Whiteout
Whiteout, Vol. 1
Whiteout: Melt, Vol. 2
By Greg Rucka
Oni Press

Greg Rucka has an uncanny ability to write a good story. Some people, specifically found within the comics industry, rely on the good work that has come before with the characters they are given. On the other hand are authors like Rucka, who go out and make their own great characters.

Also published by Oni Press, who I must thank for providing me with review copies, is Whiteout. A fantastic crime book situated entirely in Antarctica, Whiteout once again proves the above statement. Focusing on Carrie Stetko, a U.S. Marshal working at McMurdo station in Antarctica, the gritty and realistic story is captivating, and you’ll soon see yourself finished each of the four issue series in no time.

In conjunction with the release of the action-packed film Wanted on DVD and Blu-ray this Tuesday, December 2, Universal has exclusively bestowed up Geeks of Doom copies of the Wanted Blu-ray Limited Edition Collector’s Gift Set to give away to our readers!

In Wanted, James McAvoy and Angelina Jolie are part of The Fraternity, an order of Assassins whose motto is “Kill One, Save a Thousand”. In keeping with this principle [minus the killing and saving, that is], we’re going to select at random one person to win out of every thousand people who enter. So, the more people who enter, the more chances there are to win!

Note, Universal is exclusively sponsoring this contest only here at Geeks of Doom. You won’t find this contest officially anywhere else, so if you want a chance to get your hands on a free copy of the Wanted Blu-ray Limited Edition Collector’s Gift Set, this is the place try and get it. So get entering!

For more info about the Wanted Blu-ray Limited Edition Collector’s Gift Set and the loads of goodies it comes with, see the About section below.

TO ENTER: Fill out the form below and submit. Entry form is here after the jump.

RULES: One entry per person. All entries must be in by Sunday, December 14, 2008 at 9pm EST. This contest is only open to residents of the United States. No international entries will be accepted. Void where prohibited. Winners will be chosen randomly from valid entries and will be notified by email. NOTE: For every thousand entrants, one person will be selected at random.

Wanted
Directed by Timur Bekmambetov
Starring James McAvoy, Angelina Jolie, Morgan Freeman, Common, Thomas Kretschmann
Universal Home Entertainment
Release date: December 2, 2008

There is a line of dialogue that is as sharp, lethal, and beautiful as all the extreme violence in Mark Millar and J.G. Jones‘ comic book to movie adaptation Wanted: “He can conduct a symphony orchestra with a pistol.” Russian-born director Timur Bekmambetov does exactly that in stylish fashion to produce a creation that’s the zestiest and sexiest movie of the summer. It’s the first movie in a while to deal with self-worth in such an inventive way. Let’s just say Wanted is a mix between Fight Club and Matrix. But in severe risk of having his movie lean on the fringe of mindless action banter and pointless shoot ’em up sequences , Bekmambetov weaves a gut-wrenching story where the action scenes double as pristine pieces of adored art work.

We become involved with a miserable office worker named Wesley. As each day passes he becomes more of a drone. He’s played with an emotional vigor that goes through the roof by James McAvoy who, for his first action film, succeeds very well after playing a totally different character in last year’s Atonement. Dealing with a ignorant fat lady as a boss who always tries to evoke his vulnerability, which is his high anxiety that leaves him in a state of panic, to his best friend who also doubles as Wesley’s girlfriend’s sex toy, he needs a revelation to happen to him. By God he gets just that. His revelation also happens to be the movie’s revelation as Angelina Jolie shows up.

Intel and Lenovo have partner with JJ Abrams’ upcoming Star Trek and have launched an Exploration Sweepstakes site at boldlygo.intel.com/newfrontiers.

Visitors to the site can test their Trek knowledge, download exclusive Star Trek wallpapers, and enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win a Lenovo Y530 laptop with Intel Centrino 2 technology, in addition to other prizes.

I went to the QUIZ: Test Your Knowledge section (in the upper left corner) and somehow answered all four questions correctly (the last question will be know by any diehard Trek fan), one of which was a new fact about the USS Kelvin. Answering correctly unlocked a new wallpaper image from Star Trek of the starship.

Synecdoche, New York
Directed by Charlie Kaufman
Starring Philip Seymour Hoffman, Catherine Keener, Michelle Williams, Samantha Morton, Tilda Swinton
Rated R
Release Date: October 24, 2008 (limited)

On a personal level, I consider Charlie Kaufman the most talented working screenwriter in Hollywood. I don’t think I am alone in this thought. His resume is one of impressive and envious of anyone in the past however many years you want to use to quantify it. It is one thing to craft a story with intelligent structure and dialogue. It is another thing altogether to create entire universes that have a distinct taste and smell to them. When you sit down to watch a Kaufman scripted film, there is an expected level of chaos and disorder. Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind — all of these films have a wildly imaginative subject and scope, which is exactly the reasons we love them so much.

Synecdoche, New York marks Kaufman’s directorial debut and to the general movie-going public it will amount to little more than a confusing movie with a confusing title. Fans of his work will draw pretty much the same conclusion. On one hand it is an almost unapproachably pretentious movie with a title that is difficult to pronounce (“˜si-NEK-duh-kee’, by the way). On the other hand it is a movie that sort of transcends explanation. That’s not a movie critic cop-out, it just has many, many layers beyond its face value.