Geek of Oz

Hosted by cheeky duo Luke & Wyatt, t he Fan Factor, an online exclusive that gives you an all-access pass to the world of The X Factor,  is is where YOUR thoughts, opinions and musings can be heard. Just use #fanfactor to get all your opinions heard. With new episodes are available every Wednesday night during live shows at  www.yahoo7.com.au/fanfactor , we had a sneaky chat with the lads about Luke Jacobz, pasta bake, Luke Jacobz, fist fights and Luke Jacobz. Gents, I've been loving the show so far and it seems like you're enjoying yourselves too. What's been a highlight of this season? Wyatt: Getting to eat the same catering as Luke Jacobz. He's such a dreamboat! Sometimes we lock eyes over the pasta bake. Hi Luke, if you're reading this. Luke: I just wish I was enough Luke for Wyatt, but I understand if I can't satisfy his needs.  You guys obviously bounce off each other really well but who else has the most wicked sense of humour?...

Richard Linklater’s Boyhood is one hell of a cinematic achievement considering that it was filmed over the course of twelve years whilst maintaining the same cast. As the title suggests, the film focuses on the life of Mason (Ellar Coltrane) from age five to eighteen. It’s rather compelling to watch someone grow up on screen over the course of a few hours, something I guess we’re more used to seeing in television series or film franchises like Harry Potter ; although in those cases we tend to get instalments usually spaced out over a few years. Boyhood is an outstanding film for both the technical excellence and dedication required to produce it and the touching story which is being told, few films of late have left me as moved when I emerged from them as this one did. We first meet Mason when he’s lying on the ground staring up at the clouds waiting for his mum (Patricia Arquette) to pick him up after school. Mason’s an adorable little guy who even at a young age is part day-...

To celebrate the release of SWORD ART ONLINE: HOLLOW FRAGMENT on PlayStation®Vita handheld system, we've got a download code for the game PLUS a copy of Sword Art Online volume 1 and 2 on your choice of Blu Ray or DVD thanks to Bandai Namco Games and Madman . Sword Art Online: Hollow Fragment is a Role Playing Game (RPG) based on the novel, manga and anime, Sword Art Online, and reflects the charming characters and breathtaking environments from the virtual reality world called Aincrad. In a simulated Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game (MMORPG) setting, players find that they are trapped within the game and must explore and defeat enemies until they reach the highest levels of Aincrad to beat the game and free themselves from the fantasy world. This competition requires a little bit of effort to weed out those truly committed to Aincrad! But think of it this way, if only a few enter, your chances of winning are all the more greater! What you need to do is t...

The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt is shaping up to be the must have next (current) gen game and a fantasy romp unlike anything ever seen. Whether or not you grab a plain old vanilla copy or the sexy as Collector's Edition, you're all but guaranteed an epic adventure.  CD PROJEKT RED and NAMCO BANDAI GAMES have released full details of the exclusive Xbox One Collector's Edition as well as a 35 minute gameplay video and a look at "Downwarren", a clip that showcases the gorgeous 3D engine, landscapes and Geralt's abilities in combat. One thing is certain, February 2015 can't arrive quick enough! The Xbox One Collector's Edition of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt now contains: · The standard edition of the game, containing: the official soundtrack, a beautiful and detailed map of the in-game world, unique stickers, and the developer-created "Witcher Universe - The Compendium" · A giant, 33x24x26 cm, 100% hand painted, Polystone...

I've said it before and I'll say it again; Naoki Urasawa is the greatest living manga creator. In my earlier review of Pluto volume 1 I praised the series for its sense of pace and the way in which it speeds along due in no small part due to its brevity. At three times the length of Pluto, if you include the 2 issue sequel, you'd think that the story would have a lesser sense of urgency. You'd think, but you'd be wrong. Even with a total of 24 volumes at it's disposal, 20th Century Boys moves along at a cracking pace, offering an incredibly immersive and multi-faceted universe in the very first volume. Mankind would not have made the new age, encountering the crisis at the end of the last century, that almost wiped them out... if it weren't for "them". In 1969, "they" who were still in their youth, created a symbol. In 1997, as the footsteps of the disaster slowly starts to show out, the symbol revives. This is the story about ...

Thanks to our pal at Warners Bros, we've got 5 copies of Batman: Assault on Arkham on Blu Ray to give away. The latest DC Universe Animated Original Movie focuses lest on the Bat and instead follows the exploits of everyones rabble rousing ragtag bunch of big bad baddies, the Suicide Squad. For your chance to get your hands on a copy, all you have to do is read Christof's review of the film and fill out the form below. Don't forget, you can get yourself a bonus entry just by  following us on Twitter  or  liking us on Facebook! THIS COMPETITION HAS CLOSED E ntries close 11:59pm on Sunday 7th September 2014. Your details will not be used in any way other than for the delivery of your prize. Geek of Oz and Warner Bros do not take any responsibility for the loss, damage or delay of/to prizes sent to winners (blame Australia Post for that one). The judges decision is final and no correspondence will be entered upon. One entry per person, subsequent entries w...

Guardians of the Galaxy may have cemented Marvel's domination of comic book films on the big screen, but on the small screen it's a totally different matter. Since 2007 DC Universe Animated Original Movies have been wowing audiences with movie adaptations of some of the most beloved comic book runs as well as original stories starring some of DC Comics' most iconic characters. Where Marvel never really seemed to get their act together in this area, DC kept producing hit after hit. Then in late 2013 the legendary Bruce Timm, who brought us the revered Batman: The Animated Series, stepped down as DC's animation supervising producer and things began to take a turn for the worse. Post-Timm animated features such as Justice League: War, Son of Batman and Flashpoint Paradox all lacked the quality and attention to detail that Timm had brought to his productions. I was beginning to lose hope, and then I watched Batman: Assault on Arkham... Although by no m...

It would seem that there comes a time in a television show’s life when they no longer want to be trapped in their half hour prison. Spying on their older cousins of the entertainment world (films) running around having a ball making it look oh see easy, they become jealous which inevitably leads to delusions of grandeur creeping in. Which results in a bloated television episode masquerading as a terrible film. The Inbetweeners 2 feels like a 200m sprinter who is forced to run a marathon; it’s quite painful to watch a once graceful runner cough and splutter their way to a truly unsatisfying finish. Whilst there are glimpses of the humour that the television series was built upon, they are vanquished by the sloppy attempts to shock the audience through a variety of bodily fluid gags. It’s all be done before and by better films. The film opens with Will (Simon Bird), Neil (Blake Harrison) and Simon (Joe Thomas) having a tough time fitting in post high school. They are lured to A...

I'll say one thing for Maoyu, if nothing else – it is certainly unique. It's not a giant mecha story. It's not a magical girl story. It's not a harem anime, an urban fantasy anime, or a cyberpunk anime. Instead, it's a narrative primarily concerned with breast jiggles, internal politics and ecology. Lots, and lots, and lots of ecology. The premise owes a bit to the Italian commedia dell’arte form of drama using particular stock character types to tell a story. Instead of named protagonists we have people like Hero and Female Knight, and instead of a grandiosely-named villain we have the Demon King; the latter is a double-misnomer being that she’s not a demon and not a man. The story opens with a war between humans and demons winding down as Hero goes into the Demon King’s lair to do final battle, only to find the aforementioned double-misnomer who’s actually taken the Demon King’s mantle as a ceremonial title with detachable demon horns. Also she has...

Like its predecessors Chaos;Head and Steins;Gate, Robotics;Notes is an anime series based upon a visual novel developed by 5pb and the third instalment of their Science Adventure series. That said, in no way is this as impressive a series as Steins;Gate which remains one of my favourite series of the last 5 years. Set in 2019 Kyushu Japan, the Central Tanegashima High School Robotics Club is in trouble with only two full time members,  Kaito Yashio and Akiho Senomiya. The duo continue the clubs 9 year mission to build a full-scale, working replica of Gunbarrel. As they continue to toil away, amassing new members as they go, a conspiracy slowly unfurls and promises to change the club and its members forever. While Robotics;Notes may not compare to Steins;Gate in many ways, on way in which is surpasses its colonic predecessor is in terms of animation. It should be no surprise that Production I.G, the studio responsible for Ghost in the Shell and FLCL among many others, del...

Click to enlarge Chris:  SMASH, Rosehill's anime answer to Sydney's Supanova, has come and gone. And what a convention it was! Those looking for cosplay, anime-themed karaoke and a graffiti wall with scribbles from participants need look no further than SMASH! It's a mega-super-hyper-kawaii-awesome con that scratches the manga and anime itches, and even a couple of itches you never knew you had. For instance, I got my photo taken with Evangelion Unit 02, which is something I never knew I wanted until I stood beside the cosplayer and smiled like a dork as Christof took my photo. Never too old, I say. The con this year was packed to the rafters with people, purchases and purveyors of fine artwork; it's easily one of the fullest conventions I've ever visited outside of San Diego, which is heartening to see especially in somewhere a little off the beaten track as Rosehill. Inside and outside the main event I witnessed a cornucopia of cosplay an...