Box Office Buzz: My favorite movies of 2012

By Ashley Bergner
Box Office Buzz

From superheroes to super spies, from hobbits to bow-and-arrow wielding heroines, 2012 was quite an epic year at the box office. It’s been a while since I remember so many good movies being packed into one year, and I had a difficult time narrowing down my list of favorites. Normally one film will rise to the top and emerge as my clear favorite (last year, Michael Fassbender’s breakout performance as Magneto in “X-Men: First Class” pushed that film to the top of my list). But this year, I had to spend a long time deciding what films I liked the best.

In terms of ticket sales, superheroes were the clear winners at the box office, with Joss Whedon’s epic mash-up “The Avengers” leading the pack. Arguably the most-hyped movie of the year, the film also was the biggest moneymaker, pulling in about $1.5 billion and ending up in the third slot on the list of all-time highest grossing films. It received a thumb’s up from critics, as well, scoring 92 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.

Transmissions From Atlantis Presents Armageddonpalooza 2012

Note: This Episode was NSFW and parental guidance is STRONGLY suggested.

It’s a little funny when you come up with the idea of a live show you think it’s the coolest thing in the world. Then when all hell breaks loose, you have technical difficulties and things don’t go exactly as you envisioned (see alcohol and podcasting don’t mix) it turns into a funny, weird experience.

Armageddonpalooza 2012 was envisioned as a big party to ring out the end of the Mayan Long Count Calendar, celebrate another doomsday prophecy that failed and just have fun with some of our favorite guests.

This show did not disappoint. We had a cast of thousands (thanks to performer Joe Bev) who talked about a variety of subjects including but not limited to:

The End of the World Theories, The Mayan Prophecy, Doctor Geek’s Laboratory, Joe Bev’s projects including Comedy-O-Rama, Favorite Disaster Flicks, The Hobbit, a preview of the Doctor Who Christmas Special, Doomsday Prepping, the Year in Who and much, much more.

Plus, you have to stay to the end to hear how pitifully drunk JC got. Let’s all laugh at his stupidity and take it as a lesson that drinking and podcasting is dangerous.

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After the jump, check out our huge guest list!

Earth Station One Episode 142 – Playing Riddles in the Dark, We Review the First Hobbit Film

The ESO crew goes on a journey we’ve been expecting for nine long years! Mike and Mike with fellow ESO podcasters JD (The Delta Quadrant) and Van Allen Plexico (White Rocket) review the first chapter of The Hobbit trilogy. Plus, Bobby is on hand to help author Jana Oliver face The Geek Seat. All this and the usual Rants, Raves, Khan Report, and Shout Outs!

Join us for yet another episode of The Earth Station One Podcast we like to call: Playing Riddles in the Dark, we review the first Hobbit film

Movie review: Peter Jackson returns to Middle-earth in ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’

By Ashley Bergner
Box Office Buzz

It’s been almost a decade since fans last had a chance to visit Middle-earth in theaters. The fantasy world created by author J.R.R. Tolkien was brought to life in Peter Jackson’s epic trilogy of “Lord of the Rings” films, which came to a conclusion in 2003 with the Oscar-winning “Return of the King.” Ever since then, fans have been hoping Jackson would return to Middle-earth and film Tolkien’s “Lord of the Rings” prequel, “The Hobbit.” Although getting “The Hobbit” to the big screen has been a complicated process — mired by a legal battle between Jackson and New Line Cinema, which produced the LOTR films, and the departure of Guillermo del Toro, who was originally hired to direct the film — the movie finally came to theaters this Friday. And it was well worth the wait.

The film follows a Hobbit named Bilbo Baggins, whom LOTR fans will recognize as the uncle of Frodo, the hobbit who carries the One Ring to Mount Doom. Bilbo isn’t, at first, as adventurous a hobbit as his nephew. He enjoys a quiet life with good friends and good food, and doesn’t feel particularly compelled to venture beyond the comfort of the Shire. However, the wizard Gandalf sees a spark of greatness inside Bilbo, and sends him off on a quest with a band of Dwarves to reclaim the Dwarves’ treasure from a dragon named Smaug. It’s a quest that will have a dramatic impact not only on Bilbo, but on the entire land of Middle-earth, setting in motion events that will lead to an epic showdown with the dark lord Sauron in the LOTR movies.

Next on Earth Station One…

Next week, the Earth Station One crew goes back to the theater for the premiere of The Hobbit. That’s right, we’re heading back to Middle Earth for the first installment of the new trilogy from Peter Jackson.

ESO wants to hear from you. Tell us what you thoughts on The Hobbit. We’d love to hear your experiences. Also, have you visited a convention or planning one? We’d love to hear from you at http://www.esopodcast.com, email us at esopodcast@gmail.com, or call 404-963-9057. We might just read yours on the show. Follow ESO on Facebook and Twitter.

The ESO Crew

TFA Episode 15 – The One About Rory Being the Master

We always love a good conspiracy theory here  at TFA and this week we talk about a big one that is heating up the interwebs – could trusted companion, centurion, and Mr. Pond Rory Williams possibly be The Master and not know it (look up watch, fob)? We explore the question. Rita takes you in the deep, dark and brilliant world of HP Lovecraft in her Rita’s Reading Review. We give our top picks for Sci-Fi/Fantasy and Horror movies coming out this fall. Plus we give you the scoop on the Walking Dead, Amanda Tapping joining Supernatural and the future of Avatar 2, Indy 5 and a Mummy remake?

We wrap it up with our totally wicked Doctor Who segment where we talk about Matt  Smith setting the interwebs ablaze with his desire to have Hobbitt helmer Peter Jackson direct a Doctor Who episode (and Jackson admitting he is a Whovian) and we review both A Town Called Mercy and The Power of Three.

All that and more!

Download now: http://transmissionsfromatlantis.com/episodes/TransmissionsFromAtlantisEpisode15.mp3

Check out the schedule and pertinent links after the jump

Next on Earth Station One…

Next week, the Fellowship of ESO travels through the heart of Middle Earth as we take a look back at Peter Jackson’s first Lord of the Rings film, The Fellowship of the Ring. We’re on the road to Mordor on the next Earth Station One.

ESO wants to hear from you. What are your favorite moments from Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring? Let us know at http://www.esopodcast.com, at the ESO Facebook Group, @EarthStationOne on Twitter, email us at esopodcast@gmail.com, or call us at 404-963-9057. We might just read yours on the show. Plus, join us for the usual rants, raves, shout outs, and Mike’s Khan Report! It’s going to be an action-packed episode next week at Earth Station One.

The ESO Crew

Peter Jackson strikes back at The Hobbit criticism

By Nathalie Caron, Source: Blastr.com

Last week, Peter Jackson showed 10 minutes of footage from the highly anticipated The Hobbit. What should have been a moment of crowning glory for the director turned into a flurry of criticism regarding the look of the film. So what’s Peter Jackson to do? Why, respond to those criticisms, of course.

During CinemaCon last week, Warner Bros. showed off 10 minutes of footage from The Hobbit. While critics were rather ecstatic about the scenes that were shown, they weren’t happy with the look of the footage — which is apparently more “realistic” in appearance than Jackson’s previous Middle-earth opus, The Lord of the Rings.

‘The Hobbit’ has an extended preview at CinemaCon: Which scene would you want to see first?

by Darren Franich, Source: ew.com

Tomorrow, Warner Bros. will host their presentation at CinemaCon, and EW has confirmed that the studio will screen some material from Peter Jackson’s hotly-anticipated The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey — the first part of the Hobbit duology, which is totally a word now thanks to Hollywood. Warner is keeping mum about exactly which scenes from The Hobbit will screen, although an earlier report by The Hollywood Reporter claimed there would be about ten minutes of footage. Which gives us the opportunity to speculate. Besides the ominous teaser, this will be pretty much the first new video from Peter Jackson’s version of Middle-Earth in almost a decade. What would you want to see from The Hobbit?

Look who Peter Jackson just cast as The Hobbit’s ‘toughest’ dwarf

By Trent Moore, Source: Blastr.com

Middle-earth is getting even more crowded. With the first of two films based on the J.R.R. Tolkien novel The Hobbit set to open this December, director Peter Jackson has cast the actor who will portray one of the toughest dwarfs in the gang.

Billy Connolly (The Last Samurai, Boondock Saints) will star as Dain Ironfoot, a great dwarf warrior, according to Variety.