Expendables - Scott Pilgrim - Sherlock - Toronto Fan Expo [00:53:50m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This week we take a look at a recent summer film release with The Expendables. We also look at a downloadable game for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. We also look at a BBC show, Sherlock. And we close things out with a look back at last weekend’s Toronto Fan Expo.

The Expendables (01:30 – 17:23)

As the summer movie season winds down we have only a few big blockbuster entries left. With The Expendables, Sylvester Stallone has assembled a who’s who of big time action stars for his tale of a team of mercenaries. Listen to our review to see if it’s living up to all the hype.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World: The Game (17:35 – 24:30)

Kevin brings us a video game release based on another recent film and comic series, Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. With a similar art style to the comic books, the game is a side-scroller that lets you guide Scott as he battles the 7 evil ex-boyfriends of Romona Flowers. Developed by Ubisoft, the game is available for download on the PlayStation Network and the Xbox Live Arcade.

Sherlock (25:00 – 46:39)

We recently discovered this import from the BBC starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as Dr. John Watson. There are currently only three 90 min episodes but there are plans to release more in the fall of 2011. Check out our review to see if this a series worth your time.

Toronto Fan Expo recap (46:56 – 51:25)

Bill had a chance to check out the 3 day Toronto Fan Expo happening last weekend in, uhh, Toronto. He gives us the lowdown on some of the panels he checked out along with other sights of the expo.

 Podcast Episode # 82 - Its So Dark in Here! [00:48:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

So our podcast is pretty late this week but we have something a little different this week. I got a chance to travel from Toronto down to Halifax,  Nova Scotia and for the first time we were able to record the show with the four of us in the same room. We even got a hold of a camera and recorded a video version of the show which we’ll have for you soon enough. In the mean time, here’s the regular audio version.

This week we discuss a movie based on a popular video game franchise, Tekken, plus the four of us took a little field trip to a Hal-Con sponsored event where they screened two Joss Whedon productions, Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog and the cult classic, Serenity.

Tekken (02:09 – 10:57)

Three of us had a chance to catch the new film Tekken. Based on the popular video game franchise, this is the first live action film for the series; there was previously an animated version back in 1998. Check out our review to see how it translates to a live action film.

Calling all Browncoats! Event:

Dr Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog (11:04 – 26:19)

Serenity (26:20 – 44:15)

We had the chance to catch the Hal-Con event, Calling all Browncoats! where they screened both Dr Horrible and Serenity. For the uninitiated, Dr Horrible is a short that was initially released online through the Dr Horrible website and is currently available on DVD. Conceived during the 2008 writer’s strike by Joss Whedon, it stars Neil Patrick Harris as an evil genius striving to enter the Evil League of Evil and capture the attention of Felicia Day.

It also features Nathan Fillion who also was involved with the main feature of the evening, Serenity. Originally released in 2005, this film served as a continuation of the short-lived Fox TV show Firefly. Give a listen to catch our impressions of both features and the entire event.

 Podcast Episode #81 - We Like the Sprite in You! [66:46m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On this week’s podcast we have a pair of games and a pair of TV shows. We start off with a look at the latest Xbox’s Summer of Arcade release, Castlevania: Harmony of Despair. We also take a look an older release, Kane & Lynch: Dead Men. We wrap things up with two new TV shows that premiered this summer, SyFy’s Haven and ABC’s The Gates.

Castlevania: Harmony of Despair (01:50 – 22:24)

The Castlevania franchise has had some ups and downs but now there’s a new release as a part of the Xbox 360 Summer of Arcade. We take a look at where this title falls and if it’s worth the 1200 MS points.

Kane & Lynch: Dead Men (22:47 – 36:39)

With Kane and Lynch 2 a few weeks away from release, we thought we would give the 2007 original game a try. The story focus on a recently escaped convict, Kane, looking to reclaim some stolen cash with a psycho sidekick, Lynch, in tow.

Haven (36:46 -52:40)

SyFy has a new original series based on the book, The Colorado Kid by Stephen King. Haven is a small town in Maine that seems to have a lot of unique individuals living there. And it’s filmed in Nova Scotia! Haven can also be seen every Monday on Showcase in Canada.

The Gates (52:41 -65:05)

ABC has also launched a new show for the summer season starring Rhona Mitra. The show focuses, again, on a small community where a number of unique characters reside. This time it’s a gated community that happens to house a number of vampires, werewolves and other assorted supernatural folks.

 Podcast Episode # 80 - Ask Tanya [56:45m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

On the podcast this week we get a chance to play an older freeware PC game, Cave Story. We also checked out yesterday’s DVD release of Roman Polanski’s The Ghost Writer. And we close the show off with a look at the first few issues of the ongoing comic series, The Walking Dead.

Cave Story (01:37 -18:16)

Cave Story is a freeware indie game that was originally released back in 2004 and also released earlier this year on Nintendo’s WiiWare service. This 2-D platformer was developed by Studio Pixel, who is actually only one guy who managed to construct the game in his spare time. Head over to the game’s website to download it including a patch for the English translation.

The Ghost Writer (18:25 – 34:07)

Directed by Roman Polanski and based on the Robert Harris novel The Ghost, The Ghost Writer was originally released in theaters back in February and is now available on DVD. Check out what we thought of this political thriller starring Ewan McGregor and Pierce Brosnan.

The Walking Dead (34:21 – 53:47)

We close out the show by looking back at the first few issues from 2003 of this comic series published by Image Comics and written by Robert Kirkman. Even though we’ve been inundated with Zombie films/games/books in the last few years, this series is still ongoing and is going to be turned into a TV series starting in October on AMC. Head over to the AMC site to check out some pics and video from the show along with a motion comic.

 Podcast Episode # 79 - Free Lamb for Everyone! [61:08m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

This week on the podcast we look at a new DVD release from DC, Batman: Under the Red Hood as well as the Xbox 360′s first game in the 2010 Summer of Arcade, Limbo. Plus Valve has released a new game for free on the Steam service, Alien Swarm.

Batman: Under the Red Hood (01:38 – 26:53)

DC has come up with another direct to DVD release with Batman: Under the Red Hood. Robin is dead and Gotham has a new villain in the Red Hood. We take a look at this new release and see if it stacks up to other Batman animated films.

Limbo (27:07 – 37:38)

The Xbox Live Arcade has launched it’s third annual Summer of Live Arcade with a series of new downloadable games. Limbo, the first release, is a black and white side-scroller with a lot of different puzzle elements involved. We gave it a whirl to see if it was worth the $15 price tag.

Alien Swarm (37:47 – 59:14)

Valve has released a remake of Alien Swarm which was originally a mod for Unreal Tournament 2004. So what’s the big deal about some remake for a six year old game? This one is completely free! We jumped on with some 4 player co-op to see if there was much to offer beyond the appealing price tag.