Katharine Trendacosta

Black Mirror, the dark science fiction anthology series created by Charlie Brooker, now has both season 1 and season 2 available on Netflix. We loved this series and highly recommend checking it out, if you haven’t yet. Or, re-watching it if you have.

Here’s Thor Made Out of Coffee Cups. Because Coffee. And Australia.

As near as I can tell, this was a promotional gimmick for the Australian coffee chain The Coffee Club. The fact that the Coffee Club is Australian makes the choice of Chris Hemsworth understandable. It took 2000 coffee cups to make this. It would have taken longer if Thor was there smashing cups as they…

Christopher Nolan Was Asked to Bless The LEGO Movie‘s Jerk Batman

The LEGO Movie’s version of Batman is not exactly the same guy that prowled the streets of Christopher Nolan’s Gotham. So, according to producer Dan Lin, the production went to both Nolan and Warner Bros. to make sure Will Arnett’s horrible boyfriend version of Batman was okay. Speaking at the Animation Roundtable, Lin said: We…

What’s the Deal With Jurassic World‘s Raptor Gang?

Idina Menzel may have confirmed that a Frozen sequel is in the works. Plus we have more details about the mystery narrator of The Force Awakens’ teaser. And James Gunn explains why a certain Marvel hero won’t be in Guardians of the Galaxy 2. Spoilers now! Top image: Jurassic World Star Wars As you’ve probably…

This Linguistic Family Tree Is Simply Gorgeous

We’ve praised the work of Minna Sundberg before, and here, as part of her Stand Still. Stay Silent webcomic, she’s illustrated the family trees of Indo-European and Uralic languages. The full tree is below. Sundberg explains what’s missing and where the data came from: Language trees for the language lovers! I’ve gathered pretty much all…

The Villagers Are Gathering Their Pitchforks on Resurrection

Every plot thread started to come to a boil this week, with everything going wrong in exactly the way the show’s been building to all season. Well, except for Janine. She blew her top earlier than expected. Save for Marty’s plot with the government, which is the weakest thing this season anyway due to poor…

This Massive Snow Art Is a Tribute to the River That Used to Flow Here

Since 2011, artist Sonja Hinrichsen has brought volunteers out onto the snow of Colorado to create art that can only be full seen from above. 2014’s entry was an abstract interpretation of original flow of the Yampa River and its four main tributaries in Routt County, made on an artificial lake created by damming. The…

Watch An Awesome Commercial Featuring an Instant Shrimp Frying Gun

Apparently, this is a commercial from NTT Docomo to promote the speed of its new LTE network. Maybe in Japan, the effect is different, but I don’t want a cell phone now. I want a shrimp gun. Sadly, I don’t think this Rube Goldberg machine actually works as shown, since it uses fire to cook…

Time Travel Short Shows How You Could End Up Fighting Yourself For Love

This charming short film from Swedish filmmakers Andreas Climent and André Hedetoft is romantic comedy with a time traveling basis. Forgoing the usual knots of paradoxes and the dangers of your own timeline, “Double Trouble” asks, “Would you let another you woo your true love?” The film was successfully financed by Kickstarter last year. Learn…

The New Supergirl Series Could Cross Over With Flash And Arrow

This would be a first for DC, which has four shows based on comic book characters on TV right now. Thus far, the only shows sharing a universe have been the two sharing a network. But according to Greg Berlanti, that could be about to change. In the November 5th print issue of Entertainment Weekly,…

Could One Daredevil Star End Up Playing A Pivotal Role In Dr. Strange?

James Gunn says there could be a killer Groot-and-Rocket solo spin-off movie some day. Gwyneth Paltrow is willing to be Pepper Potts in Captain America 3. And has a massive Walking Dead rumor been debunked? Spoilers now! Top image: Daredevil Guardians of the Galaxy James Gunn said that he thinks that any of the team…

What Does A Return To An Iconic Location Mean For Game of Thrones?

The Walking Dead’s fall finale will break your heart. Another actor is rumored for The Force Awakens. Andy Serkis explains what his mo-cap company did for Age of Ultron. Where does Batman v. Superman’s latest location represent? Plus, Guillermo del Toro turns in his Justice League: Dark script. Spoilers now! Top image: Game of Thrones…

The Visual Effects Behind This Year’s Two Biggest Biblical Epics

Both Noah and Exodus: Gods and Kings are epic films filled huge numbers of visual effects. And even though Noah is more fantastical than Exodus is supposed to be, there were a number of similarities. https://gizmodo.com/noah-is-the-best-and-worst-bible-movie-youll-ever-see-1553829598 Deadline has a breakdown of both films which is a fascinating read, starting with Darren Aronofsky’s vision and the…

It Comes Out of Space Itself to Eat Planets

The warning signs were all there: the slow accumulation of orange gasses visible at night, the gradual brightening of the two spots that will become eyes, and the dark clouds and energy nets that surround your home planet. The myths were right and the earth is doomed. This is Worlds Eater by AverrisVis at deviantART.…

How Many Scifi References Can You Catch At The Nerd Poetry Slam?

On January 15, the Vancouver Poetry House Society held its annual Nerd Poetry Slam. Matt Loeb’s came in fifth, but I really feel like “Sci Lingo We Ride” deserves a ton of accolades. The references fly thick and fast in this poem. Not give away all of them, but cheering erupted on my end when…

James Cameron Promises That Avatar 2 Will Make You Soil Yourself

Remember when Avatar came out, and people were freaking out about the immersive 3-D and mocap, before that became so commonplace? James Cameron is pretty confident that the Avatar sequels will gain a similar “holy shit” reaction from moviegoers. Literally. Speaking with Empire, Cameron said: I can tell you one thing about them. They’re gonna…

Do We Already Know What the Next Star Wars Animated Series Will Be?

Emily Blunt responds to being fan-cast as Captain Marvel. Guillermo del Toro explains how Pacific Rim 2 will have more science in it. Learn about the supporting cast of Orphan Black season three. Plus tons of details about Reverse Flash. Spoilers now! Top image: Star Wars Rebels Captain Marvel Emily Blunt was very nearly Black…

The El Nino That Was So Severe, It Stunted the Growth of Children

In 1997-1998, there was a particularly severe El Niño. Seventeen years later, researches have produced evidence that the areas in Peru most affected by the weather event also ended up with shorter children. Professor William Checkley of Johns Hopkins and his team visited 59 villages in the Tumbes region of Peru, which had received 16…

Two men have been arrested for uploading an copy of Expendables 3 to the Internet weeks before it was released. Rather than the usual civil suit and monetary penalties, London detectives in the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit arrested the men suspected of illegally getting the film from a cloud-based storage system. [Deadline]

What Caused These Rings of Ice to Form Around Rocks?

Redditor odstane posted photos of a frozen pond, where the freeze pattern around rocks make the whole thing look like a topographical map. Or a rock garden. Either way, it’s a bit of a stunning mystery. In the comments to the original post, people have been guessing as to what caused this phenomenon. Rentalov, running…