This movie took things to the next level and showed what can be done with a new director. Alfonso Cuaron took over and in doing so allowed the actors to grow in their roles and bring small traits to their characters, to make them believable. One theme that was focused on was legacy.

Remus Lupin and Sirius Black were friends of James Potter, Harry’s father, and wanted to find the traitor in their group. The root out Peter Pettigrew and intend to kill him, but Harry convinces them not to do it. When told Pettigrew deserves to die, Harry replies that the truth would die with him and he feels his father wouldn’t want his friends to become killers. At 13, Harry shows maturity and insight with his handling of the situation. He was intent on killing Sirius, in discovering the events leading up to his parents death, but Harry held his emotions in check and got to the truth. This is something he does well, something that will continue to serve him as he grows older. Although he never knew his parents, with that statement Harry feels there are things he likes to believe his parents would approve and disapprove of, that even in the heat of the moment Harry knew a bit more than his father’s closes friends. Mature, indeed.

We see Harry and his friends move into adolescence, some going through the motions of what is typical, such as jokes, pranks, surliness, and awkward attractions, but as much as Harry would like to be typical he cannot be and here we can see why.

Deadline announced today that Fox has officially greenlit a pilot of “Locke & Key.” The show will be produced by Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, and adapted by Josh Friedman (“Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles”). “Locke & Key” is based on the IDW comic series of the same name, created by author Joe Hill. Here’s Amazon’s description of the series:

Locke & Key tells of Keyhouse, an unlikely New England mansion with fantastic doors that transform all who dare to walk through them, and home to a hate-filled and relentless creature that will not rest until it forces open the most terrible door of them all! Acclaimed suspense novelist and New York Times best-selling author Joe Hill (Heart-Shaped Box) creates an all-new story of dark fantasy and wonder, with astounding artwork from Gabriel Rodriguez.

If the television series is half as good as the comic, then we’re in for a real treat. “Locke & Key” has been consistently great since the series launched in early 2008. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Hill’s work, do yourself a favor and buy a copy of his first novel, “Heart-Shaped Box.” You won’t be disappointed!

Check back for more “Locke & Key” news here on Geek Peeks!

If the genre hasn’t been leveled to complete rubble for you yet, then there’s something you should pick up! The “American Vampire” series is written by Scott Snyder (Iron Man: Noir), and legendary horror novelist Stephen King (The Shining, The Stand). With distinctive, beautiful illustrations by Rafael Albuquerque, this is not the typical piece of popular vampire literature on the market today.

From the late 1800’s to the roaring 20’s, “American Vampire” explores ideas of new and different blood lines evolving in the new world. The story follows a cut throat outlaw from the old west dubbed Skinner Sweet in his endeavors and all those that cross his path. I’ve found Sweet to be the most interesting of all the characters, lucky for me because everything that happens revolves around him. He doesn’t seem to get as much page time as others, so I’m hoping that his role will become more prominent in future issues. The book is very much a revenge story, but there are hints of more complexity on the horizon. Balanced well between conversation and bloody action, this book will not bore you.

As of October 5, 2010 a hardbound collection of the first five issues has come out in stores. Although King has only been contracted to write for the first five issues, the story remains Snyder’s baby and still seems very promising.

So give “American Vampire” a shot. Blood? Cowboys? Flappers? What more could you need?

To test him, I requested he leave me a five minute long voicemail message as proof of his abilities. Just a couple of days ago, I finally got myself a Google Voice number so I’ve been playing around with the voicemail service. Specifically the transcription feature.

Here is the result. Follow the Google transcription with Bruno’s sultry grosgrain voice.

Obviously, Google Voice fails horribly. I am sorely tempted to allow them to use Bruno to improve their transcription service, but I have yet to ask him that. No worries though; I did ask for his permission for this.

And thus, this column is born. Every month, we will display Bruno’s geeky prowess and test how well Google keeps up with him. We also invite you, our faithful visitors, to submit your own Geek Speak rants or comments by calling us at (415) 273-9523. Leave us a message and you just might be our next featured Geek Speak!

However the results have not shown. Wildstorm, a publishing company under the DC banner, is being shut down with their titles ending in December. The reason, according to Co-publisher Dan DiDio, is that in a soft market the characters could use a break to regroup and redefine what were cutting edge characters. Either way it is a bit sad to know that a branch of the DC family is being shut down. Thoughts?

Now you might be asking yourself why this is here? I mean we aren’t really a music news website, but we do report on the geeky, and trust me kids this video is geeky.

There is an obvious Road Warrior/Tank Girl-esk tone of the video. Also, Comic scribe Grant Morisson, best known for his amazing work on Batman, New X-men, and All Star Superman, appears as a silver bald headed antagonist in My Chemical Romance’s new video.

The name of MCR’s new album is Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Kill Joys which is also the title of lead singer Gerard Way’s upcoming second comic. It is unknown if this album is a soundtrack to his comic or maybe a prequel concept album.

Danger Days: The True Lives of the Fabulous Kill Joys is dated to come out sometime later this year, as for the comic, possibly sometime 2011. While you wait enjoy the awesome video you get a great scene of Mikey Way choking someone out with a Power Glove. Stay glued to Geek Peeks for more nerd news as it develops.

Fox has given a direct-to-series order on Joe Hill’s horror comic Locke & Key. Star Trek and Fringe producers Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci are on board to executive produce with Josh Friedman (Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles) as writer.

Locke & Key is a miniseries that tells the story of the Locke family who is trying to recover from their fathers murder. They move to Lovecraft, Massachusetts into the family estate of Keyhouse. The Locke children begin to find hidden supernatural keys that allow them to go through doors which can grant people abilities or can be used to transport you to other locations.

Joe Hill, author of Heart Shaped Box and son of Stephen King, has been writing Locke & Key with artist Gabriel Rodriguez since 2008 under the IDW Publishing label. Locke and Key is currently in its 4th story arc.

Ladies and gents on every continent, brace yourselves! According to DC publisher Dan DiDio and Grant Morrison, upon Bruce Wayne’s return in “Batman Inc.” in October, he will set his sights on the world, leaving Dick Grayson to protect Gotham City. It sounds like Wayne will be “franchising” Batman, encouraging and training others to take up the cowl worldwide. Wayne will once again don the black-and-yellow symbol on his suit, while the others will simply wear a black bat symbol.

What does a man who has conquered Time itself do next? It is not such a stretch for Batman to consider a global reach, and as Bruce Wayne the entrepreneur, he has more than enough knowledge and resources to pull it off.

As part of his move to more fully flesh out the character, Morrison wants to move way from the one-dimensional image of Batman as a brutal, loner vigilante and delve into the other nuances of Batman. As Morrison put it in a recent LA Times interview,

“A man who is that advanced in meditation and martial arts and yoga is not going to be a one-note vigilante crime fighter.”

Too many people are afraid of change, even the tiniest bit of it. Just look up the litany of protests that erupted across the Internet when Jim Lee changed Wonder Woman’s costume. But quite frankly, change fuels the world, and a character like Batman can always manipulate the worst of it to his advantage.

This is why it is not such a strange idea for Batman to share the cowl now, especially after the trials he has just experienced in “Batman: The Return of Bruce Wayne.” While he was time-travelling, Gotham did not fall to pieces in his absence, and those he did train to fight alongside him in other capacities, like Dick Grayson, have by now more than proven themselves. At this point in his life and career, Batman must realize he does not need to be the lone avenger, and that the scale of his mission can be amplified by the strengths and passions of others. One thing definitely won’t change: this new Batman “franchise” will operate under Wayne’s strict discipline, so rest assured that those he selects will be up to the task.

Can you handle that many men (or women) in the cowl? My heart’s all a-flutter just thinking about it. It’s an interesting idea, and one in keeping with Batman as an evolving character. I’m eager to see how Batman will cope with his decision to nearly up-end his entire modus operandi.

I, for one, am not worried about the other characters who will soon be wearing the cape and cowl. After all, there is still only one true Batman.