'Man Of Steel' - Do Fans' Expectations Scare Hollywood?

Man of Steel opened up this last weekend with mixed reviews from both critics and fanboys alike.  Though the majority of those mixed reviews leaned towards the movie being "good"  the real concern isn't a sequel, but if there will be a DC movie universe.  See Warner Bros. promised that if it did well a Justice League movie based in the universe that the Man of Steel created would be launched.  So you might forgive us super nerds if we're on the edge of our seats right now!

Justice League is the Avengers of the DC comic universe.  Where as the Avengers have all the Marvel comic greats like Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America, Justice League has Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman.  So just as every Marvel comic fan out there dreamed of seeing an Avengers movie hit the big screen, DC comic fans stand jealous due to the lack of big screen movie love of their favorite super hero team.

Even though Man of Steel opened to $125 million, even though the suits at Warner Bros. have already green lighted a direct sequel, there is no guarantee that a Justice League movie will reach the big screen.  Variety magazine had an interview with Warner Bros' Jeff Robinov in which he says, "stakes are high for 'Man of Steel.'  Other than Nolan's Batpics, Warners has not been able to effectively exploit the DC library."

Suspected Jewish Extremists Vandalise Arab Israeli Town

Ahmad Gharabli/AFP: An Arab Israeli man points to graffiti that reads in Hebrew "Arabs out" (left) and "assimliation" scrawled on the wall of a house in the Arab Israeli town of Abu Ghosh, west of Jerusalem on June 18, 2013...

Suspected Jewish extremists vandalise Arab Israeli town (via AFP)

Suspected Jewish extremists punctured the tyres of 28 cars and scrawled graffiti in an Arab Israeli town before dawn on Tuesday in the latest in a spate of apparent hate crimes, an AFP correspondent reported. On a wall near the vandalised cars in Abu Ghosh, west of Jerusalem, the perpetrators wrote…

---

Celebrity Babies - How These Star Mums Welcomed Their Children Into The World

Preparing for a new baby is a fun and exciting time, and it can be great for any mum to be to have a chance to celebrate with her closest friends and family, where she can be spoiled a little before the responsibilities of motherhood take over her life! Of course, if anybody knows how to throw beautiful baby showers, it's those A-list stars!

With celebrity babies being big news, famous moms can have a lot of attention on them as they prepare to give birth. Here are some of the ways friends of the stars have helped them to relax and celebrate before welcoming their babies into the world:

Julian Assange: A Year In The Ecuador's London Embassy

Julian Assange: a year in the embassy (via AFP)

It is an odd sight: WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange is wearing a jacket and tie, but no shoes. Then again, if you have not stepped outside Ecuador's London embassy for a year, shoes are largely pointless. In an interview with AFP to mark this strange anniversary, the man behind the whistleblowing…

---

Ten Of The Best Ever Movie Car Chases

Bullitt Car Chase GoogleMapped (Photo credit: Podknox)

If, like me, you think even the most lacklustre, uninspired film can be redeemed instantly by slipping in a fast-paced car chase scene, then no doubt you will already have in your own head a list of the greatest chases ever put to film.

Here’s my list, most of which come out for a viewing at least once a year. In fact, often I will skip straight to the chase sequence, disregarding the rest of the film, just for a ten-minute pick-me-up of joyful mayhem.

The 4 Most Jaw-Droppingly Stupid Fines Ever Issued

No one expects the legal system to be perfect. Courts, police departments, and law firms are run by people, after all. And since most people aren’t even capable of plugging a mouse into a USB port without failing two times first, it’s too much to demand a legal system that works 100% of the time.

Still, it’s not unreasonable to expect common sense to rule the day when punishments are dished out. Sadly, even this extremely low bar can be impossibly high for some. This is nowhere more obvious than the stupid fines that are sometimes handed out by cash-strapped local governments.

If you doubt that the old maxim “May the punishment fit the crime” is more ideal than reality, check out these 4 stunningly idiotic fines.

4 Most Iconic Cars In Movie History

Cars have always had a significant role to play in movies. Sometimes, the cars help define the characters, while at other times they are on-screen to thrill audiences with heir good looks, deafening engine sounds and tire-shredding stunts. Many of these cars gain iconic status with automobile and movie lovers alike. Here are 4 of the most iconic cars is movie history.

Cover Reveal: 'The Mirror' by Candace L. Bowser

"A betrayal so deep it has transcended 400 years is now haunting Adrianna Bristol. Will she have the courage to break the curse?"

Ah, yes...Today, we're hosting a Cover Reveal for 'The Mirror', a Paranormal Romance/Horror novel written by Candace L. Bowser. So, you might want to read this post from behind the sofa. Just in case, you know...

Enjoy!
Loup Dargent

Four Arrested Over Blaze At London Islamic Boarding School

Despite claims made by a so-called "journalist" from the Telegraph that revenge attacks on Muslims were not really happening, here is another arson attack against a Muslim building... And, this time, it was a boarding school with kids in it.

Julian Assange: US rule of law suffering 'calamitous collapse'

Assange: US rule of law suffering 'calamitous collapse' (via AFP)

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange said Friday that the US justice system was suffering from a "calamitous collapse in the rule of law", as Washington reeled from the sensational exposure of vast spy agency surveillance programmes. Speaking in an interview with AFP at Ecuador's London embassy, where…

---

Book Tour: 'Along The Watchtower' by David Litwack

"A novel of striking originality, Along the Watchtower crosses genre borders to deliver a story at once poignant, powerful, and unforgettable. Part love story, part fantasy adventure, part family drama and moving chronicle of recovery and personal growth, it is the story of Lieutenant Freddie Williams, a severely wounded Iraq War vet confined to a hospital for injuries sustained in an IED explosion. But when he sleeps, Williams is Frederick, Prince of Stormwind, heir to the throne in a fantastical realm of demons, elves, and magic, a kingdom now imperiled by a terrifying malevolence. And in these distinct yet strangely similar worlds are the women who will touch both his lives and his heart: Rebecca in Stormwind, the beautiful gardener who is the troubled prince’s destiny…and Becky, Freddie’s physical therapist, who must lovingly guide the broken warrior safely past his personal demons of guilt and memory and may be his only way back from Hell."

On top of the usual bits of info about 'Along the Watchtower' itself and its author, we also have in today's Book Tour stop two (yes, two!) Book Trailers (I know, it's like having Christmas in June, isn't it?)...

Enjoy!

Loup Dargent

Bradley Manning Said To Be 'Very Political' But Effective In Iraq

Manning said to be 'very political' but effective in Iraq (via AFP)

Bradley Manning, the soldier who passed a trove of secret US files to WikiLeaks, was politically outspoken but excelled in computers and did his job well, his army commanders said Wednesday. On day three of Manning's court-martial, it became clear the prosecution will seek to prove that he was trained…

---