Science, Hobbit, and Gaming Items and Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter mini-review

Just some of the more interesting Science and Hobbit news, as well as some cool gaming items and my brief take on Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter.




 Science News and Views

• "Why console gaming is dying"
• "How four companies took over the Internet"
• "What Arctic Rocks Say About Life in Mars Meteorite"
• "New Way to Split Water Molecules Into Hydrogen and Oxygen: Breakthrough for Solar Energy Conversion and Storage?"
• "Making a Better Invisibility Cloak"
• "Brazil aims to clone endangered animals"
• "Are Humans Becoming Less Intelligent?"
• "How To Watch Tomorrow’s Amazing Total Solar Eclipse Online"

Hobbit News

• "Listen to Neil Finn's 'Song of the Lonely Mountain' From The Hobbit" [via SuperHeroHype]
• "Two Versions Of The Hobbit’s Song Of The Lonely Mountain – Neil Finn Vs. Dwarves"
• "‘The Hobbit’ outsells Breaking Dawn and Skyfall!"
• "Seventeen Hobbit character posters you’ll absolutely love"
• "How To Throw A Dinner Party – The Hobbit Way [VIDEO]"
• "‘The Hobbit’: New Images & Advance Ticket Sales"
• "150 Behind the Scenes Photos from ‘The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey’"
• "The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey Official Movie Trailer"

Gaming Items

• "Playtesting in Detail" WotC.
• "Creature Comforts: Frost Giants"
• "Backstabber’s Delight" [Magic Item]
• "Shared Inexperience"

Monsters

• "Splicesaur — Chlophus" [Gamma World] - "Aegogur" 

Mini-Review
Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter (2012)

Plot: As a child, Abraham Lincoln witnesses his mother being killed by a vampire and grows up to seek to destroy the vampire menace to the United States.  The vampires are desperate to maintain slavery in the South as a means of securing easy victims and in doing so, become even more hated by Lincoln.

The Good: It's a rather original idea and somehow manages to stay respectful to the great president. It looks good, is reasonably well paced, and, most importantly, the vampires don't sparkle.

The Bad: It's very hard too take seriously, yet isn't intended as camp.  The main villain is too bland and obviously a last minute addition. 

While a bit slow starting, Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter is a rather tolerable action film if you don't expect too much (I learned many years ago to expect very little from Hollywood or else to be continually disappointed).  The characters are likeable enough, especially Mary Elizabeth Winstead (Scott Pilgram Vs. the World) as Mary Todd Lincoln and the special effects are at least average.  It's a decent film that's worth watching, but not a great film.

Blu-ray extras: Of note is "The Great Calamity" - a motion comic book, that has Edgar Allan Poe telling Lincoln what he knows about the origin of vampires in America and "The Making of Abraham Lincoln: Vampire Hunter"

Final Rating: 7 out of 10.  Not bad, but not great.