The CCD Podcast: Episode #37 - The Definitive Tolkien Film Retrospective Pt. 3 or "Damn This Has Been A Long Ass Retrospective... Are We Done Yet!!!"

So another great CCD Retrospective finally comes to an end (this one was a long, arduous journey just like the ones taken in the films!) and we use this third episode of the series to discuss the existing first two Hobbit films and talk about the anticipation of the third film that will cap off the film series. Jedi Rob, Joe Milazzo and Mike D are back for one more go round, and we discuss the highs and lows that Peter Jackson second trilogy go through. Whether you like the Hobbit films more than LOTR or less than LOTR you will definitely love to listen to what we have to say about everything. A perfect end to a fantastic look back at a great film franchise... check it out after the jump!

The CCD Podcast: Episode #36 - The Definitive Tolkien Film Retrospective Pt. 2 or "Even The Fucking Trees Walked In Those Movies."

So we are marching right along with part 2 of the Definitive Tolkien Film Retrospective and its sure to be a rocking good time. Join Jedi Rob, Joe Milazzo and Mr. CCD himself Mike D as we transverse the Shire all the way to the tops of Mount Doom in order to honor ole J.R.R. and all he has done for us!!!! The perfect Christmas gift one can get... a new episode of the CCD Podcast for all your laugh out loud shenanigans this holiday season. Check out the site after the jump...

The CCD Podcast: Episode #35 - The Definitive Tolkien Film Retrospective Pt. 1 or "There Was A Basement... And In That Basement There Lived A Podcast!"

It wouldn't be Christmas without another Hobbit movie, and this year we are getting the epic conclussion to the 3 part film series with Battle of the 5 Armies. In honor of J.R.R Tolkien, Peter Jackson and the 6 specatcular movies we know and love so much (and other ones we don't love that much at all) we our doing one of our patented "CCD Retrospectives" with a definitive look at the Tolkien cinematic universe. In part #1 we delve into teh books, our experiences with Tolkien, and the original animated films of the late 70s. We will be following it up with Pt #2 (the three Lord of the Rings films) and Pt #3 (The first two Hobbit films) next week. But lets start this thing off right. Join Jedi Rob, Mike D and Joe "monkey man" Milazzo as we roam the lands of Middle Earth giving our review. It is going to be epic!!!!

Lego's Abound - A Three-peat !!!

I have been getting so many Lego based stories into my inbox from my gang that I don't know what to do... so I decided to throw together a little 3 peat post. 3 different stories, all amazing in their own right. First up, we got an an Alien themed build. But this one is surprisingly simple and only requires a few pieces (only 20), which is rarely a featured property in Lego build posts. The second story comes from a more familiar place. How about a Hobbit/Lord of the Rings themed mega build that requires a bit of time... oh, and 200,000 pieces! And the final one is a crazy mosaic of one of my favorite characters in movie history... it kinda ties the room together, ya know? Check all three out after the jump..

'The Lord of the Crumbs' - A Hobbit x Sesame Street Collaboration

Sesame Street has been educating and entertaining children for over 40+ years, and the way they stay relevant is by taking the pulse of what is popular in the world and relating it to the children they are targeting with their programming. They have done so for years, and continue to do so in epic fashion. In honor of the upcoming release of The Hobbit 2: The Desolation of Smaug, Cookie Monster takes a trip to Middle Earth in The Lord of the Crumbs! Check out this awesome collaboration video that features Gandalf, Galadriel, and many other familiar facets of J. R. R. Tolkien's epic adventure. Sesame Street keeps it going once again... enjoy!

'I Found Your Box!!!!' - Legolas

I love me some Lego action videos, and this cool ass video from the Brothehood Workshop is certainly no exception. Thanks to my man Joe Fletch for sending this one to me. In the wake of my recent Hobbit viewing, it is nice to take a trip back to Lord of the Rings and the Battle of Helm's Deep. Gotta love the comedy and cameos that the guys added to this one to make it even geekier. Great stuff all around. Check out the video after the jump...

GRR vs JRR: Who's Characters Would Win In A Fight?

George R.R. Martin was a successful fantasy writer up until HBO made his A Song of Ice and Fire series a household name. Then he became uber famous, probably the most sought after author by new readers in the past few years. JRR Tolkien is the benchmark of all fantasy writers, having composed The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Tolkien is legendary, and Martin is well on his way (if he ever finished books 6 & 7!!!) to joining him on top of the pantheon of fantasy writers. So when MTV Geek decided to ask George what he thought about some of his characters facing off with the legends of Tolkien lore, and the results are quite interesting. The video is very funny and any opportunity I get to see Martin wearing that stupid hat and giggling into a camera I eat it up. Jaimie Lannister vs Aragon, Saruman vs Melisandre, Frodo vs Tyrion... the possibilities are endless. Good thing they kept Khal Drogo out of it, cause he would whup every bodies asses! Enjoy the video after the jump ...

Gandalf Style.... Amazing!

Now that I am fully up on my Gangnam Style dance numbers, I am going to post every one of these videos that I come across. Today's parody video of Korean Pop Sensation PSY comes from the land of Hobbits & Wizards.... Middle Earth represent.... Wizard Gandalf Style!!!!!! Check the video after the jump...

Lego 'Lord of the Rings: Can Anything be Any Cooler Than This Game?'

Wow. Just wow. I have been hearing about the Lego game based on the Lord of the Rings trilogy and I must say that after seeing this trailer I am truly blown away. These Lego games keep getting better and better, and I love the humor of this particular ad. Nice touch by having Gandalf narrate the commercial as well... Check out the trailer after the jump!

And I Said To Myself... What A Wonderful World!!!!

People get attached to the settings in every type of entertainment they consume,whether it is movies, books, video games, comics or anything else. The setting is so key to the background story that it often overshadows a majority of characters in the work, save for the most important characters. I mean, think how much more you remember about Hogwarts as opposed to the literally 100s of non main characters in the 7 books by J.K Rowling. Or how about the fact that after 20 years I can still remember how to navigate Hyrule when I downloaded Zelda on my Wii, yet forgot ALL of the 8 final bosses names in the game except for level 9 baddie Ganon? The setting can often make the story what it is and be the driving force in a work of fiction. With that being said, this is the most complete map of fantasy lands that I have ever seen. I have not been able to locate the creator of this map (I hate not creating brilliance) but all the links I am finding around the web seem to go back to the I WASTE SO MUCH TIME blog. So check them out cause their blog is cool and seems to be pretty chill. Tell em CCD sent ya! Check out a larger version of the map after the jump and see if you can figure out oall of the locations and what properties they come from... enjoy your trip!!!

Adam James Takes On The Hobbit & The Lord of the Rings Saga With Great Success

Lots of artists take the time to re-design movie posters for classic films. This is nothing new, especially on the Internet. But when an artist knocks out a killer minimalistic take on something as epic as Peter Jackson's Lord of the Rings trilogy and the throws in a Hobbit poster just for good measure... well, they should be commended. SO that's what I am doing right now. Nice touch on the "O" as a ring!!! Check out Adam James's other work by clicking here, and then click after the jump to see the four LOTR/Hobbit posters...

'I'd Buy That...As a Tee!' Vol 28

Always on the look out for inspiring art... emblazoned across the chest of humanity. Here's some of the t-shirts I have my eye on to do just the trick but, there's only one problem....they aren't for sale yet! Please click the links below to the Threadless.com voting pages for each and give these beauties '5' ratings so I can throw 'em on my charge card one day.

**Please click READ MORE below..for Mo' Tees...Mo' Tees....Mo' Tees!**

Gollum Never Looked So Cool

This is a phenomenal piece of graffiti artwork from artist Smug One  featuring Middle Earth's favorite sneak thief Gollum!!! This piece is gigantic and is so detailed... totally awesome. I love it when street artists get a touch of geek in their work. Absolutely spectacular... click after the jump to see the full piece.

Draw2D2 Takes On The Muppets & The Lord Of The Rings In This Epic Mash-up Series

We are big fans of the gang over at Draw2D2, and this time they have outdone themselves. In celebration of the upcoming Muppet movie, these artists decided to plunge the characters of Jim Henson into the world of J.R.R. Tolkien... I present to you the epic Muppets/Lord Of The Rings Mash-ups!!! Click here to cast your vote for your fave over at Draw2D2 and after the jump to see  all the pieces right here on CCD!!!

'I'd Buy That...As a Tee!' Vol 16 by Jeff Bond

Always on the look out for inspiring art... emblazoned across the chest of humanity. Here's some of the t-shirts I have my eye on to do just the trick but, there's only one problem....they aren't for sale yet! Please click the links below to the Threadless.com (my favoritest and most user friendly t-shirt contribution site) voting pages for each and give these beauties '5' ratings so I can throw 'em on my charge card one day.

'Pass You Shall Not' puts a more qualified wizard in charge of the depths of Mordor.

**Please click READ MORE below for more T-rific tees!**

Sons Of Alchemy by Kenny Wheeler

'Sons of Anarchy' is one of my favorite shows on the air right now, and I have always been a Tolkien geek. So what do you get when you mash the two amazing properties up? You get this awesome logo for the "Sons of Alchemy" by artists Kenny Wheeler. You can cop this one on a hoodie or T shirt by clicking here.

Movies As Pixel Art by Andy Helms

Check out these famous movie scenes and characters recreated in pixels by artist Andy Helms. I always find it interesting when pixel artists recreate a very intricate scene since they are severely limited to the low resolution that pixels guarantee. These are great... which one is you fave? Tell us in the comment section below. Thanks Edson!

Inception

Hey You Guys!!!

Indy vs the giant Nazi

The Falcon...

Don't Cross The Streams!!!

My Precious....

The Man with No Name

There And Back Again

It's been quite the long road for 'The Hobbit'. There have been rights issues, union disputes, and of course the bankruptcy of one of the biggest movie studios in the world. It got so confusing, that even star Ian McKellen didn't have all the delays sorted out and showed up 5 weeks early. I guess sometimes a wizard is late eh? And there was of course the big Director switcheroo.

Part of me is is definitely disappointed that I won't get to see Guillermo Del Toro's version of Middle Earth, but he has like 9000 other projects that I'm salivating for as well so he's got plenty to keep himself busy.

In the end though, it makes sense that Peter Jackson is back in charge. He did such an excellent job with the trilogy why not have him finish (or begin) the story. It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since Fellowship of the Ring came out, but here we are and the cameras are about to roll on the 2 part movie version of "The Hobbit."

A few pics came out of Mr. Jackson relaxing in Bag End.





It's got to be pretty surreal for him being back in The Shire. He's come a long way, made some more movies, won some Oscar's, and lost about a person's worth of weight.

Here's ol' PJ in 1999 just as LOTR was getting underway...


Yikes!

A lot of things have changed since the trilogy came out. Much of that as a result of the films themselves. The trilogy showed there was a market for the fantasy genre and they've been cranking out the films ever since. Can Jackson and some hairy footed folk cause lightning to strike twice? I can't wait to find out.

The first part of "The Hobbit" is scheduled to release December 19th, 2012.

Toy Story 3 Wants The "Best Picture" Oscar... Now Please!!!

Toy Story 3 was one of the highest grossing movies of the year and also one of the best reviewed movies of the year. Even though there are some great animated movies out there this year, its looking like TS3 has the best animated feature Oscar locked up. So Disney is shooting for the whole she-bang and looking to win the Best Picture Oscar. Why is it so hard to imagine? It made boku bucks (over a billion bucks worldwide) and is truly heartwrenching... its better then most dramas at tackling sensitive subject matter. It's also wildly entertaining. So why not?

The people over at Disney & Pixar have decided to hit on all the previous winners of the Best Picture Oscar that fit a "non-traditional" model... movies like Godfather II (a sequel), Lord of the Rings: Return Of The King (a genre picture & a sequel), West Side Story (a musical), and Titanic (big popcorn movie/high grossing). So we are getting a few "For Your Consideration" posters campaigning for the Oscar. Here are the ones that have been released so far:

These are great!!! Do you think Toy Story 3 has a shot against likely "Best Picture" candidates The Social Network, Black Swan, Inception, and Scott Pilgrim vs The World (yeah right... hehehe!)? Let us know in the comment section below!!!

5 Reasons Why "The Warriors Way" Might Not Suck

Here is the new red band clip from the upcoming martial arts movie The Warriors Way:



Here are 5 reasons why this movie could pan out and be something wonderful:

1. The martial arts and weapon play look SICK. The plot and story may be a bit suspect (they usually are in MOST martial arts flicks) but some slick fighting goes A LONG WAY!!! Jang Dong Gun looks like he is kciking some serious ninja ass in what we have seen so far.
2. I love bloody head wounds with sharp objects... I don't know why, but there is something about a headshot with a sword or spear that just does it for me. That one in the clip above is magnificient.
3. Kate Bosworth is hot as shit. Sure she may have gotten a bit to skinny, but she is still stunning. Not bad eye candy to cut all the kicking and punching a bit... god I hope she surfs in this movie (I know, I know... its a longshot!!!)
4. Geoffrey Rush.... 'nuff said!
5. The film is being produced by Lord of the Rings trilogy producer Barrie M Osborne and features costumes from 3 time Academy Award winning costume designer James Acheson... these guys have a pedigree about them and their involvement along with Rush & Bosworth lend a lot of credability to this film.

The Warriors Way opens December 3rd... click here to see more on the films official website.