October this year is going to be awesome. For those of you who joined us last fall, I hate to say that I will not be hosting the Nerd Blerp Halloween Spectacular this year. Sad, I know, as it was one of my favorite projects, but that doesnt mean October isnt going to be filled with crazy fun! Here are some things to keep in mind this month as we make our way to Halloween:

Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America

Author: Jeff Ryan

Page count: 304

Price: $26.95 available in hardcover/e-book

Publisher: Portfolio (Penguin Books)

Release Date: August 4, 2011

www.supermariobook.com

A late game is only late until it ships. A bad game is bad until the end of time. - Shigeru Miyamoto

Another Mario Marathon came and went this year, and Mario Marathon 4 brought in $112,668.62, a staggering amount of money, accompanied by a slew of events, songs, prizes, dances, and all around Mario-madness. One of the prizes they rewarded to the first 500 donators was an e-book galley of the upcoming Super Mario: How Nintendo Conquered America by Jeff Ryan, which I was lucky enough to snag with my donation.

Ryans book details the history of Nintendo and its impact on technology, entertainment, and pop culture. Beginning with the rise of Nintendos CEO Hiroshi Yamauchi and the success of Donkey Kong and ending around 2010-11 with Nintendos foray into glasses-free 3D, the book introduces us to the players that made Nintendo the name in video game entertainment.

Lets get the basic nitty-gritty out of the way. George R. R. Martin is a fantastic storyteller and an amazing writer. Even when he is writing about the most mundane things, like the weather or food, you cant turn away. I read the last two books in the series while commuting to work between 6-7am and running on minimal sleep. Instead of napping on the train, I was glued to those books. And I love sleep.

The story is engaging, the characters are great, and this book sets into motion what we can only hope will be a fantastic two-book climax.

We hope.

And herein lies the problem. This book is not perfect. But instead of glossing over those imperfections, rationalizing them or ignoring them, these chinks in the once impenetrable armor of Martin's series A Song of Ice and Fire are finally becoming too dangerous to ignore.

I began A Song of Ice and Fire during my senior year of college, when a friend of mine purchased a copy for me. I didnt read it immediately, and it sat idly on my night stand, a fat yellow paperback with tissue-thin pages and ink that smudged rather easily. If only I had kept myself from finally opening it, because once I was introduced to Winterfell, I was hooked. In a scene that easily reproduces most of m reactions to this series, I ended my current reading of A Dance With Dragons sitting in my girlfriends Beatle, finishing up the last three pages of the Epilogue as we went from Union Station in New Haven to our apartment, and as her clown-car pulled to a stop in its parking spot, I finished the last sentence, looked up and shouted HOLY SHIT!

On Monday night, Nerd Blerp was in attendance at the World Premiere of DC's new animated film, All Star Superman. Taking place at the Paley Center for Media in NY, the movie is an adaptation of the Grant Morrison/Frank Quitely/Jamie Grant miniseries, which puts Superman depicts a different version of Supes' as an amalgamation of his many appearances throughout his long history.

The film was screened to a crowd of avid fans as well as the writer Dwayne McDuffie, voice director Andrea Romano, and actress Christina Hendricks (Mad Men, Firefly) and her husband Geoffrey Arend (Devil, 500 Days of Summer) and several other industry Warner Brothers and DC industry folk who I couldnt the names of.

While I have not had the pleasure of reading the comic series that the film was based on, I certainly purchased both volumes of the trade paperback the minute I got home from the premiere. For those who may not be familiar with the comic, be warned: like DC's other animated films of recent, this film is completely, unapologetically, and blissfully comic-book-Superman. There is little to no pandering towards people unfamiliar with the monthly-issued world of aliens, monsters, and subterranean reptile people battling caped crime fighters.

I remember as a kid going to see James and the Giant Peach in theatres. I loved that film growing up, and must have watched the old VHS copy a hundred times. One of the things that struck me about it was the weird-looking guy in it near the beginning. Who was that guy? As I got older and became increasingly interested in film, I noticed the same guy popping up all over the place, and would always smile and think to myself "there he is again!"

Unfortunately that gentleman is no longer with us. British actor Pete Postlethwaite passed away yesterday at the age of 64 due to cancer. For any movie fan out there, you'd know Postlethwaite the minute you saw him. He had a distinguished look and energy on screen that was unmatched by other actors. He usually played supporting roles but always stood out in his own right.

The Dumbledore's Army formation and training. The Weasley's escape from Hogwarts. The battle at the Ministry of Magic. These are some of the most iconic moments in the film series, and they all happened here in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. In my opinion, this is the rare case where the film is vastly superior to the book, and it is my understanding that a lot of the film was cut due to executive meddling, meaning there's even more of it out there that would have created an even better film.

I had seen the first four films enough times to almost review them from memory, but I had to rewatch the fifth in its entirety to make sure I could gauge my feelings on it accurately. As I sat there reliving the film, I realized that almost every single scene was filled with something brilliant, almost every line delivered perfectly. It was just plain fun. It almost felt as if the other films were working their way up to make it to this point. Five is, in my opinion, the current pinnacle of the film series thus far.

Plot Synopsis: Um, has anyone else realized that Order of the Phoenix doesn't really have a plot? I mean, it has a story, sure, but there's really not much of a plot. Lots of things happen. Something about a prophecy. Harry gets busy. Yeah. Like, seriously.

Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was, for many people, their favorite book. Everyone I had spoken to about it always claimed it was up there as their favorite until the 6^th and 7^th came along, and it was still difficult to match. That being said, there was always something underwhelming about the fourth film installation. Like the book, it was a huge package, stuffed full and ready to burst with numerous scenes, situations, and exposition. The movie itself feels crowded; gone are the third film's short lived "reprieves." This film knew if it was going to appease fans and film-goes alike, it had to be all-Potter, all the time. What do you expect from a film that needs to include a Quidditch World Cup, a Tri-Wizard Tournament, a Yule Ball, and the return of You-Know-Who? Of all the books, this one could have easily made two full-length films.

Plot Synopsis

Harry Potter wakes up from a freaky dream to find himself at the Weasley's home, ready to visit the Quidditch World Cup. There, we find the Irish challenging the Bulgarians, and I have no idea how to make fun of Bulgarians and we've already made fun of the damn Irish enough times (or have we?). Meanwhile, the Death Eaters stop by and fuck shit up because they probably got caught scalping tickets or some shit like that. Harry and Co. make their way back to Hogwarts where Dumbledore announces the return of the Tri-Wizard Tournament, a huge contest with champions from three of the magical schools including Hogwarts (England), Beauxbaton (Frenchies), and Durmstrang (umm north?). Each challenger is selected from THE GOBLET OF FIIY-AAAH, except somehow Harry Potter's name got stuck in there so he has to do it too, WTF Harry? Anyway, these challenges include fighting a dragon, rescuing people from American McGee's version of The Little Mermaid, and making their way through the ending of The Shining. At the same time, they need to contend with the greatest challenge of all: THE HUMAN HEART AWWWW SO CUTE. Nah, seriously though, Voldemort comes back, pops a cap in some pretty boy's ass and leaves everyone sad and stuff. It's awesome!

No synopsis this time, just outright raving. I'm not going to apologize for this post. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is not only (possibly) my favorite book in the series, it's my favorite movie, hands down. Actually, it's tied with the fifth movie for my top place, but I'll get to that at another time. I'm going to try and explain why this movie is awesome without being boring or sycophantic, but it'll be difficult because, well, this movie is great.

I'm going to have to say that the reason for the film's improved quality, and the fact that it's leaps and bounds better than the first two films, is the direction. Chris Columbus did a fine job for the first two. He took the characters we loved and a setting we had dreamed about countless times and brought it to the big screen. That's fine and dandy, but watch those films again. Tell me, does it seem to be missing something? Sure, there's cool CGI and great actors. But what's Harry Potter all about?

It's about magic damnit, the fact that magic is some wondrous thing that, until the very end of the series, makes Harry Potter gawk in amazement at the sheer majesty of the world around him. The first two films are stripped of magic. They're well-crafted, but at the expense of imagination. There's CGI everywhere, and none of it compliments the film. Instead, it often serves as a distraction, never adding to the atmosphere but validating its sterility. Hogwarts and the world of witches and wizards is a world of excitement, danger, beauty, imagination, and Columbus did not deliver this.

Enter Alfonso Cuarn, Mexican writer and director. Children of Men? Y tu mam tambin? Yeah, he's the director. Pan's Labyrinth? He was a producer. The man must have looked at this film, stroked his magnificent Mexican chin and said Okay, let us, how you say, rock this shit.

Hi, yes, I know, I'm supposed to be posting another Harry Potter revisit, especially since it's almost Thursday and I still have four movies to discuss by tomorrow. Shut up. This is important.

I'm currently taking a grad course on Fairy Tales. It's awesome. Fairy tales are an important and enduring aspect of our culture, hell, of almost every culture. They're fantastic, fun, and have applications beyond simple children's tales. They tell us a lot about time periods, they're as malleable as Shakespeare, they teach morals, frighten children, and give us a glimpse into the human condition. And a lot of other stuff, but you get the point.

So a year passes, and we're treated to an all-new Harry Potter film, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets. Despite the rather boring title (there's a chamber? With a SECRET?), both the book and the movie delivered a lot more than its predecessor: more magic, more bad guys, more mystery, more adventure, just more everything. I think I saw this movie in theatres like three times, something unheard for me except in the case of Lord of the Rings (and I saw Fellowship in theatres like four or five times).

Plot Synopsis: Harry tries to return to Hogwarts, but is foiled by bastard CGI child of the Keebler elves and Gollum known as Dobby. When he's finally broken out of his broken home, he spends time at the Weasleys, where he Floo-powders his ass into the eeeevil section of Diagon Alley. There, he overhears that chick Draco and her dad doing something eeeevil, and when he finds his way back, he is introduced to the school's new Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher, Hamlet. When he finally gets to school via a flying car and whomping willow (easily the most badass character in the series), Harry begins hearing mysterious voices in his head telling him to rip, tear, shred, kill, and shoot Reagan to impress Jodie Foster. His friends call him a psychopath until the rumor spreads that "the Heir of Slytherin" may have reopened the Chamber of Secrets, releasing a horrible monster that will do his bidding. After a long montage of ghost girls, Polyjuice potion, and misdirection, Harry comes across the diary of a suspicious Tom Marvolo Riddle, an old graduate of Hogwarts with the most suspiciously odd middle name in the world. A bunch of crazy stuff happens, Harry saves the day, everyone goes home happy except the bad guys.