X-Men: First Class
Directed by Matthew Vaughn
Starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon, Rose Byrne, Jennifer Lawrence, January Jones, Nicholas Hoult
Release Date: June 3, 2011

Wow. That’s the only word I could muster to describe my feelings for X-Men: First Class when the movie was over. The last movie to have that kind of effect on me was Inception.

The year is 1962. As relations between the United States and Russia become further strained over the nuclear arms race, another major plot is brewing. C.I.A. agent Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) has discovered that the elusive Sebastian Shaw (Kevin Bacon) and his associate Emma Frost (January Jones) are bribing important military officials serving under President John F. Kennedy into forcing the nation into a confrontation with the Russians that could possibly lead to an all-out nuclear war. But Shaw and Frost are soon revealed to be powerful mutants, Shaw having the ability to harness any amount or level of energy and use it to his own advantage, and Frost the ability to change the form of her body into near-invulnerable diamonds and to protect her thoughts from the intrusion of telepaths. MacTaggert presents this revelation to her superiors, who not surprisingly don’t believe her, nor do they find mush satisfaction with the young agent’s idea of fighting fire with fire by bringing in someone who might be able to help the C.I.A. bring Shaw to justice — a recent Oxford graduate named Charles Xavier (James McAvoy). Xavier, or I should say Professor Xavier, has the power to not only read the thoughts of others, but to communicate with them and control their actions and perceptions through those thoughts. He’s also an idealist who agrees to assist the government in the hope that it will make the conditions safer for his fellow mutants to reveal themselves to the world, including his best friend and adopted sister Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), a shape-shifter who is wary of her natural blue and scaly appearance.

On October the 12th in the year 1890″”seven years before Bram Stoker’s classic, Dracula, arrived (the “vampire” itself has existed in folklore for centuries)””a man named Andrew A. Kauffman wrote a letter to a Mrs. Eberhardt, informing her that he had slain the vampire that had killed the woman’s daughter. The letter reads “I have dispatched the vampir that took your sweet daughters life. Included in this case are the tools used in the final act along with proof of its death. Mildredas life was too innocent to be taken by such a monster; she was dearly loved by me as we were newly betrothed. May she now rest in peace.”

Though it’s obvious now that this man killed some kind of animal””most likely a dog or some kind of wolf””this proof of how different times once were is amazing to see. You can check out the pictures of the vampire killing kit, the letter, and even a photograph of dear Mildred below.

If one had to assume, the chances of us ever seeing an actual live-action movie based on the hit Bethesda video game franchise, Fallout, are incredibly unlikely. Yes, there was that script way back when that was a fun read, but the movie was sadly never made. So that basically leaves we the fans one option: make it yourself! And that’s exactly what filmmaker Zack Finfrock did, co-writing (along with Brian Clevinger), co-directing (with Julian Higgins), and starring in their own short fan film titled Fallout: Nuka Break with actors Tybee Diskin, Aaron Giles, and others.

But the group doesn’t want to stop there””they want to turn their short into a web series, but can’t do it alone, so they’ve begun a campaign for those who want to help see it happen. Be sure to continue on over to the other side where you can see the original short fan film and decide whether you want to help this little post-apocalyptic dream come true.

The always exciting E3 video game convention will take place this upcoming week, and rumors and buzz about what exciting new games and footage might be shown off abound.

Until the convention actually gets here, however, some smaller goodies are being offered to keep our eager eyes at bay. One of these goodies is the new Batarang video game controllers created by POWER A, specially made for the highly anticipated sequel to Rocksteady Games’ Batman: Arkham Asylum, titled Batman: Arkham City.

Controllers for both the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 were created, and both offer a flashy new Batman-themed product for those of you who are into the more unique controller for your gaming adventures.

You can see what the two controllers look like by clicking on over to the other side now!

The Gold Box spotlight deal of the day over at Amazon today is the Pirates of the Caribbean Trilogy on Blu-ray for only $32.99 (that’s 55% off the list price of $72.99).

Note, this sale is only for today, Saturday, June 4, 2011, until midnight PST, while supplies last.

This 7-disc Blu-ray set contains the first three Pirates of the Caribbean movies — The Curse of the Black Pearl, Dead Man’s Chest, and At World’s End — along with bonus features like audio commentaries, making-of and behind-the-scenes featurettes, documentaries, blooper reels, deleted scenes, and much more.