So Let Me Get This Straight -- You're Complaining About Hot Women in Tight Leather?

Anne Hathaway plays Catwoman in next summer's The Dark Knight Rises. Hathaway's a fine choice for this role. Dressed down, she has the pasty, plain Jane look of a bookwormish Selina Kyle (Catwoman's alter ego) but Hathaway is also statuesque, and has the long lean figure you picture when you think of the classic feline villainess.

Last week, the first photos of Miss Hathaway on set in her Catwoman costume were released and apparently fanboys and other hardcore "Batman-o-philes" (should we call them "Batties") are up in arms. Judging from their comments, it seems the consensus is that this iteration of the Catwoman costume is too basic and boring and not "gadgety" enough. These very vocal fans (all guys I presume) want something a little more sexed up. Maybe something low-cut, like this version of Catwoman from the Mortal Kombat vs DC Universe video game?

Or maybe they were thinking a kinky two-piece, strappy number with matching whip like Halle Berry wore in the 2004 Catwoman movie?

Maybe leather's not the way to go at all. Maybe they prefer the vinyl outfit worn by Michelle Pfeiffer in Batman Returns?

Or maybe go retro and put Hathaway in the original Catwoman costume worn by Julie Newmar opposite Adam West in the Batman TV series? (This shot comes from the Pop Culture Fiend Archives; I took it last month at the Smithsonian Museum of American History in Washington D.C.)

A bit of perspective people. What the heck are you complaining about? Anne Hathaway is hot and her outfit is tight. But if you're looking for something sexier to fantasize to, might I suggest trolling the internet for racy Catwoman fan art?

Madden Curse Strikes Again

Troy Polamalu, star defensive back for the Pittsburgh Steelers, strained his MCL last night against the Tennessee Titans and is out 3-6 weeks. Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin admitted that the injury could even be something worse than a strain and Polamalu will undergo an MRI today.

Polamalu is now the latest in a VERY long list of players who've suffered major injuries or other career derailments the same season they appeared on the cover of EA Sports Madden Football game. Consider:

2008 Brett Favre (New York Jets)

The Jets started 8-3, but then Favre tore the biceps tendon in his throwing arm. He threw six fewer touchdowns and seven more interceptions than in 2007 and the Jets finished 9-7 and missed the playoffs.

2007 Vince Young (Tennessee Titans)

Young finished with an abysmal nine touchdowns and 17 interceptions. The next season, amid personal problems, he lost his starting job to Kerry Collins and has yet to regain it.

2006 Shaun Alexander (Seattle Seahawks)

Alexander missed six games with a broken foot. His 896 yards and seven touchdowns were his lowest since his rookie season.

2005 Donovan McNabb (Philadelphia Eagles)

McNabb suffered a sports hernia and missed the second half of the season. The Eagles finished 6-10 and missed the playoffs for the first time since 1999.

2004 Ray Lewis (Baltimore Ravens)

Lewis had a fine year and his numbers were only slightly down from the year before. However, he did miss one game due to injury and, for the first time in his career, did not record an interception.

2003 Michael Vick (Atlanta Falcons)

Literally days after Madden was released, Vick broke his leg in a preseason game and missed 11 regular season games. 

2002 Marshall Faulk (St. Louis Rams)

Faulk rushed for 430 fewer yards and had 4 fewer touchdowns than 2001. It was Faulk's worst season since 1996.

2001 Daunte Culpepper (Minnesota Vikings)

Culpepper missed four games with an injury and threw for 1300 fewer yards and 19 fewer touchdowns than he did in 2000.

2000 Eddie George (Tennessee Titans)

George played great in 2000 (1509 Yds, 14 TDs) but the following year he failed to break 1000 yards. Tennessee missed the playoffs and George was never again a premier back.

1999 Barry Sanders (Detroit Lions)

Prior to the season, Sanders asked Detroit to trade him. When they refused, he abruptly retired.

1998 Garrison Hearst (San Francisco 49ers)

Hearst had a fantastic regular season but broke his ankle in the playoffs. Complications occurred and Hearst missed most of the next two seasons.

So it seems there's definitely something to the alleged curse. Truth be told, it's actually one of the reasons I shied away from Arizona Cardinals wide receiver Larry Fitzgerald (who appears on this year's cover along with Polamalu) in my fantasy football draft... Clock's ticking Larry...

Beatles Rock Band is Best at E3

Hello PopCultureFiend readers! Oh wait, I almost forgot, NO ONE READS THIS BLOG. 

But on the off chance that there is someone out there who may be wondering why I was only able to get one blog post up last week, it's because, well... I ran out of gas. I had a flat tire. I didn't have enough money for cab fare. My tux didn't come back from the cleaners. An old friend came in from out of town. Someone stole my car! There was an earthquake... A terrible flood!... Locusts!... IT WASN'T MY FAULT, I SWEAR TO GOD!!!! 

 No seriously, I was preoccupied with E3 and other miscellaneous crap. And speaking of E3, with all due respect to Microsoft's motion sensing controls, the PSP redesign, and the Star Wars: The Old Republic MMOG, the news and game that created the most excitement at E3 was when Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr made a brief appearance to plug The Beatles: Rock Band. 

By all accounts, the game offers much more than simply adding Beatles music to the Rock Band franchise (although that in and of itself would more than satisfy many.) Gamers will get brand new Rock Band graphics and menus, incredibly detailed 3D avatars of the Fab 4 that change their look and dress based on the era (mop top, psychedelic, Abbey Road, etc.), and even new instruments, including replicas of John Lennon's Rickenbacker guitar and Paul's Hofner bass. Beatles: Rock Band will also be the first game of its type to allow more than one singer at a time, thereby giving players the chance to imitate the band's signature rich, intricate harmonies. 

 Judging from the opening cinematic and gameplay trailer (below), the game's look is absolutely stunning. Plus, Beatles Rock Band was created with cooperation and input from Paul, Ringo, and John Lennon's and George Harrison's widows, which should give an indication of what to expect from the game in terms of quality since the four have been notoriously protective about how the Beatles' music, likenesses and brand are used. 

Songs from the Beatles' catalog that will be part of the game include "I Saw Her Standing There", "I Want to Hold Your Hand", "Day Tripper", "Octopus’s Garden", and "Here Comes The Sun" (with the rest of the Abbey Road album to follow shortly after the game's release), plus 40 more tunes. Personally, I'm crossing my fingers for "Helter Skelter", "Nowhere Man", "And I Love Her", "You Won't See Me", "While My Guitar Gently Weeps", and "Yer Blues".

In anticipation of the game's September 9th release, I've create this official Beatles: Rock Band countdown clock. 

Related Posts:

The Beatles at Candlestick

So What's New for Playstation?

Now that the TV season is winding down and football and basketball are done (sorry, I'm not into baseball) I’ve turned more of my attention to my PS3 and video games. In my search for a little something to tide me over until NCAA 10 arrives in July, I came across two interesting titles -- Wanted: Weapons of Fate and The Godfather II. Here’s a quick take on each: 

Wanted: Weapons of Fate (based on the successful 2008 action movie) 

Type: 3rd Person Shooter 

Pros: Slowing down time and curving bullets (just like in the movie) makes for a unique shooter experience. 

Cons: AI is not very good. Repetitive gameplay. No Angelina Jolie character (Guess she didn’t give permission to use her likeness.) 

The Godfather II 

Type: Action 

Pros: Grand Theft Auto-like gameplay. Nice plotlines that are faithful to the films. Takes many hours to complete. 

Cons: More than a few visual glitches that are really annoying. AI is wildly inconsistent Winning tactics/strategies are too easy to figure out.

Related Links:

Wanted: Weapons of Fate review at GameSpot 

The Godfather II review at IGN

If You Liked Planet Terror...

Was watching TV the other night and saw a commercial for House of the Dead: Overkill -- a new zombie-killing, first-person shooter -- and was immediately struck by how much the graphics, gameplay, and characters remind you of Robert Rodriguez's Planet Terror feature from 2007's Grindhouse. Looked into it and it seems the game's creators were indeed "inspired" by Rodriguez's ode to good ole 70's exploitation splatterfests. Just like in the movie, there's a hospital setting, bulbous, gelatinous mutants that explode in sprays of blood, plus a stripper character that's a dead ringer for the film's star, Rose McGowan. And the entire game has that worn out B-movie film look. Even the game's packaging looks like the Grindhouse movie poster. 

Related Links:
House of the Dead: Overkill trailer

Chuck Amok

Has anyone else noticed that the writers of the TV series Chuck (Josh Schwartz, Chris Fedak, Matt Miller, and others) have been having a little fun this season naming the show’s characters? 

Chuck scripts are always sprinkled with obvious references and homages to pop culture favorites, including Chuck and Morgan dressing up as the sand worm from Dune for Halloween, the Buy More gang getting their Call of Duty 5 and Madden 09 on just after the real-life release of those games last year, and guest star Nicole Richie appearing as Sarah’s high school rival who starred in a TV commercial where she “ate a really messy cheeseburger” (an obvious allusion to Richie’s real-life former co-hort, Paris Hilton, and her infamous Carl’s Jr. ad (below.)



But things on Chuck have gone a step further this season. It seems many of the guest characters have been named after famous pop culture icons. Case in point:

Melinda Clarke guest starred as Soviet agent "Sasha Banacek". "Banacek" is a Polish name and a possible reference to the 1970’s TV series of the same name about a Polish-American detective played by George Peppard. 

In the previously mentioned episode with Nicole Richie, her character’s name is "Heather Chandler" -- the same as Winona Ryder’s nemesis, played by Kim Walker (below right), in the 1989 black comedy, Heathers. 

In the same episode, Heather’s husband is a geek named "Mark Ratner" -- same as the geek who crushes on Jennifer Jason Leigh in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. 


Want more?... Jordana Brewster (The Fast and The Furious) just completed an arc as Chuck’s old girlfriend, "Jill Roberts", which is also the name of an upscale women’s boutique in Beverly Hills. 

Jill’s boss’ name is "Guy Lafleur" -- who was a Hall of Fame hockey player for the Montreal Canadiens in the 70s and 80s.

And a new regular joined the Chuck cast this season. Tony Hale plays the Buy More’s new efficiency expert "Emmett Milbarge", which is an obvious mash-up of Chevy Chase’s "Emmitt Fitz-Hume" and Dan Aykroyd’s "Austin Milbarge" characters from the 1985 comedy Spies Like Us. 

There’s more, but you get the idea. I guess it’s cool if the writers wanna have a little fun this way cause Chuck is one of the liveliest shows on TV, with fun plots, lovable, charismatic leads in Zachary Levi and Yvonne Strahovski, and a great ensemble of supporting actors.