999 and is loathed by many. This last bit of irony helps make the absurdity a little more absurd and is even addressed before the credits role. It’s worth a watch if you’re into “Star Wars”, probably worth a watch if you’re into nerdery as well.

If nothing else, this movie serves to prove one thing for sure: Kristin Bell in a Slave Leia costume? Yah, the force is strong in her too.

Behind the Mask: The Rise of Leslie Vernon

Alrighty folks here’s another short for ya. Let me preface this by saying: This isn’t for kids. If you have some kind of attachment to Charlie Brown and a twisted revisioning of this wholsome character might break you, might want to skip this one. But, if you’re a bit twisted such as myself and get a good laugh out of something so wholesome being perverted into something…more, then settle in, you should enjoy this.

That said, it’s about damn time. I’ve ALWAYS said those little shits in C. Brown’s neighborhood needed a good asskicking!

Bring Me the Head of Charlie Brown

Will at horroryearkbook.com just made my day.

“During an interview with Deadpit.com, Synapse Films, Don May Jr. mentioned “Monster Squad” is being released on DVD.”

Read Wil’s blurb for more details!

The Monster Squad

This is a great clip, and makes me chuckle. Normally wouldn’t do two on my Lazy Day’s, but hey, when ya gotta, ya gotta.

Student Bodies

Today is a lazy day. After the Ossario masterpiece, I just couldn’t muster the strength to write a review today! So it’s trailer day! This one, with all the news bouncing about a long awaited dvd release, feels appropriate. It’s also one of my all time faves! So enjoy, back on track tomorrow.

Night of the Comet

Critters

Blind Templar Zombies!

Tombs of the Blind Dead