The A-Train's Pullbox

The NEW Pullbox

2008-06-03T14:34:00.001-04:00

Here's my new site. Both my personal blog entries, AND my entertainment reviews. Even news and extra crap. That's the place to go from now on. Don't come back here. ;)

The New & Improved PULLBOX

Frick on a stick with a brick...

2008-04-17T09:43:00.006-04:00

I started writing a review of P.O.D.'s new album but I never finished it. I also started writing a review where I bash the schmit out of 10,000 BC but I never finished that either. The fact is, I'm so busy with work, moving, and being sick (again) that any and all free time is being dedicated to building the new site, or reading stuff to review and use as content for the site. There's just not enough hours in the day to write stuff on here AND on the under-construction site. So bare with me guys. I'm working hard on the site. I promise it'll be worth the silence and long wait.

In the meantime, I'll leave you with these few random recommendations:

P.O.D.'s new album is different, and unexpected, but it just may be their best work since Satellite.

John Mayer is completely underrated. The dude gets a lot of flack but the fact is, he's an incredibly talented guitarist, a brilliant song writer, and damn close to a musical genius. Pay him some attention. Oh yeah, and he's hilarious.

This is way late but... 10,000 BC sucks. Big time. Terrible story. Terrible acting. Mediocre special effects. Bad direction. Just plain bad.

Books I'm currently reading, planning on reading, or re-reading for the new site:
Watchmen
The New Frontier
Kingdom Come
V For Vendetta
Arkham Asylum
Runaways Vol 1-3
Wanted
Y The Last Man
Faker
The Amory Wars Vol 1
Invincible Vol 1 - 7
DMZ
and many more. Stay tuned guys.

21

2008-04-08T10:47:00.004-04:00

21

Starring: Jim Sturgess (The Other Boleyn Girl, Across The Universe), Kevin Spacey (Superman Returns, The Usual Suspects), Kate Bosworth (Superman Returns, Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!), Laurence Fishburne (The Matrix Trilogy, Mission Impossible III)

Written by: Peter Steinfeld, Allan Loeb,
Based on the novel "Bringing Down The House: Ben Mezrich

Directed by: Robert Luketic

Synopsis/Plot: "'21' is the fact-based story about six MIT students who were trained to become experts in card counting and subsequently took Vegas casinos for millions in winnings."

My Thoughts: This is overdue, so I'm going to keep this very short and sweet. Go watch this movie! Its incredibly good.

Every cast member did a great job. Kevin Spacey delivers, as usual. He's so talented, and can play it all. He goes from nice mentor guy, to A-Hole F-Face with ease. He doesn't disappoint. Jim Sturgess does very well in the lead role as well. You really feel for the guy when he's down, and you totally cheer him on when he's on a roll. Laurence Fishburne is a bad ass. 'Nuff said there.

But the big surprise hit of the movie: Kate Bosworth. I really didn't expect too much from her but she did a great job as well. Stole every scene she was in, in my opinion. She played this very confident, sexy girl, and it was just very different from what I've seen her do before. When I see Bosworth I immediately think back to Win A Date With Tad Hamilton! It was the first film I saw her in, and she played such a bubbly, adorable, girl-next-door type character, with her smiles and quirky lines. And then of course there was Superman Returns, where her Lois Lane was very ... "normal" for lack of a better word. There was nothing particularly amazing about her Lois. So I went into 21 with low expectations for Miss Bosworth, but she proved me wrong and then some. Very fun, very sexy, and if I had been the main character in this movie, I would've chased after her too.

The other big surprise was the direction of the film. This director is responsible for such mediocrities as Monster In Law, Win A Date With Tad Hamilton!, and Legally Blonde. So its a shocker that this movie didn't leave me wanting to walk out of it, let alone impress me as much as it did. Assume that the 3 aforementioned movies were necessary for him to pay his bills, but this one is actually what the guy is capable of. The visuals and the editing are both top-notch, and its obvious to me that Bosworth's great performance was largely due to Luketic's direction. Watch this director, I get the feeling he's going to have some great stuff coming up.

So again, go watch 21. And after watching the film, buy the novel, Bringing Down The House. I'm definitely buying it. Maybe I'll take a trip to Vegas, count some cards, get my ass kicked, and get rich quick.

Vlog-alicious

2008-04-07T01:07:00.003-04:00

Okay guys... here's my first video update. Its really just an excuse to try out the new webcam. Don't be alarmed by the ugly mug... Its genetics. Not much I can do about that.

I've been getting a lot of emails about when I'm updating, or what I'm up to... so here it is:

Batman: Gotham Knight - Official Site

2008-03-11T01:52:00.001-04:00

Batman: Gotham Knight Official Site

Lack of Updatage

2008-03-09T17:56:00.003-04:00

I just wanted to take a moment and explain why this joint hasn't been getting updated much. There's several reasons.

First off, I'm in a crazy transitional stage where I'm working a lot of hours at work, to save up a lot of money, so I can move in to my new apartment sometime next month. I also need to not fall behind on my car payments so working is a pretty big priority.

My lack of free time means I don't get to go out to the movies often. I haven't been out to the theatres since Jumper and while there's a few flicks out right now I really want to watch, it may be a while before I can check 'em out.

Lastly, any free time I do have, I've spent on a few projects. I'm still working on my graphic novel. I've got the entire thing outlined pretty good. As it stands at the moment, it looks like it'll be about the length of 9 standard comic issues. Once I have the actual first issue completely scripted, I'm going to pass it on to a young and amazing artist, who I hope will love it and illustrate it for me.

The other project I'm working on is a full on website to replace this blog. It'll have a section for movies, music, comics, art, etc. And I'll update it with news, reviews, op'ed pieces, and anything else I can scrape up. I've been listening to a lot of new music in particular lately, and I can't wait to share my thoughts on them soon. I'll continue to update this blog as often as I can in the meantime, but you can look forward to a much bigger, fuller, and much more informative site soon enough.

Okay, that's all the time I have for now. Here's just a quick list of the movies I intend to see in the next few weeks:

10,000 B.C.; Vantage Point; Dr. Seuss' Horton Hears a Who!; The Spiderwick Chronicles; The Other Boleyn Girl; Penelope; No Country for Old Men; and Charlie Bartlett

And here's some of the new music I'm diggin' lately: Coconut Records - "Nighttiming"; Die Mannequin - "Unicorn Steak"; and Decomposure - "Vertical Lines A" Full reviews on those bands and records coming soon.

Jumper

2008-02-27T22:00:00.004-05:00

Jumper

Starring: Hayden Christensen (Star Wars: Episode I - III), Samuel L. Jackson, Rachel Bilson (The Last Kiss), & Jamie Bell
Directed by: Doug Liman (The Bourne Identity, Mr. & Mrs. Smith)
Written by: David S. Goyer(Blade 1-3, Batman Begins), Jim Uhls & Simon Kinberg

Synopsis: "A genetic anomaly allows a young man to teleport himself anywhere. He discovers this gift has existed for centuries and finds himself in a war that has been raging for thousands of years between "Jumpers" and those who have sworn to kill them."

My Thoughts: I can wrap this one up in one word: "Boring." Its not a terrible movie, but its definitely a "wait and rent" kinda flick. Its worth watching once, and then never again. To be honest, if you've seen the theatrical trailer, then you've already seen the movie.

The special effects are phenomenal. There's no denying that. They're absolutely beautifully done. But that's probably the best part of the movie. The rest is redundancy, regurgitated characters and plot, and predictable dialogue. The scenery in the movie is beautiful. But the scenery and special effects are not enough to save this movie. This director is also known for directing The Bourne Identity and Mr. & Mrs. Smith. This movie is closer to mediocre Mr. & Mrs. Smith, than it is to Bourne Identity greatness.

Definitely not worth your $10 at the theatre. Just add it to your queue on Netflix in a month or two when it's released on DVD.

This Season's Best Shows

2008-02-17T22:11:00.001-05:00

Strike, or no strike. The shows airing this season have been some of the best I've seen yet.

Heroes got off to a slow start, I know, but they really picked it up in the last few episodes. I'm definitely excited for season 3.

Smallville has been incredible this season. Even with Supergirl showing up, which I had my doubts about, its still been great. Bizzarro, Green Arrow, Black Canary, Brainiac. All awesome.

Then there's Lost, which is having its best season ever. The second half of season 3 blew both season 1 & 2 right out of the water. It was phenominal. But now, season 4 has DEFINITELY out done season 3. If you're not watching, you damn well should be.

Last but not least... TERMINATOR: THE SARAH CONNOR CHRONICLES!!! Holy crap! this show is so much better than I thought it would be. Its "HEROES SEASON 1 GOOD!" And last week's episode has made me so excited for the new terminator movie comming.

Its too bad we wont be getting new 24 until next year, but if it turns out to be as good as they say it will be, then I'm all for waiting.

Batman: Gotham Knight (First Look) UPDATED

2008-02-15T08:54:00.003-05:00

Here is a sneak peak at Batman: Gotham Knight

It's the straight to DVD movie, coming this summer, that bridges the gap between Batman Begins and The Dark Knight.

BATMAN: GOTHAM KNIGHT

[EDIT: VIDEO LINK CORRECTED]

The Strike is Over

2008-02-14T11:11:00.002-05:00

Just a quick entry, in case you haven't heard...

The Writer's Strike is over. They've reached an agreement and are back to work. Already, stuff is happening.

The CW has already ordered 5 more SMALLVILLE episodes, bringing the total for this season to 20 episodes. That's pretty close to a normal season of 22 episodes. So its safe to say that Smallville's season 7 has been saved from the curse of the Strike, unlike HEROES, which is not coming back to finish off season 2. Heroes has, however, been officially picked up for season 3, so we will see "Vol. 3: Villains" this fall.

Transformers 2 already has a draft of the script done. Its going off to get a second draft.

I haven't heard much on 24 yet, but I'm keeping my ears open. And here's hoping LOST season 4 has been rescued, and we may yet get a full season to that. Lets wait and see.

Juno

2008-02-08T13:07:00.000-05:00

JUNO

Starring: Ellen Page, Michael Cera, Jennifer Garner, Jason Bateman, and J.K. Simmons

Synopsis: "Faced with an unplanned pregnancy, an offbeat young woman makes an unusual decision regarding her unborn child."

Its true Hollywood can dish out some serious caca-doodoo these days. The general public seems to just eat up movies with little plot, and lots of special effects. Give the Average Joe a movie like Mr. And Mrs. Smith or maybe My Super Ex-Girlfriend and they'll be happy for days. But I've found that if you look in the right places, and make the right judgement calls, you can find some real gems these days. Great movies are coming out more and more. Hollywood is starting to take more chances and Juno is such a good example...

Believe the hype. Juno is amazing. The story is based around such a serious and taboo subject, but its handled with such casual humor and witty banter, you just can't help but smile throughout the whole movie.

Ellen Page is amazing as Juno. She's smart, quirky, witty, sarcastic, and has such a great sense of humor. She's one of the coolest characters I've ever seen on film. You just wanna be her friend and hang out with her all day. Its a great job done by a very talented young actress. If you still haven't seen her in Hard Candy, check her out. The two roles are like apples and oranges.

Everyone else in the cast also did a great job. Even Jennifer Garner, who I'm not typically a fan of. J.K. Simmons is hilarous as well. The soundtrack fits the movie like a glove. And the direction is superb.

Its definitely a movie for my generation. With lots of slang, mockery of slang, and referances to blogs, its not a film my mother would entirely understand or completely appreciate.

If you haven't seen this yet, go out and watch it. I've watched it twice already this week.

Cloverfield and Rambo

2008-01-30T23:51:00.000-05:00

Cloverfield

Directed by: Matt Reeves
Written by: Drew Goddard
Starring: Michael Stahl-David, Mike Vogel, T.J. Miller, Jessica Lucas, Lizzy Caplan

Last week, I watched Cloverfield. I'm sure you've all heard plenty about it by now, so I'll sum this up quickly: Watch It! I recommend you sit as far back in the theatre as you can, and don't eat too much during the film and you'll be fine.

The movie is actually pretty brilliant. It's shot completely with a hand held camera, like the Blair Witch Project, only much better quality. The monster is genuinely scary. The actors give a convincing performance. You really do fear for their lives, and nothing is explained. The monster is never explained or named or anything. It’s just a true blue monster movie from beginning to end. You're disoriented, you're scared, panicked, confused, uninformed, and at no point to they try to make things easier for you. It's as if you are in the movie, running from the monster with these guys.

I really enjoyed this one.

Rambo

Written, Directed & Starring: Sylvester Stallone
Also Starring: Julie Benz, Graham McTavish, Paul Schulze

Synopsis: In Thailand, John Rambo joins a group of mercenaries to venture into war-torn Burma, and rescue a group of Christian aid workers who were kidnapped by the ruthless local infantry unit.

My Thoughts:
They're calling this "the Superbowl of Action Movies." They're not exaggerating. This movie is ridiculous. I've never seen a more action backed and bloody film. The original Rambo/First Blood movies were never really big on story. They were big on action. And this, the fourth in the series, doesn't brake the mold.

The movie has a decent story. The actors were very convincing and did a great job. And Stallone's direction was great as well. But almost none of that matters, because its all about the action. The explosion, the guns, the knives, the blood and guts. This is not a date movie! This is a man's movie. Guys night out type stuff. I'm not kidding when I tell you this movie was bloodier than Troy, 300 and Gladiator all combined. It makes 300 look like Finding Nemo.

It's not flawless. Off the top of my head, I can think of two instances where the scene was building up to Rambo kicking some ass, and it just dragged on a little too long. I could tell what Stallone was going for as a director. He wanted to show you this terrible thing happening, and make you want Rambo to show up and kill everyone... but the terrible things happening just happened for too long. But you forgot all about how dragged out those scenes were the second Rambo starts bashing skulls. At one point, there's also "flash backs" to the original 3 films. This felt out of place and unneeded. But really, that scene lasted 2 minutes, and then you were back to the skull bashing.

It really was a lot of fun. So much fun! It's not going to change your life. Its not a deep and profound story that will make you think and tug at your heart strings. It never claimed to be those things so don't expect it. Its a Rambo movie. Its about being the craziest damn action flick you've ever seen in your life. It kicks ass, and you'll love it. Give it a shot.

Heath Ledger Article

2008-01-23T17:15:00.000-05:00

A great article on Heath Ledger's life:

Moviehole

Heath Ledger 1979 - 2008

2008-01-23T10:31:00.000-05:00

I'm sure you've heard by now...

Heath Ledger has passed away at the age of 28. He's been ripped away from us very suddenly, unexpectedly, and rather tragically.

I'm a Heath Ledger fan. No surprise there. I consider him a great character actor on par with Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Torro, Christian Bale, and Tom Hanks. He was a chameleon. He portrayed every role in a different way, building a character from scratch. I challenge everyone and anyone to watch Brokeback Mountain, Lords of Dogtown, Monster's Ball, and the trailer to The Dark Knight, and point out ANY similarities his characters share. In my opinion, there are none. Every one of those characters stood, walked, talked, sounded, and looked completely different.

He had such amazing talent.

I keep thinking of Brandon Lee's death before The Crow was finished and released. It makes that film so eerie to watch. Its a brilliant performance and had he been alive, it would have made his career sky rocket.

I think history is repeating now with Heath Ledger. I'm convinced that despite his fame from Brokeback Mountain, it would've been The Dark Knight that was going to make his career something special. He'd forever be known as the definitive Joker. All future Jokers would be compared to him, not Jack Nicholson any longer. And I was looking forward to his Joker reappearing in Christopher Nolan's third Batman film. The Joker in the comics never dies. Batman never kills him. He just keeps coming back. So when Tim Burton allowed the Joker character to die in Batman '89, it made it impossible for the Joker to return in any future Batman movies in that series. This time was supposed to be different. The Joker would live at the end of TDK and return in the third movie to cause more trouble. Now, we'll never get to see that... I know that sounds like a selfish thing to think about but my point is how suspicious that sounds.

What an unlikely death. He was only 28. Seemed perfectly healthy. He lived a very private life, as far as celebrities are concerned. I don't think he was living the troubled celebrity lifestyle with paparazzi steaked out by his home. He had a daughter. He was about to come out to the world with the definitive take on the Joker. It was going to be the biggest movie of his career, thus far. It just doesn't make sense.

My biggest fear, is to someday get confirmation that the Joker killed him. When he developed this take on the character, he went at it full force. He locked himself away in a hotel room for weeks, developing the character. The voice, the posture, the walk, the look, the attitude, even the mental state of the character. Word is, he created a Joker diary that he wrote in every day as the Joker. Not as "Heath Ledger Playing The Joker"... but rather AS the Joker himself. Writing dark, twisted things that normal people would find terrible and disturbing, but the Joker finds these things hilarious. Its being speculated that maybe the role went to his head. He admitted that the role has been keeping him up through the night, unable to sleep. Hence, the sleeping pills found by his bed...

It would really break my heart to know that my favorite villain being portrayed on screen came at such a high price.

I pray this wasn't the case. I pray this was all a big accident. A tragic twist of fate.

Rest In Peace Heath Ledger. You were taken before your prime. You were a remarkable talent. You will be missed.

Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

2008-01-22T12:46:00.000-05:00

TERMINATOR: The Sarah Connor Chronicles

Starring: Summer Glau, Thomas Dekker, Lena Headey, Richard T. Jones

There's a new series on TV. Its taken 24's time slot for this season. I've only seen two episodes so far, and am watching the third very soon. I gotta say, this is a damn good show.

When I first heard there was a fourth Terminator Movie, and a television series both in the works, I was convinced they'd both be garbage. I really didn't plan on watching either one. After the terrible attempt at Terminator 3, I had nothing but low expectations for more from this franchise.

Then I heard the hype about The Sarah Connor Chronicles Pilot, and I became intrigued. So I researched a little. Turns out the creators wanna make it up to us after they dropped the ball with T3. And it appears they're on the right track. The fourth Terminator film will take place in the future, where we'll finally get to see the great war between man and machine. Playing John Connor in this new Terminator film, is none other than the great CHRISTIAN BALE! I gotta say, that is my confirmation that this movie isn't going to disappoint. Bale is so particular with his choice in roles and scripts. If he signed up for this film, its because he believes in the script, the cast, the director, and the film overall. Sign me up!

But I'm not here to talk to you about the new Terminator movie. Let's talk about their other attempt to make things up to us. Lets talk about the TV series.

It starts out approximately 2 years after the movie Terminator 2: Judgement Day. Sarah Connor and her son John are in hiding. They have a whole new identity and a whole new life, but when things start to get too comfortable, Sarah decides its time to take off and start again. This is where everything picks up. There are several Terminators lurking around, sent from the future to kill John. There's a Special Agent hot on the Connors' trail, trying to bring them in for the death of the Scientist from Terminator 2. And there's a brand spankin' new Terminator, sent to PROTECT John... only this one isn't the Governator. This one takes the form of a hot chick, who apparently, isn't like the other Terminators we've met before... but in what way?

This show has it all. Time travel, Action, Explosions, Crazy Robots, Hot Chicks, and plenty of ties to all the good stuff from the Terminator Movies. Oh, and the best part: By the second episode, they've jumped from 1998 to 2007, completely skipping over the events of Terminator 3, which basically erases those events from existence.

This show airs Monday Nights on Fox. Watch it! And if you've missed the first 3 episodes, they're available for download from iTunes!

Don't miss it. Its a great show. The Pilot was one of the best pilots I've seen in a long time. Better than the 24 Pilot. In fact, I dare say it was better than the Heroes Pilot. The second episode definitely took it up a few notches and was even better.

I'm off to watch episode 3. I'll let you know my thoughts on an episode to episode basis from now on. Keep coming back.

Oscar Nominees

2008-01-22T10:51:00.000-05:00

Performance by an actor in a leading role:

George Clooney in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Daniel Day-Lewis in “There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Johnny Depp in “Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street”
(DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Tommy Lee Jones in “In the Valley of Elah” (Warner Independent)
Viggo Mortensen in “Eastern Promises” (Focus Features)

Performance by an actor in a supporting role:

Casey Affleck in “The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.)
Javier Bardem in “No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Philip Seymour Hoffman in “Charlie Wilson’s War” (Universal)
Hal Holbrook in “Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment)
Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Performance by an actress in a leading role:

Cate Blanchett in “Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal)
Julie Christie in “Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Marion Cotillard in “La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse)
Laura Linney in “The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Ellen Page in “Juno” (Fox Searchlight)

Performance by an actress in a supporting role:

Cate Blanchett in “I’m Not There” (The Weinstein Company)
Ruby Dee in
“American Gangster” (Universal)
Saoirse Ronan in “Atonement” (Focus Features)
Amy Ryan in “Gone Baby Gone” (Miramax)
Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)

Best animated feature film of the year:

“Persepolis” (Sony Pictures Classics) Marjane Satrapi and Vincent Paronnaud
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Brad Bird
“Surf's Up” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Ash Brannon and Chris Buck

Achievement in art direction:

“American Gangster” (Universal)
Art Direction: Arthur Max
Set Decoration: Beth A. Rubino
“Atonement” (Focus Features)
Art Direction: Sarah Greenwood
Set Decoration: Katie Spencer
“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Art Direction: Dennis Gassner
Set Decoration: Anna Pinnock
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount)
Art Direction: Dante Ferretti
Set Decoration: Francesca Lo Schiavo
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Art Direction: Jack Fisk
Set Decoration: Jim Erickson

Achievement in cinematography:

“The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford” (Warner Bros.) Roger Deakins
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Seamus McGarvey

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Janusz Kaminski
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roger Deakins
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Robert Elswit

Achievement in costume design:

“Across the Universe” (Sony Pictures Releasing) Albert Wolsky
“Atonement” (Focus Features) Jacqueline Durran
“Elizabeth: The Golden Age” (Universal) Alexandra Byrne
“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Marit Allen
“Sweeney Todd The Demon Barber of Fleet Street” (DreamWorks and Warner Bros., Distributed by DreamWorks/Paramount) Colleen Atwood

Achievement in directing:

“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Julian Schnabel
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight) Jason Reitman
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) Tony Gilroy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Joel Coen and Ethan Coen
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Paul Thomas Anderson

Best documentary feature:

“No End in Sight” (Magnolia Pictures)
“Operation Homecoming: Writing the Wartime Experience” (The Documentary Group)
“Sicko” (Lionsgate and The Weinstein Company)
“Taxi to the Dark Side” (THINKFilm)
“War/Dance” (THINKFilm)

Best documentary short subject:

“Freeheld”
A Lieutenant Films Production
Cynthia Wade and Vanessa Roth
“La Corona (The Crown)”
A Runaway Films and Vega Films Production
Amanda Micheli and Isabel Vega
“Salim Baba”
A Ropa Vieja Films and Paradox Smoke Production
Tim Sternberg and Francisco Bello
“Sari’s Mother” (Cinema Guild)
A Daylight Factory Production
James Longley

Achievement in film editing:

“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal) Christopher Rouse
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn) Juliette Welfling
“Into the Wild” (Paramount Vantage and River Road Entertainment) Jay Cassidy
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage) Roderick Jaynes
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax) Dylan Tichenor

Best foreign language film of the year:

“Beaufort” A Metro Communications, Movie Plus Production
Israel
“The Counterfeiters” An Aichholzer Filmproduktion, Magnolia Filmproduktion Production
Austria
“Katyń” An Akson Studio Production
Poland
“Mongol” A Eurasia Film Production
Kazakhstan
“12” A Three T Production
Russia

Achievement in makeup:

“La Vie en Rose” (Picturehouse) Didier Lavergne and Jan Archibald
“Norbit” (DreamWorks, Distributed by Paramount) Rick Baker and Kazuhiro Tsuji
“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney) Ve Neill and Martin Samuel

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original score):

“Atonement” (Focus Features) Dario Marianelli
“The Kite Runner” (DreamWorks, Sidney Kimmel Entertainment and Participant Productions, Distributed by Paramount Classics) Alberto Iglesias
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.) James Newton Howard
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney) Michael Giacchino
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate) Marco Beltrami

Achievement in music written for motion pictures (Original song):

“Falling Slowly” from “Once”
(Fox Searchlight)
Music and Lyric by Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova
“Happy Working Song” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“Raise It Up” from “August Rush”
(Warner Bros.)
Nominees to be determined

“So Close” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz
“That’s How You Know” from “Enchanted”
(Walt Disney)
Music by Alan Menken
Lyric by Stephen Schwartz

Best motion picture of the year:

“Atonement” (Focus Features)
A Working Title Production
Tim Bevan, Eric Fellner and Paul Webster, Producers
“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
A Dancing Elk Pictures, LLC Production
Lianne Halfon, Mason Novick and Russell Smith, Producers
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
A Clayton Productions, LLC Production
Sydney Pollack, Jennifer Fox and Kerry Orent, Producers
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
A Scott Rudin/Mike Zoss Production
Scott Rudin, Ethan Coen and Joel Coen, Producers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
A JoAnne Sellar/Ghoulardi Film Company Production
JoAnne Sellar, Paul Thomas Anderson and Daniel Lupi, Producers

Best animated short film:

“I Met the Walrus”
A Kids & Explosions Production
Josh Raskin

“Madame Tutli-Putli” (National Film Board of Canada)
A National Film Board of Canada Production
Chris Lavis and Maciek Szczerbowski
“Même Les Pigeons Vont au Paradis (Even Pigeons Go to Heaven)” (Premium Films)
A BUF Compagnie Production
Samuel Tourneux and Simon Vanesse
“My Love (Moya Lyubov)” (Channel One Russia)
A Dago-Film Studio, Channel One Russia and Dentsu Tec Production
Alexander Petrov
“Peter & the Wolf” (BreakThru Films)
A BreakThru Films/Se-ma-for Studios Production
Suzie Templeton and Hugh Welchman

Best live action short film:

“At Night”
A Zentropa Entertainments 10 Production
Christian E. Christiansen and Louise Vesth
“Il Supplente (The Substitute)” (Sky Cinema Italia)
A Frame by Frame Italia Production
Andrea Jublin
“Le Mozart des Pickpockets (The Mozart of Pickpockets)” (Premium Films)
A Karé Production
Philippe Pollet-Villard
“Tanghi Argentini” (Premium Films)
An Another Dimension of an Idea Production
Guido Thys and Anja Daelemans
“The Tonto Woman”
A Knucklehead, Little Mo and Rose Hackney Barber Production
Daniel Barber and Matthew Brown

Achievement in sound editing:

“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Karen Baker Landers and Per Hallberg
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Skip Lievsay
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Randy Thom and Michael Silvers
“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Matthew Wood
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Ethan Van der Ryn and Mike Hopkins

Achievement in sound mixing:

“The Bourne Ultimatum” (Universal)
Scott Millan, David Parker and Kirk Francis
“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Skip Lievsay, Craig Berkey, Greg Orloff and Peter Kurland
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Randy Thom, Michael Semanick and Doc Kane
“3:10 to Yuma” (Lionsgate)
Paul Massey, David Giammarco and Jim Stuebe
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Kevin O’Connell, Greg P. Russell and Peter J. Devlin

Achievement in visual effects:

“The Golden Compass” (New Line in association with Ingenious Film Partners)
Michael Fink, Bill Westenhofer, Ben Morris and Trevor Wood

“Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End” (Walt Disney)
John Knoll, Hal Hickel, Charles Gibson and John Frazier
“Transformers” (DreamWorks and Paramount in association with Hasbro)
Scott Farrar, Scott Benza, Russell Earl and John Frazier

Adapted screenplay:

“Atonement” (Focus Features)
Screenplay by Christopher Hampton
“Away from Her” (Lionsgate)
Written by Sarah Polley
“The Diving Bell and the Butterfly” (Miramax/Pathé Renn)
Screenplay by Ronald Harwood

“No Country for Old Men” (Miramax and Paramount Vantage)
Written for the screen by Joel Coen & Ethan Coen

“There Will Be Blood” (Paramount Vantage and Miramax)
Written for the screen by Paul Thomas Anderson

Original screenplay:

“Juno” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Diablo Cody
“Lars and the Real Girl” (MGM)
Written by Nancy Oliver
“Michael Clayton” (Warner Bros.)
Written by Tony Gilroy
“Ratatouille” (Walt Disney)
Screenplay by Brad Bird
Story by Jan Pinkava, Jim Capobianco, Brad Bird
“The Savages” (Fox Searchlight)
Written by Tamara Jenkins

Sunshine and Sweeney Todd

2008-01-13T22:58:00.000-05:00

Its been a long time since my last entry. I just haven't felt like blogging lately. I've dropped almost all of my monthly comics, and switched to trades. The only monthlies I've kept are Dynamo 5, Faker, The Sword, Thor, Justice League of America, and the three Avengers books: Mighty, New, and Initiative. I felt it was a good time to drop the rest because Spider-Man is tainted for me, and the Batman books are all starting new story lines at the same time. This'll give me a chance to save more money by buying less single issues, and eventually switching over to DCBS, getting my comics cheaper. For now, A trade per week is enough to keep me satisfied.

All that to say you can expect less reviews on single issue comics, save for the ones listed above. I am however still going to try to review as many movies as possible, and I've added a new TV show to my list of projects to write about, which I'll touch on in a future entry, so you can look forward to that.

So, lets play catch-up...

Sweeney Todd - The Demon Barber of Fleet Street

Starring: Johnny Depp, Helena Bonham Carter, Alan Rickman, Timothy Spall,
Directed by: Tim Burton
Based on the Musical by: Stephen Sondheim

Synopsis:

"After hard years in exile for a crime he didn't commit, Benjamin Barker now Sweeney Todd, returns to London to find his wife dead and his daughter in the hands of the evil Judge Turpin. In his anger, Sweeney goes on a murderous rampage on all London, with the help of Mrs. Lovett, he opens a barber shop in which he lures his victims in with a charming smile before casually ending their life with a flick of his razor across their neck. But not one man killed, nor ten thousands men can satisfy Sweeney's lust for revenge on those who've caused his years of pain."

My Thoughts:
I have no shame in stating I am a pretty big Johnny Depp fan. Save for the Pirate Sequels, his movies are, for the most part, pretty darn good. And his portrayals of every character is always fresh and interesting, to say the least.

Likewise, I'm a Tim Burton fan. His style is visible, and recognizable in every one of his films, and is as unique as a thumbprint. He's often imitated, but all have failed to capture his particular dark flare. Even in Charlie And The Chocolate Factory, his style was still all over the place. In my eyes, his only real failure as a director was the Batman movies. I say that, though, not as a film critic, but as a Batman comic book fan. As movies, they're great. They're just not great Batman movies.

The two of them, Depp and Burton, work together very often. Off the top of my head I can think of at least 5 other films they've collaborated on. Each one has been great. Sweeney Todd is no exception. I'm not a fan of musicals, and yet I found myself fully enjoying this flick. In fact, I've seen it twice now, and left the theatre even more satisfied the second time. The visuals are pure Burton. Depp's performance is top-notch, as always. Even Helena Bonham Carter had me crushing on her a little throughout the film. Her character in particular is so crucial to the plot progression, she had big shoes to fill and a heavy load to carry. She pulled it off wonderfully.

The only thing keeping me from giving this film a perfect ten out of ten, is the absence of Danny Elfman's music. I understand this film is based on the musical, and it was important to keep the original music. However, Elfman is as synonymous with Burton as is Depp and Bonham Carter. Burton and Elfman have collaborated on 12 projects together, and their two styles compliment each other so well, I've come to think of the two as one creative team. Whenever I experience one without the other, it always feels odd. Elfman's music in the Spider-Man movies, for example, stuck out to me like a sore thumb. It was brilliantly done, don't get me wrong, but it made me miss Burton. Likewise, Sweeney Todd, being so blatantly "Burtonesque" (yes, I made up a word) made me miss Elfman's music. I feel if Danny Elfman had simply recomposed the music to the film, keeping the basics, but adding his own style, flare and little what-nots to it, the whole film would've shined so much more.

That said, Elfman's presence is really the only thing this film was missing. All the rest of it was very well done. Its a disturbing story, but one that's just too much fun. You can't look away from the screen.

Sunshine

Starring: Cillian Murphy, Chris Evans, Michelle Yeoh, Cliff Curtis, Rose Byrne
Directed by: Danny Boyle
Written by: Alex Garland

Synopsis:

"With Earth's life source -- the sun -- dying out 50 years in the future, it seems the planet's days may be numbered. Humanity's only hope lies with a crew of astronauts transporting a device that will revitalize the sun. But an accident, a deadly error and a distress signal from a vessel that vanished years ago leave the cosmonauts fighting for survival ... and for their sanity."

My Thoughts:
Alex Garland, Danny Boyle, and Cillian Murphy are the Writer, Director, and Actor Team (respectively) responsible for one of my all time favorite movies, 28 Days Later... It is no surprise the three of these talented individuals are responsible for what is now yet another one of my favorite movies, Sunshine.

This film was spectacular. Seriously, it was a masterpiece. The visuals rival those of The Fountain. The direction is as spot on as 28 Days Later... The story is thrilling. The special effects were flawless.

Cillian Murphy's performance was awesome. He's always good. Whether its 28 Days Later..., Red Eye, Batman Begins, or now Sunshine, he steals every scene he's in.

That said, the hidden gem in Sunshine, was Chris Evans. You know him as the Human Torch from the Fantastic Four movies. The problem is, even though he's the best thing about those movies, you hardly notice it. He's surrounded by a mediocre cast, and directed by a mediocre director in those movies. So you really don't understand just how good he is. Watching Sunshine, its clear, Chris Evans is a damn good actor. When in the hands of a visionary director such as Danny Boyle, and surrounded by a stellar cast, such as Murphy, Cliff Curtis and Rose Byrne, you really get to see Evans shine in a very difficult role to pull off. His character is a difficult one to describe. He's a bit of a jerk. And at times, he strikes you as selfish. But when you step back and take a good look, it becomes obvious that he always does the right thing. He's got what's best for Mankind at heart in everything he does and every decision he makes.

As is true with most of Danny Boyle's film, this movie starts out as one thing, and towards the end it becomes something quite different. When you watch it, you'll see what I mean.

Unlike Sweeney Todd, I didn't feel this movie was missing anything at all. Its one of the best movies I've seen, and visually, I place it up there with Vanilla Sky and The Fountain. If you have not yet seen this movie, drop what you're doing, and go get it!

The Amazing Spider-Man #545

2007-12-29T15:01:00.000-05:00

One More Day (Part 4 of 4)
Asshole: J. Michael Straczynski (Writer)
Fuckface: Joe Quesada (Writer/Penciler)

I have never been more pissed off after reading a comic. Even All Star Batman & Robin: The Boy Wonder #5 looks like a masterpiece of American literature after this. This issue can be summed up in one phrase: "Fuck the fans!" I feel like every page of this issue, is Quesada's way of giving all us fans the middle finger.

I've never once written a letter to Marvel after reading a comic. You better believe I'm sending one damn-angry letter to Joe Q for ruining over two decades of Spider-Man history and continuity with just one issue. He's always expressed his distaste for Peter Parker's marriage to Mary Jane. But he had the chance here to tease us with the erasure of their marriage, and then be the bigger man and NOT DO IT.

In the story, Peter is faced with the choice of: A) Save Aunt May from death, and sacrifice his marriage; or B) Keep his marriage to Mary Jane, and let Aunt May die. Now, I understand the guilt Peter must feel, knowing that the bullet that hit his Aunt May was meant for him. I get that. But he himself mentions in the book that if He and MJ agree together to keep the marriage and lose May, he'd accept it and be okay with it. And yet, Quesada and Straczynski still give up the marriage in exchange for Aunt May. May is a billion years old! She's lived a long life. LET THE BROAD DIE ALREADY! There's infinitely more stories to be told with Peter as a married man, than a grown ass dude living with his aunt!

So yeah, we get this terrible story, where they basically erase his marriage from existence, but everything else supposedly goes on unchanged? Yet somehow Harry Osborne is back? And Peter's acting like he's 16 again? And if that wasn't bad enough, they throw in this thing where they show Peter and MJ a girl that WOULD'VE been their daughter, had they stayed together... but now they'll never have her... um... HELLO!!! They DID have a baby together in old stories, and somehow she was ignored from existence. Way to respect continuity EDITOR IN CHIEF QUESADA!

Spider-Man has always been my absolute favorite character in ALL comics. And his Marriage to MJ has always made for good stories. I cannot believe Quesada would do this. He's the freakin' Editor In Chief, and he uses this position to make things the way HE wants them, instead of what fans want. Or even better, what the CHARACTER needs!

I almost want to just not purchase any further Spider-Man comics. But then I'd be left with this terrible taste in my mouth. Then again, if I continue reading, it could get even worse! I don't know. Quesada... tsk tsk...

Why Are The Studios Insane?!

2007-12-23T22:51:00.000-05:00

Anyone with the slightest amount of brain matter who looks at the Writers Guild strike must wonder what in the fuck the studios are doing. Financial experts are dumbfounded. Anyone who witnessed the collapse of the music industry is feeling an odd sense of déjà vu as the studio's arrogance drives viewers and talent away. But maybe this is not about the writers at all. Maybe this is a game being played between the giant media companies and we writers are mere pawns.

It is becoming apparent that some studios are attempting to weaken others in hopes of gobbling them up. Let’s take a look at the players:

Warner Brothers is in the best position of all. They can handle a long, long strike and it appears their CEO is pushing for exactly that. The company’s television network, The CW, is a fucking joke and does not bring in profits. If this season tanks, or the next one, who cares? As the networks slip further and further into irrelevancy with the shift to the Internet, The CW is sure to die a miserable death and that would leave Warner Brothers without a network. Which is why this game is more about Warner gobbling up CBS than giving the writers what they want.

CBS is the #1 network and mostly consists of scripted TV. More than any other network, CBS stands to be royally fucked by the strike. The longer the strike drags on, the network will find itself in worse and worse shape and its stock prices will drop. CBS does not want this to happen but their partner in crime, Warner, very much does. Kinda stupid to join yourself at the hip with your enemy, isn’t it? That is why you shouldn’t let Les Moonves run your studio. He is a moron.

Sony is in the film business. They have a few TV shows. I recently worked on one of them and I can tell you it is shocking that those idiots can get anything onto TV. They are top to bottom a collection of complete morons. Sony expected to be more insulated from the strike, but we took them by surprise and walked out before they were ready, on the day our contract ended. The result is that Sony did not stock up on scripts and did not get polishes on the ones they had already purchased. They are now canceling film shoots, like Angels and Demons, and it will begin hurting their bottom line soon. Sony is said to believe not settling with the writers is “Crazy.”

Paramount is in the exact same position as Sony. They also think the strike is crazy and are getting more vocal about the studios position.

Fox is giddy as a schoolgirl who just got her first fingering. They have American Idol in the pipeline and that show is a juggernaut. Even in the best of times other networks cannot compete with this monster. Fox is also an enormous company with very deep pockets. They make most of their money from other businesses and plan on keeping this strike going for as long as possible in order to crush their network opponents. Plus, Rupert has been busting unions for years. Make no mistake about it; Fox and Warner Brothers are using this strike to crush their AMPTP partners. They would actually love to see other networks crash and burn.

GE owns NBC/Universal. GE sort of owns the world, so they are not doing too badly. But GE is also not playing the game. While other CEOs are running around telling everyone the strike is not hurting business and they are making no revenue from the Internet, the GE CEO is telling stockholders that the strike is already affecting the bottom line. He clearly has no patience for whatever bullshit game the other studios are playing and is all about the making money, as a CEO should be. To GE the strike makes no sense. NBC has already given money back to advertisers, which is a first in the history of television. At the same time, the head of NBC, Jeffrey Zucker has been moving away from scripted series for a while now. His dream is to create a network of all reality and game shows. He is giddy and sees the strike as a great opportunity to ruin an entire network. Congrats to you, idiot. Can’t wait for "Housewives vs. Monkeys on Battle Island.”

Disney/ABC will not fare well from the strike, either. The networks new reality show, Duel, is a massive failure. ABC also has many scripted shows and is even rushing LOST back, even though it could permanently kill the show. It was determined last year that LOST should be run consecutively because the show dropped a large number of viewers in 2006 after a long break. The show’s producers/writers have begged the network not to air the completed 8 episodes, but ABC will, which is an indication of their desperation for profits. Fox, on the other had, has decided to hold 24 because the network can afford to. Disney is also in trouble with film scripts, having not stockpiled enough. Word on the street is that Disney is not thrilled with the hard line the studios have taken in negotiations.

UA and MGM are totally bummed. The amount the WGA is asking for would only amount to $500,000 each. They are going to lose much more than that as the strike rolls on. They could easily die in this mess.

So, you may ask, why are they sticking together? Good question. Nobody knows. These massive media monsters are competitors and have very different interests. It isn’t like the last strike, when Hollywood was owned by Hollywood and joining up made sense. It does not now. Some think the CEOs are afraid to break away from the pack alone. Leaving the retard herd can be scary, I guess.

I believe the real story is that the companies that will be hurt are falling for the Warner Brothers and Fox game. They are under the spell of their big brothers and they will lose because of it. All of these companies stocks will be downgraded in the New Year. Their business’ financial health is at stake.

This strike has already cost each of the companies far more than what we're asking for spread out over the term of the contract. If you assume that they're rational actors (and they are), you can only come to the conclusion that the strike itself is not really what they're concerned with. They are battling each other, but some of them don’t even realize it yet. When they do, they will break off and quickly make deals with the WGA in an attempt to recoup their losses.

Source.

I Am Legend (Spoiler Free)

2007-12-19T11:05:00.000-05:00

I Am Legend
Watch the Trailer Here.

Official Synopsis:

"Robert Neville is a brilliant scientist, but even he could not contain the terrible virus that was unstoppable, incurable, and man-made. Somehow immune, Neville is now the last human survivor in what is left of New York City and maybe the world. For three years, Neville has faithfully sent out daily radio messages, desperate to find any other survivors who might be out there. But he is not alone. Mutant victims of the plague -- The Infected -- lurk in the shadows... watching Neville's every move... waiting for him to make a fatal mistake. Perhaps mankind's last, best hope, Neville is driven by only one remaining mission: to find a way to reverse the effects of the virus using his own immune blood. But he knows he is outnumbered... and quickly running out of time."

Screenplay by: Mark Protosevich and Akiva Goldsman
Based on the Novel by: Richard Matheson
Directed by: Francis Lawrence
Tagline: "The last man on earth is not alone."
Starring: Will Smith

I have now seen this movie twice. Once in the conventional theatre, the second time was at IMAX. I'll admit that the main reason I saw it the second time in IMAX was to catch the prologue to The Dark Knight which was attached at the beginning. But honestly, I didn't mind watching it a second time because its a pretty darn good movie. This was also my first IMAX experience so I wanted it to be with a film that I had already seen at a regular theatre, in order to compare the superior quality of IMAX.

Lets get this IMAX thing out of the way: Its pretty amazing. The screen is gigantic. I've never seen such a large screen in my life. According to the announcer guy, the screen appears solid to us, but it actually has billions of tiny holes, which allow the sound from the speakers behind the screen to come through perfectly and un-muffled. There's some forty-some-odd speakers all around us, providing a full stereo surround sound experience. And the picture is so pure, crisp, and sharp, you could actually see the pores on Will Smith's face anytime there was a close-up. I'd also like to point out, there was none of those little bleeps, circles, and weird crap showing up on the screen from the projector like on regular movie showings. It was really a beautiful sight for any movie fan. GO TO AN IMAX SHOWING!

As for the film...

I enjoyed this film tremendously. The commonly used explanation that its a cross between Castaway and 28 Days Later... is pretty dead accurate. As mentioned above in the synopsis, Will Smith plays the only living man in New York City, and possibly, the world! You really get the feeling that this man is completely alone, and has been for 3 years. His routines, his habits, his way of acquiring supplies, his recreational activities. Its all perfectly portrayed to show a man who's completely alone.

Alone, that is, except for the infected "Dark Seekers." These Vampiric Zombies are the cause of most of this films bad reviews. The Dark Seekers are done completely in CGI. Even the close-ups. Many reviewers felt they should've been actors in make-up. I disagree. I'm actually quite content they were completely CGI. Mainly because I needed to feel that Robert Neville (Will Smith) was the only actual human on screen. I needed to feel as detached as possible from these Dark Seekers and it worked.

The only other character you feel a strong connection with is Sam, the dog. Talk about Man's Best Friend. I fell in love with that dog. When I got home from the movie, I gave my own dog lots of love. Dogs rule. 'Nuff Said.

The effects are pretty boss. The plot was great. The story flowed very well and the director did a great job. This is the same guy who directed Constantine, which is another great film. I expect only great things from him.

I even enjoyed the ending. I'll admit, this may be because I've never read the book. You see, I hear a lot of fans of the novel complaining that they hate the movie because the ending is such a drastic change from the novel. Having no prior knowledge of the novel, and as an unbiased party, the ending was darn good. It felt like it fit. It made sense. I will however be reading the novel soon and revisiting my feelings later on.

In closing, the film was very good. Enjoyable. Exciting. Thrilling. Even emotional and impactful. Two thumbs up.

The Dark Knight Trailer

2007-12-16T23:36:00.000-05:00

The Dark Knight Official Trailer
Watch it here.

Yes, I'm about to review a trailer. I've made no secret of the fact that I'm beyond excited for The Dark Knight and the first official trailer has only made me all the more giddy. The trailer is attached to showings of I Am Legend and I got to see it on the big screen today. Allow me to share my thoughts on the major points...

It begins with a voice over by The Joker: "You've changed things... forever. There's no going back. See, to them, you're just a freak... like me!" This quote is bloody brilliant. So much is packed into those few sentences. The end of Batman Begins showed a Jim Gordon who's concerned about The Batman's crusade causing escalation. More and more "freaks" are likely to start turning up. The Joker is the first, and undoubtedly, the worst. Mr. J knows what he's doing and what he's saying. Letting Batman know that they are the same, that they are both considered freaks, and that Batman started it all, its enough to really affect the Dark Knight of Gotham. Batman's going to have to get through/over a lot to take down The Joker.

I love Gordon's sharing of the Joker details. "No name, no other alias. Clothing is custom. Nothing in his pockets but knives and lint." That is pure joker. I love that they're not giving us a "joker origin." Leave him a mystery. Don't tell us his name. Don't tell us how he became what he is. Just leave him a wild card. Terrifying and mysterious. He's got nothing on him but knives? He's psychotic, and a mass murderer! And even his clothes are custom made?! That means you can't even trace him that way. He's invisible.

When Bruce Wayne is in doubt, he turns to Alfred. Of course, Alfred always knows what to say. Wayne: "People are dying. What would you have me do?"
Alfred: "ENDURE!"

Freakin' brilliant. Nolan and company know these characters, and they've got them down to a T!

The confrontation with the Joker will be epic. Heath Ledger will blow everyone away. I want to mention, I didn't see Heath Ledger once in that trailer. He has completely disappeared into the role. The voice, the laugh, the smile, the eyes! He's got it. He nailed it! The cuts showing him in a jail cell clapping his hands... I don't know why but that scene looks, to me, like its going to be so much fun to watch.

The best thing about the trailer is that it doesn't ruin the plot or too much of the movie. Its obvious that the Joker is the main villain in the film. But by looking at the trailer, if you've remained otherwise spoiler-free (I haven't), then you still don't have much of an idea about the movie. What's the Joker's agenda? What's he doing in Gotham, or to Gotham? What role does Maggie Gyllenhaal's character play in this? Are there other villains? The Trailer makes sure to show you that the movie's going to rock so hard, it'll melt your face off. But if you wanna know more, you're going to have to wait until July of 2008.

The action looks amped up, big time, from Batman Begins. When you go watch this film, watch it in IMAX. You wont regret it.

Click on the link at the top to view the trailer over, and over, and over, and over again... and again, and again...

Expect a review of I Am Legend sometime tomorrow evening. And soon after that, a special TDK entry, listing spoilers and plot points for the movie. I'll label that entry accordingly with a big red SPOILER WARNING so you can skip over it, if you so choose.

Awake

2007-12-10T14:14:00.000-05:00

Short Spoiler-Free Review of Awake.

AWAKE

Written & Directed by: Joby Harold

Tagline: "Every year, one in 700 people wake up during surgery. When they planned her husband's murder, they never thought he'd be the one."

Starring: Hayden Christensen, Jessica Alba, and Terrence Howard.

Okay. I expected this movie to really blow. It only kinda blew. For what it's worth, Jessica Alba really surprised me in this movie. Not that her character was incredibly difficult to pull off or anything, but after seeing her in those Fantastic Four movies, I'm surprised by any character she plays that isn't completely two dimensional. She actually did a very good job with this particular role.

Hayden Christensen, on the other hand, was miscast, in my opinion. I believe someone with a little more acting chops, and a less whiny/cry baby look would've been much better. He delivered a few dramatic scenes, but completely ruined a few simple voice-overs. Overall, his performance was disappointing.

Terrance Howard was perfect in this role. Excellent job, and perfectly cast. I want to say the director did a pretty decent job, save for those voice-overs he had Hayden do. I would've had him redo them all.

The most disappointing part of the film is the last few scenes at the end. The fact that the lead character is conscious during his operation is very well done and makes sense. However, when you watch the film, you'll come to a part at the end that made no sense and was done purely for the warm and fuzzy emotional factor, despite its lack of logic. Its the point where the movie "Jumps The Shark" so-to-speak.

Lame.

I'll agree that the film is worth watching at least once, but I'd suggest waiting for the DVD and just renting it.

Two Jokers And A Spider

2007-12-09T23:08:00.000-05:00

The following reviews contain...

MINOR SPOILERS

Read on at your own discretion.

The Sensational Spider-Man #41
ONE MORE DAY Part 3 of 4

What is it with J. Michael Straczynski's inability to give a good story a good ending. I actually enjoy most of his runs, but they almost always start out very strong and then crash and burn in the last issue, or last two issues.

The first two issues of this four part story were very good. Granted, not much happened, but that was kind of the point of the story. Peter keeps trying to save his aunt, and keeps failing. Somehow, this, Straczynski's last Spider-Man story, was supposed to once and for all, resolve the marriage to Mary Jane. Either she dies, they get divorced, or they remain together. Whatever the outcome, that's supposed to be the final word on the matter and everybody has to just take it. I was beginning to wonder how that was going to play in to this story after those first two issues, where the marriage wasn't even a topic of conversation. Peter was trying to save Aunt May. That had nothing to do with the Spider-Marriage. Well, that question was answered in this issue, and the answer... sucks.

In the story, after meeting a few different versions of himself, each showing him a different direction his life could have taken, he comes face to face with Mephisto. For those of you who don't know, Mephisto is a Demon Lord from another dimension. A Hell-Like dimension. Mephisto is basically the Marvel Universe's version of Satan. He's even the one responsible for GHOST RIDER, if I'm not mistaken.

So anyway, Mephisto claims he can heal Aunt May, but in return, he wants Peter and MJ's Marriage. WHAT?!!! He says he wants to erase the marriage, like it never happened, and erase all of Peter's memories of it. Why? Because apparently this will make Peter's soul cry for all eternity, or some ridiculousness like that.

Its a stupid plot. It makes no sense to me. And I hope this is all one big fake-out. Part four of this story will give us Peter and MJ's answer. It better be something like this: "Well, My Aunt May is about a billion years old, she's lived a long life, let her die. Its okay. I'll stick with MJ."

I would like to mention that Joe Quesada's art is much better in this issue. But that's about the only good thing in this terrible issue. The Straczynski Curse, as I will now refer to his terrible endings to good stories, has me incredibly worried about his run on THOR. It has been absolutely fantastic so far with no flaws what-so-ever. Kinda like... the calm before the storm?

Batman Confidential #11
Lovers And Madmen

I believe I've mentioned at least once before on this blog that the current Joker Origin Story found in BATMAN CONFIDENTIAL is freakin' brilliant. I love it. I normally do not enjoy Joker origin stories, but this one is just spot on. The Pre-Joker character was brilliantly written to clearly be an insane criminal mastermind. In issue 10, we got the obligatory Acid Bath that turns him into the clown we're all so very used to. At the end of that issue, the Batman throws a bat-arang at the Joker, slicing a permanent smile onto his newly white face. The Dark Knight, anyone?

This issue picks up at that very point and presents us with the Joker's first attack on Gotham City as... well... The Joker! The only flaw in this issue, I think, is the fact that the Joker uses a Joker-Blimp to carry out his attack on the city. Where did this brand spankin' new Joker get a Joker-Blimp? Whoops! But that goof is immediately redeemed, in my eyes, with the reveal of what the blimp was meant to do. Turns out, the blimp explodes, sending its contents shooting down at the populace. What did it contain? Poisoned shards of glass. Turning everybody they hit into smiling Joker-victims. That is just so JOKER its perfect! The rest of the issue, I will not ruin for you, save for the fact that it sets up next issue's battle between The Batman and The Joker. This story has been nearly perfect. Pick it up!

All Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder #8

I Love the art. I freakin' HATE this storyline. I don't know if I'll ever forgive Frank Miller for doing this to one of my favorite characters.

We finally get to meet Robin, though. I guess that's good. Although it took 8 issues, and over two years, to meet one of the FREAKIN' TITLE CHARACTERS!!!! But maybe I'm over-reacting.

I Can't Stop

2007-12-09T23:02:00.000-05:00

2008: Year Of The Joker

2007-12-05T00:17:00.000-05:00

The Dark Knight: Teaser Poster

(click to enlarge)

Leaked TDK Photos

2007-12-02T13:43:00.000-05:00

Don't tell anybody...

Update About Updates

2007-11-29T10:11:00.000-05:00

This is just a quick entry to remind you guys to look up and down my side bar over to the right. I've added links to all my friends' blogs, as well as most of the sites I frequent. At the bottom, I've added a list of all the podcasts I listen to.

Make sure you hit all these people up and see if you enjoy any of them. And tell them all that I sent you. ;) I'm thinking of doing an entry soon spotlighting podcasts and which ones are really good, or not.

That is all.

More Joker

2007-11-28T08:36:00.001-05:00

Isn't he just gorgeous?!!!

In an exclusive interview Empire sat down on the set of The Dark Knight with Heath Ledger, aka The Joker, as well as the rest of the cast and crew, to talk about bringing the greatest villain in comic book (and now cinema) history to the screen again.

"I definitely feared it," says Ledger of taking a role that every fanboy around the world demands to see done right. "Although anything that makes me afraid I guess excites me at the same time. I don’t know if I was fearless, but I certainly had to put on a brave face and believe that I have something up my sleeve. Something different...”

This is not your Jack Nicholson or Cesar Romero Joker. The new incarnation of the character is cruel and psycho to the core. And getting into that mindset meant Ledger marinading himself in nothing but Joker before shooting.

"It’s a combination of reading all the comic books I could that were relevant to the script and then just closing my eyes and meditating on it," he says. "I sat around in a hotel room in London for about a month, locked myself away, formed a little diary and experimented with voices — it was important to try to find a somewhat iconic voice and laugh. I ended up landing more in the realm of a psychopath — someone with very little to no conscience towards his acts. He’s just an absolute sociopath, a cold-blooded, mass-murdering clown, and Chris has given me free rein. Which is fun, because there are no real boundaries to what The Joker would say or do. Nothing intimidates him, and everything is a big joke"

Source: EMPIRE ONLINE

The Joker

2007-11-27T12:31:00.000-05:00

The Sword

2007-11-26T22:31:00.000-05:00

I want to discuss a new title out right now from IMAGE. Its called The Sword and its by the Luna Brothers. They're the same guys that brought us Ultra, and Girls.

Synopsis:
"It was a day like any other for Dara Brighton, a promising young college student, until three strangers knocked on her door. They were looking for a unique sword, and destroyed her life."
http://www.lunabrothers.com/bib_sword.php

To be honest, that's the story in a nutshell. At least, so far. Here's a SPOILER FREE rundown of the issue...

At first, you don't really know what to make of this book. It opens with an awkward Father/Daughter and you're wondering why this Dad is trying so hard with his daughter, Dara. Then you realize she's confined to a wheelchair and that seems a little unexpected. As the book goes on you get to know Dara. She's an artist and a promising college student. Has a crush on some dude, but she's in a wheelchair so she doesn't believe he's even slightly interested. And so on...

You also get to know her Dad a little better. He's a nice guy. Has the Dad gut, and treats his wife right. He's just all around a good guy, but it turns out he's being followed by these Three creepies. The three of them come to Dara's family's home and confront her dad. They accuse him of having some sword they're looking for and refer to him as Demetrios, when he claims his name is Alex. They trash the place and even start manifesting certain abilities. The girl of the three possesses some kind of electricity power. The second guy has some form of telekinesis and the third appears to use some kind of water/freezing ability.

I wont tell you what they do at this point, you'll have to read but poor Dara's world gets flipped upside down. And just when she thinks things can't get any weirder, she finds a weird Sword... and that's when things get REALLY weird.

By the end of the issue you're hooked. You find yourself completely curious as to what's going to happen to Dara now that she has this Sword, and what else she can do with it.

The art is, of course, very good. Nothing you haven't already seen if you're a Luna Brothers fan, but for a new reader who's never seen Girls or Ultra, its a very unique, simple, elegant, glossy and sometimes sexy art style. Can't really complain too much about it.

As I've said before, IMAGE is definitely putting out some very good books lately and the more I delve into their universe, the more I like it. Look out Marvel & DC, you've got some serious competition.

Issue #2 of THE SWORD is now out in stores. I haven't read it yet but I'm picking it up this week. I highly recommend #1 and make sure to pick that up first before #2.

New Blog

2007-11-23T11:22:00.000-05:00

Okay, so since most of my posts on this blog are reviews and such, I figured I'd make a seperate blog just for the personal posts. Somehow they felt out of place, or innapropriate on here. So from now on, go to http://www.adrian-james.blogspot.com for my personal entries, and continue visiting the Pullbox for everything else.

I haven't yet dressed the new one up and made images for it, so for now it'll be that hideous layout but I'll decide on a design I like soon enough.

See you on the interweb.

Comics - Thanksgiving Mega Update

2007-11-22T11:32:00.000-05:00

Its been recently brought to my attention that I include spoilers in most of my posts/reviews and don't post any kind of spoiler warning. OOPS, my bad.

WARNING: MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD

World War Hulk #5

Okay, Maybe I was a little harsh on my last entry. Turns out, upon re-reading this issue, its actually pretty damn good. The Sentry/Hulk battle was an all out brawl. Buildings were destroyed. Explosions galore. It was really cool seeing the Sentry finally able to unleash like that. It was also a little unsettling. Look at some of his close up shots. Look at his face. That look in his eye. The Sentry is one powerful dude. If he ever lost it, (and I'm not talking about "The Void" losing it. I'm talking about SENTRY losing it!) it would be a complete disaster! There would be no stopping him.

I will however restate that I was disappointed with the art in this issue. Now, don't get me wrong, John Romita Jr. is my favorite artist, and he can do no wrong. His art is like Pizza, or Sex; Even when its bad, it's still better than nothing! lol. And its not that the art in this issue was bad, it was just less than what we saw in issue #1, for example. It looks to me like JR rushed it a tad. I would've gladly waited another month for the art to be up to standards.

Now that WWH is over, there's a few new things heading our way in the coming months. First up is this Incredible Hulk title coming in January. It features the Hulk in a new color. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I'll have to see it and decide then. Next, The Incredible Herc. Our pal Hercules is getting his own book. I'm probably not even going to pick that up. I'm not interested. Not even a little bit.

Finally, we've got Skaar: Son of Hulk coming in 2008. Now THIS I'm excited about! This, I take it, is the third part in this Hulk Trilogy that Greg Pak has been talking about. First was Planet Hulk which ended with the planet Sakaar destroyed, along with Hulk's bride and unborn child. Then came World War Hulk. And next, it looks as though we revisit planet Sakaar, to meet Hulk's "unborn child," somehow affected by the gamma bomb, alive, full grown, and ready to kick some ass. I cannot wait for this book! And I hope, whatever the ending to the trilogy, that Skaar survives and joins the Marvel Universe as a permanent character. Its high time we added some elements of lineage, tradition, and epic storytelling to Marvel. DC has always done it right. There's been 4+ characters taking the mantel of The Flash, more Green Lanterns than I care to count, 4+ Robins, etc. It'll be pretty cool to see this Son of Hulk running around having his own adventures.

Avengers Initiative #7

This title has yet to disappoint. Every issue has been enjoyable and each new character has been interesting. In this issue, a pack of three Vulture wannabes called "the Vulturions" steal a briefcase with top-secret documents inside. Dr. Blitzschlag sends, to retrieve it, the Scarlet Spiders. They're three Initiative experiments, wearing replicas of Spider-Man's Iron suit (worn during Civil War). These suits grant the wearer all of Spider-Man's powers, plus invisibility, and camouflage capabilities.

Peter Parker, happens to see them and gives chase, looking to kick some impostor booty. The big pay off of the issue, though, is the reveal of who these guys are wearing the Spider Suits. I wont spoil it for you but I'll give you a hint: It involves CLONING, and NO they're NOT Peter Parker clones!!! The ending to this issue is so great, it'll put a big "WTF" type smile on your face! heheh. If you're not reading this book monthly, you damn well should be.

Thor #4
This title is such a great read. It keeps getting better and better. Straczynski has really hit a home run with this one, and he needed it after his infamous blunders with his Amazing Spider-Man run. Oliver Coipel's art on this book is just plain gorgeous. I hope he stays on this book for a very, very long time. Thor kicks ass. Plain and simple. After kicking the snot out of Iron Man in issue 3, he continues his search for his fellow Asgardians. Pick it up. Its a hell of a good read.

Alright kids. That's all for today. I haven't read anything particularly bad lately. Sorry if my reviews of these three titles seems too generous and positive. If I don't like something, I'll definitely tell you and not hold back.

Bad Week... Sort of...

2007-11-21T12:37:00.000-05:00

Well, as you can imagine, after my friend's death, I've been feeling like crap all week. It's almost over, though. There's 2 viewings on Thursday and Friday, and then the Funeral on Saturday. I'm looking forward to paying my respects.

I'm been feeling really down. Especially going to work. Everywhere I look there's people mourning JohnBoy and crazy things reminding me of him. I've yet to see his brother Josh, or his girlfriend Julie. I'm sure seeing them will be an experience all by itself.

I've never experienced the death of a friend before. My closest experience with death was when my Grandparents passed away. But I was just a little kid, and I rarely got to see them. They were in Puerto Rico and I was in Buffalo, NY. They felt like they were a world away. So this is the closest experience I've ever had with death and I don't exactly know how to deal with it.

I've been filling my time with things to distract me and/or cheer me up.
Watched Hot Fuzz for the first time. It was hilarious. I couldn't stop laughing. "Yarp!" Good stuff.

Of course I've been reading comics. I'm enjoying the "Resurrection of Ra's Al Ghul" storyline in the Batman titles. I'll be writing a full entry on that eventually. I also bought the Dynamo Five TPB, even though I have the single issues, because that book just kicks ass. Avengers: Initiative still kicks ass, New Avengers still kicks ass, and THOR is just about my favorite book these days.

The final issue of WORLD WAR HULK was a bit disappointing for me. The art seemed rushed by Mr. J.R. JR. And the battle with the Sentry was over pretty quick, leaving Tony Stark to save the day... I don't know... It was just weird. More on that later.

Heroes was amazing this week and I'll try to write my thoughts on that when I watch it again.

Monday night, I decided to immerse myself in music. Went to the Coheed and Cambria concert and was blown away. They get better and better every time I see them.

And of course, I've been surrounding myself with pictures of naked ladies because I seriously don't want to think about the crazy dark times we're all going through. So here's a picture of a hot chick to take every one's mind off the depressing things I've been talking about the last few days...

John Boy

2007-11-18T16:49:00.000-05:00

My friend/coworker John Boy passed away last night in a car accident. Exhausted from work, he fell asleep at the wheel and completely destroyed his pick-up. Even took a tree down. The Truck was wrecked beyond recognition. If you didn't already know it was John Boy's truck, you wouldn't even have recognized it as a truck. They had to tear apart the roof w/ the "jaws of life" just to get his body out.

He wasn't wearing a seat belt.

I saw him just before I left work last night. About an hour before he left work. He sounded fine. Didn't seem at all tired. I always make it a point to say "Drive Safe" to my friends before they leave. Last night, I forgot to say those words to John.

He's left behind a younger brother, and his father. John and his brother Josh lost their mother sometime last year. Now Josh and his father mourn John as well.

I received the news at about 8:30 this morning. Hell of a way to start your day.

People, Please, Wear your seat belts. Don't drive drunk. And don't drive tired. If you just got off a double shift at work, and you feel exhausted, DON'T drive home. Grab a cup of coffee. Or Red Bull. Or just take a nap in the parking lot until you're good to go. And if you make the mistake of driving off, then realize you're too tired, please just pull over and don't risk going any further.

John Boy, we miss you already buddy. You were always funny, upbeat and full of life. And you always called me "Sir," which just made me laugh since I was younger than you. You never had a bad day at work. You never raised your voice at anybody. You were respectful and courteous. But more than anything, you had the best comedic timing of anybody I know. We all miss you.

Shout Outs and Support

2007-11-15T08:50:00.000-05:00

You know, I could've sworn I did this already, but apparently I didn't and now I feel like an ass. So let me fix that.

A while back I mentioned my thoughts on the writers of Superman Returns bailing on the sequel. I then mentioned I would love to see the guys from SHoE take over as writers. Well, either someone sent Derek the link, or maybe Derek himself reads my blog, but in either case, he totally mentioned my blog on their site. For this, I'm very thankful. The number of my blog's readers has doubled and that's awesome. Especially since I'm just some schmuck blogging as a hobby.

So thank you Derek for the shout out. I appreciate it.

WKBW

2007-11-13T00:25:00.000-05:00

Okay, its after midnight. So I can post an entry without feeling like that makes three in one day. I'm just feeling a little down lately. I'm worried about never starting school. I'm worried about my finances. I'm worried about the Writers Guild Strike. I'm worried about my romantic life. I worry about my sister's emotional state. I'm afraid I'll never find love again. I got another damn speeding ticket the other day. So now I'm worried about too many points on my license. I've got a lot on my mind.

On the other hand, work is good. Last weekend was the Fine And Folk Art Festival and I saw some pretty amazing stuff. I felt inspired.

So the good news? Creatively, I'm on fire. I've written some new songs. Just for fun mind you, but if feels good to be writing again. I've also come up with a pretty kick ass story for a Graphic Novel, or possibly a future script. I've begun work on the outlines and character details & designs. More on that later. And of course I wanna go out there and take some new photographs. Hopefully I'll have some new ones to show everyone soon.

Also there's a dim light at the end of the financial instability tunnel. It appears as though some day soon my family may be financially alright. But for now, its a waiting game, and we'll see how it goes. Here's hoping everything works out.

In the morning I intend on working out. Maybe hit the treadmill or something. Gotta make this gut go away. Good night.

Heroes Revisitation

2007-11-12T19:11:00.000-05:00

I'm less than two hours away from a fresh episode of Heroes! With the awesomeness of last week's episode, and how good today's episode promises to be, I thought I'd take a minute and share my excitement, theories so far, and hopes for this season's remaining few episodes.

Last week it was revealed that Takezo Kensei is actually Adam Monroe. Adam Monroe, it seems, is our new killer, and Matt's dad Maurie is merely a weapon Adam uses. After watching the episode I was kicking myself for not having written my theories out sooner, since I had already put together that Kensei was Adam. I also believe that Adam will later be revealed to be Peter and Nathan's father. I believe this because Maurie and Matt, as Father and Son, share the same exact ability, proving that not only are abilities hereditary, but more specifically, you can have the exact same ability of your kin. I'm jumping to the conclusion that Adam's healing ability could suggest he's Claire's Grandfather. Of course the one hole in that theory is, why wouldn't Nathan or Peter find it odd growing up that their father never aged a day.

So anyways, I'm thrilled that Kensei is Adam and I can't wait to see where he goes as a villain. His hatred for Hiro will make things interesting when they once again cross paths. And it finally makes sense why Kaito Nakamura was the first victim.

Maurie's involvement also makes sense of the "attack" on Angela Petrelli. He obviously gave her a nightmare that caused her to attack herself the way she did. Speaking of Angela, her scene with Peter, one year in the future, was a great scene. Peter accidentally used Matt's mind reading ability to see her memories and remember his mother. Hopefully this'll lead to more of his memory returning in the coming episodes. He needs to quickly remember everything and get his act together. Rescuing Caitlin from the future is a top on the Heroes "To-Do" List. Then of course there's the little matter of figuring out how to kill Adam; an immortal.

Tonight's episode has me really excited. "Six Months Ago" was one of my favorite episodes of Season 1 and it revealed so many secrets and answered so many questions. Tonight's "Four Months Ago" should do the same. From how Nathan survived the bomb, Peter's mindwipe, and Sylar's abduction to Maya & Alejandro's powers manifesting... This episode is going to be a lot of fun.

I'm excited to see HRG's (Mr. Bennet's) story unfolding so well. He knows about West, he's seen all 8 paintings, which suggest that Mohinder is in fact his killer, and he's proven that "morally gray" is still not a problem for him.

Admittedly this season got off to a slow and rocky start. Hiro was in Old Japan far too long. Peter was in Ireland far too long. And too much time was dedicated to Maya, Alejandro, and Monica before finally bringing them closer into the inner circle of main characters. It's definitely picked up speed and smoothed out in recent episodes, though. We have faces to our badguys. Peter is starting to remember. Hiro is back in the present, and smiling! And our favorite characters are getting more screen time with their storylines rounding out more and going places.

It makes me sad that this Writer's Strike has still yet to be resolved. Studios! PLEASE! Just give them the extra 4 cents on DVD sales, and the 2.5 cents on internet streams and lets get these shows back on track. I'd hate to see Heroes Season 2 end at episode 11. That's just not right. And Smallville, it appears will be over by episode 14 or 15. I'm still unsure if we'll even get a new season of Scrubs or 24. Its just not right.

Lastly, here are somethings I want to see in future Heroes episodes before the end:

Nathan flying
Claire using her ability to save a life
Sylar recover his powers
Peter battling either Sylar or Adam
An explanation as to why we should give a rats ass about Maya and Alejandro
And Monica, in a hooded sweatshirt, fighting crime in the city as the shows very first costumed superhero!!! (I don't know if I'd count Future Hiro's outfit as a "costume" per se)

Comics - The Hot Picks List

2007-11-12T17:33:00.000-05:00

Alright, so I haven't been reviewing comics or shows as regularly as I'd like to. So here are my short thoughts on a few comics that I think are really great or really important:

FAKER

I can't really talk much about the latest issue, without spoiling a lot of stuff. This is too awesome a title to spoil so I'll be as vague as I can to make my point. Issue 4 reveals a lot of stuff. Many questions we had about the entire premis of this book are answered. And the Sci-Fi aspect of this book comes into play in a big way. The cliffhanger is awesome. The cover speaks volumes as to the content inside. And you may get lucky and spot a boobie or two inside. Seriously, though. This title is amazing and keeps getting better. The writer keeps throwing you curveballs and I get the feeling there's many more coming.

All that to say, if you're not reading Faker, you really should be. Pick up the back issues. The art, I'll admit, is a little hard to get used to at first, but the story completely takes over and eventually you understand the art through the story. Not sure if that made sense but its the best way I can think of to explain it. The art style is very appropriate.

DYNAMO 5

I don't know if I've written about this title much, and I'm far too lazy to go back to old entries and find out. So I'm going to give you my thoughts on the entire first storyline which has just been released as a Trade Paperback.

Yes, its a superhero title, and for many comic readers that's a "Woo Hoo, another superhero book. Big deal. I've read it all before," type situation. But give this one a chance. It is different in all the right places, like Invincible is.

First of all, its a team book. Team books are always fun. You can't ever get tired of any one character, because they focus on all of them equally. This team is comprised of five super-powered young people. They each have one of Captain Dynamo's five powers. Captain Dynamo, is the biological father of all five of these youngsters. Each one, was the end result of another of his affairs that he had while still married to a lady named Maddie. Now that Captain Dynamo is dead, and Maddie discovered he was unfaithful many many times. She's taken it upon herself to track down these five bastard children of his and form a superhero team to take Captain Dynamo's place. Maddie however, is a very mysterious lady with hidden agendas and secrets up the whazzoo.

The writer has taken such a fresh approach at the characters. The telepath is actually the huge jock who you'd expect to have super-strength but he doesn't. The one with super-strength is actually quite possibly the smallest of the group. She's a hottie with jet black hair, a lip piercing and pale skin that completes her very "goth" look. The insecure, youngest boy has the eye blast ability, which is intensified by his mask which basically fires the blast with his whole face. I find it brilliant that the one with the ability to attack his opponents from a distance is the insecure kid. Then there's the shape-shifter, who quite honestly I think has a pretty big secret regarding his appearance. Lastly you have the flyer who I consider the leader of the group,... this of course rocks because she's a girl and you don't see that too often in comics.

So take a dead superhero with loose morals (at best), two sexy girls in spandex, three guys, a shady boss lady, and a supervillain or two and you've got one fun ride. Throw in a few glimpses at their rocky personal lives and how they're dealing with finding out about this biological dad they didn't know about and it makes it just that much better. Between this, Invincible , and Mice Templar, IMAGE is definitely putting out some great books.

MIGHTY AVENGERS AND NEW AVENGERS

I'll wrap these two up pretty quickly. These two books rock. Bendis is a genius and he's gained me as a fan for live. He's tieing these two books together pretty well and most people can't even tell yet. He's building up the Hood to possible replace the Kingpin and provide our heroes with a new villain to fight, and he brought thought bubbles back in Mighty... The art in both books is perfect and yet the two couldn't be more different. Two very different books, with two very different approaches to the stories and two very different artists... Yet they're both phenomenal reads and are at the top of my stack every month. Bendis is the man. Oh, and speaking of the art, I dare you to read a single issue without taking 5 minutes out to stare at every panel that showcases Ms. Marvel's ass. I mean seriously, LOOK AT IT ON THAT COVER! That's a Latina Lady ass on a white lady!!! Cho, don't stop drawing that booty, buddy!

WGA Strike

2007-11-05T03:38:00.000-05:00

Television and Film writers are now on strike. If you don't care, you should. All your favorite TV shows will suffer. Many wont make it to the end of their season. Other shows that haven't started this season yet, never will. And don't expect to see too many new movies, once they run out of those they already filmed. Here is one of the writers, explaining in detail, why they're on strike:

Television and film writers are officially on strike beginning today. This will probably be an ugly strike and you will hear a lot of nasty things said about writers. We will be portrayed as spoiled brats who are putting an entire industry out of work to make a couple extra bucks. By the time the strike is over America will think we all sit around feeding our white Persian cats freshly killed Tuna, while throwing diamonds at our pool boys bottom as we are being fed caviar by our personal chef/masseuse, Armando.

The truth is, most writers in the guild are middle class or below. The median income is about that of a schoolteacher. Do some writers make a fortune? Of course. Are there writers who barely scrape by? A lot more than the ones making a fortune. But you won’t be hearing that story because we are fighting against media companies. How fairly do you think this strike will be reported on channels owned by Disney, Fox or Viacom? So, expect to hear a lot about our Land Rovers, Porsches, Armando and all of the crew people we are putting out of work by striking.

Already, we are being attacked by the masses for our greedy stance, which is the way the new America operates. Everyone seems very happy to allow those at the top to make as much money as possible and anyone who asks for a tiny bit of the billions is greedy. Meanwhile, the companies making billions by firing employees and cutting pensions are somehow honorable. It is bizarre and idiotic thinking, but that is where we find ourselves.

The Writers are fortunate to have received the Teamsters backing. While not ordering their members not to cross picked lines, the teamsters have been told they may honor picket lines and their union will back them up. Studios have reacted by calling teamsters in to their offices in groups and asking them if they planned to cross the line. They have been threatened with unemployment if they do honor the line, which would violate the studios contract with the teamsters. Teamsters have it written into every contract that they cannot be punished for refusing to cross a picket line. It is a huge sacrifice if they do honor the line and they didn’t come to this decision lightly. But they understand the larger implications: This dispute is not just about writers. We are the first union that is fighting for our rights and equal pay when it comes to the Internet. What we do now will affect every union in Hollywood.

Here is one Teamsters opinion on the strike

"I could just say, "Teamsters don't cross picket lines." I could just say, "I need a vacation." I could just say, "I believe in the rights of the working man." While that is all true, the real reason is more complex. I believe this is the opening round of a long battle that every union member in Hollywood will have to face as our contracts expire.

"The digital world is not in the future, it is here now. It is now possible to watch Television and Movies entirely on the Internet, and the network sites, with ads galore, are proof. This is not a hypothetical. It is profit-making reality. If the writers are denied fair payment for reuse, I do not believe the Directors, Actors and the rest of us will fare any better when our turn comes. "

The studios would like the world to believe we are fighting over the money we receive for DVD sales. That is completely untrue. The fight for DVD money ended years ago. Currently writers receive 4 cents for every DVD sold. We’d like to increase that to 8 cents. DVDs cost 10 bucks. Aren’t we a bunch of money grabbing bastards?

The reason the focus will be on DVDs is because years ago the Guild agreed to a terrible contract on home media sales. The studios told us that DVDs and home videos were not yet an established business. They claimed they couldn’t set up a payment system for writers until they knew whether or not it was successful and how it would fall into place. They were, of course, lying. Writers were then stuck with a terrible contract for twenty years. Now the studios are saying the EXACT SAME THING about the Internet. Again, it isn’t an established business, so how can they commit to a payment plan? Blah, blah, blah.

What the producers did not understand was the deep feelings of anger that writers have had for years over the DVD contract and how we were taken advantage of after negotiating in good faith. Every time we look at a DVD on a store shelf, we are reminded of how we are getting screwed. And now the anger has a place to go because the producers are giving us a chance to win a battle we have been simmering about for 20 years. Way to bring to union together, fat cats.

I’ve never seen the Guild this unified. Two weeks ago we voted to authorize a strike and 90% supported the action. On Thursday night we had a meeting and Guild members were completely behind our negotiating team. Not one member voiced their opposition. We know whom we are fighting. We understand the battle we are fighting.

This is not an average negotiation. This is a 20-year negotiation. In the 40s the Guild was formed after a strike threat. In the 60s the Guild walked for health, pension and residuals. In the 80s the Guild walked for Cable coverage, DVD payments and home video. Now there is a new medium and if we don’t take a stand, many writers will lose their ability to survive. As will actors and on down the line.

This is all about Internet streaming and downloads. The Guild has put forth an offer of 2.5%. That is 2 and a half cents for every dollar. Producers have countered with ZERO and will not come back to the table until we agree to that generous offer. So, basically they will not negotiate until we agree to not negotiate. Producers claim they are not making any money off of the Internet, that it is just “promotional.” In the proposal they offered, they stated “promotional” includes shows that are “aired in entirety” and for which they “receive a fee.” (NBC made $15 million “promoting” shows on iTunes last year)

So, why are we so concerned with this money? Residuals are the name of the game for writers. We aren’t employed constantly and it allows us to survive during the rough times, which we use to write scripts and come up with pitches. Guess who profits off of that system? The studios. If we agreed to their demands, the studios would be killing their own product, plain and simple. No one would have time to write because they would have day jobs, which would mean far less new ideas being pitched. The money ABC has made of off Desperate Housewives is probably more than the residuals paid to the entire Guild over that same period. A writer was living on residuals when he created the show.

The poor producers claim they’re not making money off of the Internet, even though they show commercials during shows and charge for downloads in a medium that costs them almost nothing in overhead. At the same time, they are boasting to their shareholders how profitable the Internet will be and that that they ARE already making money. So, which is it?

To date the producers have been nothing short of disgusting in their approach to negotiations. We wanted to meet in early July. They waited until mid-July. They then gave us a 30-page proposal that had nothing to do with the issues at hand and wanted writers to take massive pay cuts. (Way to unify Guild members, idiots) Then they wouldn’t meet until late September. Since September, producers have yet to even discuss any of our demands. They just refuse to talk about them. We took 9 of our 25 demands off the table, important substantial demands, and the producers responded with NOTHING. They simply refuse to negotiate. All they have been doing is attempting to use the media to undermine our negotiators in hopes of splitting the Guild. Their actions give us no alternative but to strike.

How long wills it last? Nobody knows, but I would expect it to go on for some time. I think writers will lose homes, the California economy will suffer and then the entire country. (Entertainment makes up 7% of the US economy) But we will hold strong, for the simple fact that we are really, really angry and have been for quite some time. Many shows that began this season will die miserable deaths. Shows with declining audience numbers that are difficult to follow, like Lost, may disappear as well.

What the studios seems to not understand is that it is their best interest to keep the writers working for them. They are following a plan that has completely undermined the music business. Treat those you count on like crap and those people will find their own way. I have one word for studios to mull over: Radiohead. If they don’t think writers will use this time to figure out a way to take their product directly to consumers via the Internet, they are out of their minds. We will and at that point they can remember fondly that 1% download money they saved.

Lets hope the studios realize what they're doing to themselves and end this quickly.-Adrian

Smallville Catch-Up

2007-11-01T16:02:00.000-04:00

Alrighty. I'm way behind on everything and there aren't enough hours in the day, so I'm going to make this short. Really short. Two Smallville episodes reviewed in one super-short entry. Let's jump right in:

Episode #7.4: "CURE"I had my doubts about bringing Dean Cain in as Dr. Curtis Knox. But I'm happy to say he did a fantastic job. He was very convincing as a villain and seeing the Superman I grew up watching on TV battle the Superman I'm currently watching was very cool.

I really want something to be done about Chloe being a meteor freak. Either have her learn how to use her ability at will without almost dieing in the process, or cure her. But this whole thing where people are sometimes after her because she's a meteor freak, but we've only seen her use her lame ability once is getting old really, really fast. I do love Chloe as a character though and I just want more interesting things to happen with her.

I love the fact that Knox might, and probably will, be back. I love continuity like that. Can't wait to see Bizzarro back too.

I'm enjoying Martian Manhunter being a regular on the show. His interaction with Clark is pretty cool.

I over all enjoyed this episode and can't really think of anything too big to complain about. So, yeah, thumbs up on this one.

Episode #7.5: "ACTION"
What a FUN episode! The rescue of Christina Milian's character was very well done and impressive. Milian being half naked and teasing all the time was hot! The continuity with the "Warrior Angel" comics plot was awesome. The Lana rescue at the end was a geek out moment. I'm pretty sure he was flying for a minute there, just didn't know it. I don't want to get too deep into anything cuz I'm trying to keep this short but it was definitely a fun hour of television.

Motion City Soundtrack Halloween

2007-11-01T13:20:00.000-04:00

Happy Belated Halloween to you all. I'm off from work all day today so my plan is to bombard you with entries to get all caught up with everything I want to talk about. This entry here concerns the Motion City Soundtrack concert I attended last night.

I must say, I love a lot of different music and bands. From Incubus, to Rocco Deluca & the Burden, to the Police, to Colin Hay, to John Mayer, to Coheed & Cambria, to Coldplay, and of course my favorite band, MxPx. The list goes on. But Motion City Soundtrack has, in the last year, and with their new record, moved all the way up to the very top of my favorites list. If I didn't have so much history with MxPx, MCS might've just taken their spot. The new record is phenominal and now that I've seen them live, I can honestly say their live shows are equally amazing.

They came out in full costume for Halloween, dressed as Batman, Robin and his rogues gallery. The Joker, Two Face, The Penguin, The Riddler, Catwoman and Harley Quinn were all present. There were wind machines for Batman's cape. The Batsignal shone bright. And the 60's TV Show theme song played while they fought onstage, complete with "POW" and "ZAP" signs covered their amps. Hilarity.

Once they started the real performance, it was even more fun. They were spot-on accurrate and had precision timing. They put on a great performance and Justin (the lead singer) was hilarious in between songs when he had no idea how to describe the next songs.

They played all their best tunes. Its hard to even figure out which songs they didn't play, because they played so many!

I recommend checking them out anytime they're in your town.

"The Kindness of Strangers"

2007-10-26T12:58:00.000-04:00

HEROES Vol. 2 Chapter 4
Very quickly, my thoughts on the fourth episode of this season's Heroes.

Mr. Bennet is obviously freaking out about the painting depicting his death, with what appears to be Claire in the background, making out with what can only be his killer. He confronts Claire about any possible boys she may be seeing. Claire denies there being a boy but we all know she's dating West, who just so happens to be a victim of Mr. Bennet's previous work with the Company. Its conceivable West plays a hand in a future attack on Mr. Bennet. What intrigues me more than that, is that his death painting is number 8 of a series of 8, which we all thought referred to victims of the Nightmare man, and heads of the Company. What's Mr. Bennet's death doing featured in this series?

Molly's been having visits from the Nightmare Man in her dreams. Matt can't seem to get in her head to figure anything out. Later in the episode, Matt meets with Nathan. Nathan's mom has confessed to a crime she didn't commit, all to avoid the authorities discovery of all the heads on the Company, along with the rest of "the specials" and what they can do. Nathan shows Matt a copy of the photo used to single out all the new killer's victims and Matt recognizes one of them as his father. When he shows Molly this picture, it turns out Matt's dad is the Nightmare Man. By the end of the episode, Matt convinces Molly to find his dad for him, and she does... Only to be "held captive" in her mind by the Nightmare Man.

In Mexico, Maya and Alejandro, now traveling with Derek in Claire's stolen Nissan Rogue, find Sylar collapsed in the middle of the road. The decide to take him with them. Maya, who speaks fairly decent english, talks to Sylar, discovering he's from NY and knows Dr. Suresh. Sylar identifies himself by his proper name: Gabriel Gray. He does this, presumably, because he's currently powerless, and only conciders himself "Sylar" when he's powerful. When Derek discovers Maya and Alejandro are wanted criminals, Gabriel Gray kills him and escapes with Maya and Alejandro, discovering they both have power.

Its only common sense that he wants their power and I don't know where they're gonna go with this. Is Sylar completely powerless and needs to start over from scratch piling up abilities, or does he still have them all, he just can't use them at the moment. And will he kill Maya and Alejandro and take their powers? They're both brand new to the cast and I doubt they'd be killed off this early in the season. Then again, it's Heroes and absolutely anybody could die at any moment. More importantly, if he does kill them and take their powers, how will it work with him having both abilities? Will he be able to unleash this "virus" Maya seems to possess and then take it back with Alejandro's ability? Wouldn't that be pointless since Alejandro's ability bring everybody back to life? We'll see...

Micah's cousin Damon is annoying and I don't like him, but his other cousin Monica is pretty cool. She can do anything she sees done. And she's got the same high hopes and determination that Peter had in season 1. She may be very important this season. There's not much else to say here except I'm very interested in her story line and where it goes. There's one thing I should point out about the scene with Micah and Monica. He hugs her and puts his hand on her back, like he does when he fixes or communicates with technology. People took this to mean he was actually fixing her. HE WASN'T! He clearly says "I wish I could fix your dreams for you." Which means he can't. I agree that every hero has more than one side to their ability, but Micah's is technology based. I don't see it crossing over to biological. He can't fix her. He didn't. And he wont.

Claire and West see more of each other. They go on a pretty sweet date. West flies her to the top of the Hollywood sign and she decides she can trust him, although she still can't tell him about Mr. Bennet. Likewise she can't tell Bennet about West so she takes up Cheerleading and uses it as an excuse to be out and about with West.

Afterwards, Bennet gets a visit from the Haitian. Looks like they're going to the Ukrane. I love the Haitian. He's such a cool character. Can't wait to find out why he wiped out Peter's memories. It had to be him. Why else would Peter not remember anything AND wear the Haitian's necklace?!

So this was a pretty decent episode. Better than the first two, and right up there with the third. But it's nothing compared to episode 5, which we'll talk about later. There's so much in that episode, we'll have to talk about that later all by itself.

Toodles.

So much to talk about...

2007-10-25T22:57:00.000-04:00

This is long overdue. There's so much I've wanted to cover in the past week or so. It's all piled up and now I'm not sure where to start. Since my last entry there's been two episodes of HEROES, two episodes of SMALLVILLE, new THE DARK KNIGHT information, nonsense regarding the SUPERMAN RETURNS sequel, and more. I'll try to get to as much of that as I can in this entry and make it all as concise and to the point as possible. So here goes nothing...

THE DARK KNIGHT
Okay, first thing's first. It's been announced that there will be a "TDK Prologue" attached to IMAX showings of I AM LEGEND, and that this prologue will feature Heath Ledger as the Joker. It was later confirmed that this will be the first 5 minutes of the finished film. I have mixed feelings about this. Don't get me wrong, I'm ecstatic to be getting a fix of Batman before summer of '08. I'm basically having a moviegasm just thinking about it. But what I'm having trouble with is the "featuring Heath Ledger as the Joker" part. I understand a lot of people have their doubts about Mr. Ledger pulling off one of, if not the hardest role he's ever had to play. And I understand that maybe Nolan and the rest of the big wigs over at Warner Bros. want to shut these naysayers up as soon as possible so the film can do well when it opens. However, I just can't help but feel like the big reveal of Ledger as the Clown Prince of Crime should come during the premier of the actual film. I wouldn't be opposed to a little Joker tease like the card at the end of BATMAN BEGINS. But like I said, regardless of whether they spoil the surprise or not, I'll be there. Cheeks in the seat. Eyes glued to the screen. Bring it on. I miss the Batman.

Also, over at one of the Joker's websites, WhySoSerious, there's a Jack-O-Lantern that looks exactly like the one on the cover of "The Long Halloween" that seems to be counting down to something. The candle inside the pumpkin is melting and the pumpkin itself is beginning to rot. What's interesting is that it only seems to be rotting on its left side (your right, as you look at it) which to me suggests that when the countdown is over (probably on October 31st) we'll get our very first look at Two Face. We'll see.

SUPERMAN RETURNS SEQUEL

Next on the agenda is the news regarding the sequel to Bryan Singer's SUPERMAN RETURNS. The news around this sequel keeps giving me shooting pains up and down my left arm. First its delayed. Then they tell us it's not delayed. Now, because of the JLA film, it's delayed again. And as if all that wasn't bad enough, we recently receive the news that the amazing writers behind SR, Mike Dougherty and Dan Harris, have left the sequel. Why have the left? I don't know. They both seemed so excited about it. And they'd teamed with Singer twice before with fantastic results. So why ditch now? Is it because of the JLA film? Because of the delays? Nobody knows (yet) but what seems to be even more important on our fanboy minds is "Who will write the movie now? And how bad will they fuck it up?!" Yes, its true that not everyone was a fan of SUPERMAN RETURNS, but it was a majority rules situation and the majority enjoyed it. We want to know what happens next with these characters? Where's the story going with the kid? With Big Blue and his relationship with Lois? With the giant kryptonite continent floating in space, slowly growing to planet status? With the crystals? There's too many loose ends and dangling plot lines for some new person to swoop in and make this "their project," and change it all. Or worse, ignore it completely and just start from scratch.

Who do I want to write it? Who am I behind? A pair of writers who loved Singer's film. Two guys who want to tie up all those loose ends and propel the story forward. Two guys with the writing talent and the fanboy knowledge. My vote goes to Derek Russell and Tucker Colburn. They are two of the hosts on the Smallville Podcast: Starkville House of El and it just so happens they Want Superman! More on that as it develops.

This entry is already long all on its own, so I'll separate my TV show reviews into separate entries and throw in a few comic and music reviews while I'm at it. I'll repost either later tonight, or early tomorrow.

Smallville Episode 7.03

2007-10-11T21:56:00.000-04:00

Last night's episode was entitled: "Fierce."

I must admit, I'm worried about this season. The premier, "Bizarro" was fantastic. The second episode, "Kara" was good but not as good as I expected. And this third episode, I generally disliked.

There was some good stuff, of course. Lana's return, played by Kristin Kreuk, was very cool. Her scenes with Clark were very interesting. It's cool to watch them interact now that she knows all about him. Its also interesting knowing that she's got secrets of her own now and the tables have turned. This isn't sweet little Lana in pink from season 1 anymore. I'm excited to see her story progress.

Kara, however, I want to see gone from the show. I understand the writers wanted to have a fresh face to stir things up a bit. That's all well and good. But having another Kryptonian be a regular on the show and not be a villain? Bad move in my opinion. Now there's Clark and Kara. Its no longer a show about Clark. Its a show about Clark and Kara. And as shown in this episode, they plan on incorporating her in the heroics. This just makes Clark look incompetent. Here he was just becoming a bad ass, and they throw in this Kara chick so she can "rescue" him when he can't handle the task himself. Not to mention I'm not diggin' Laura Vandervoort as an actress. She just doesn't seem to have the chops. So yeah,... I'm not a Supergirl fan.

Meanwhile, Lois, who's quite good on the show, was nowhere to be seen on this episode. Erica Durance as Lois Lane was always a touchy subject for fans. "What the hell's Lois doing in Smallville?!!" Yeah, I get that. But I think now people are used to it, and the character has really taken off and found a place in the show. Lets see more of her and less of Kara. I think this season should focus on hinting at a possible romance between Clark and Lois while Clark is dating Lana. That'll keep things interesting, I think.

I also worry that they may be reaching these days with the Kryptonite when looking for a challenge for Clark. In this episode, the wind-controlling super-model made a little tornado in a completely random spot and it just so happened to dig up a bunch of meteor rocks, strategically placed right by Clark so he'd be de-powered. Its just too easy.

That said, I hope they pick it up and this was just one of the episodes in the season that's just lacking. There's a few of those here and there every season. Here's hoping next Thursday is much better.

Heroes

2007-10-11T19:20:00.000-04:00

As you can tell by my new logo at the top of the page, I'm a Heroes fan. This is a new thing though. I hadn't watched the show while it was on tv for its first season. Missed the boat on that one. But I heard the hype, and patiently waited for my chance to check out the season 1 DVD. Let me sum up HEROES SEASON 1 with just one word: "WOW!"

I have never seen such an amazing show in my life. That's saying something. TV Dramas have really kicked it up a notch in recent years. 24 is an awesome show. As is Lost. And you all know I'm a Smallville fan. So what's different about this show? Why's it so much better?

Well, its my opinion that the first season of every good show is typically the worst. Even if the first season is great, it's always bad in comparison to future seasons. Scrubs season 1 was funny. Season 2 was absolutely hysterical and they kept getting better. Lost season 1 was a great show to watch but season 2 completely blew it away in my eyes. Of course 24 season 1 was one of the most thrilling tv dramas but season 2 completely mopped the floor with it. Season 3 was (until Heroes) the best season of any show for me. I didn't think it could be topped.

THAT'S what makes Heroes so amazing. It completely blew every show I ever loved right off the map with only its first season. I watched, episode after episode, each one better than the last. Disc after Disc, wondering to myself, "how in the hell are they going to top this in season 2?! It's flawless!" The character development was so full and rich. The action was fun. The special effects were gorgeous. The story in general was just brilliant. There aren't enough adjectives in my vocabulary to express how I feel about this show.

Milo Ventimiglia plays Peter Petrelli. An Empath who's natural ability is to feel what others around him feel, and as a side-effect, is able to replicate their abilities at will. Arguably the most powerful of all the Heroes. Its obvious he's destined to someday lead these special people as they fight together to save the world from dangers. He's just not quite there yet. He has growing to do. He needs hardening. It's my prediction that this is exactly what we'll see happen to his character in season 2. I'm anxious to see how living with this Irish "gang" of thugs is going to change him. I can just see this as his "training," if you will. All leading to the day when he has to reface Sylar, or possibly this new villain running around. He'll need to be unafraid of crossing lines average "Heroes" normally wouldn't cross. He needs to be a little more like the version of him we saw in the episode "5 Years Gone" which took place 5 years in the possible future, which they've obviously avoided with the season 1 finale.

Masi Oka plays Hiro Nakamura. My second favorite character. He's usually what moves the story forward in big ways being that he's able to bend time and space. This means he's able to go forward, and backwards in time. He can also freeze, slow down, or speed up time itself. Bending space means he can teleport distances both short and long. In season 2 he's stuck in 16th century Japan. I don't know how happy I am about that story line but I'm waiting it out and seeing where it's going to go. So far, season 2 has been going in a whole new direction but that's not necessarily a bad thing. Its simply too soon to tell. Masi Oka also provides most of the show's comic relief. From his sometimes broken English, his constantly changing voice, his over enthusiasm and optimism, to his sometimes bumbling mishaps. Its just a brilliantly written character, and thank goodness for the genius of Masi Oka for playing this character so perfectly.

I find myself wondering whats going to happen to characters like Niki (Ali Larter) and Micah Sanders. Now that D.L. is gone and so is Jessica (Niki's other "personality"), what's to become of their story lines and how will they fit into the grand scheme of things in season 2? And is D.L. really gone? (I don't think he is.) How will Micah's powers come into play this season? It wouldn't be a huge surprise if we find out that there's a secondary way for him to use his abilities. Furthermore, it wouldn't surprise me if he was, in fact, the most powerful of all the Heroes, with the exception of Peter. Micah could very well be a huge threat to any enemy. Everything is run by computers these days. If Micah can make them do whatever he wants, he'd be unstoppable.

Claire Bennet's story (played by Hayden Panettiere) looks like it will be huge this season. From the exploration of the limits to her powers, to a new love interest who was once abducted by her father, and his possible eventual involvement in the death of "HRG" (aka: Mr. Bennet, played by Jack Coleman). Its just any body's guess how this will all pan out this year.

I also wonder if there's a secondary way for Claire to use her ability. Almost every Hero has proven able to use his/her ability in more than one way. Ted can burn hot and radio-active, but also bright and electric, causing an EMP. Hiro can bend both time and space. Two very different abilities in one. Peter can feel what you feel, but also replicate what you do; also two different abilities. Sylar can "see" how you "tick," meaning he can sense the difference between a special person and a normal human. But he can also alter his DNA to incorporate your abilities into himself and use them. The Haitian can both block the abilities of other specials and erase the memories right out of your brain. All that to say that its not out of the question for Claire to be able to do something else with her ability, such as heal OTHERS perhaps? It'll be interesting to see if they explore that.

Finally, we come to Sylar, played chillingly, brilliantly, and just plain "FREAKIN' AWESOMELY" by Zachary Quinto. So far we've seen Sylar recuperating from his sword stab to the chest. He's completely powerless, and stuck in the middle of nowhere. (I don't care what you say, it looks like he's on the LOST island. What's going to happen to him? I'm sure he'll get his abilities back. Or perhaps he'll have to start again at square one and acquire all new abilities. In either case, we'll see Sylar back in all his glory soon enough. But will he be a threat or an ally to this new villain? Will he get back to civilization soon or will they drag this on as they've dragged Hiro's 16th Century story line, or Peter's box? I can't wait to find out.

Heroes... bring it on!

Dashboard Confessional

2007-10-08T00:03:00.000-04:00

Saturday night, I had the good pleasure of watching Dashboard Confessional Live at the House of Blues. He's on his solo tour right now and it was very exciting to see him sans band.

I have a lot of history with DC. I've followed Chris Carraba's career since his days in Further Seems Forever. I've seen him Live more times than I can count. I got my first kiss with a DC song playing on the radio. Several break-ups and re-starts were wrapped around significant Dashboard events. Its just one of those things I can't forget or escape. It's safe to say I'm a fan for life. No matter what.

The show was great. Enough old stuff for us old fance to connect with. Enough new stuff to make it rock. Enough collaboration with other artists to not bore anybody who isn't down with the whole "solo" thing. It was great. Well worth the price of my ticket.

I got 2 new DC cd's at the show. His new album The Shade of Poison Trees and his new cover project called The Wire Tapes, volume 1

I'll let you guys know what I think of them once I've had more time to let them sink in.

My birthday's coming up. Sunday the 21st. Freckin' Sweer.

Moving, Motion City Soundtrack

2007-09-27T22:19:00.000-04:00

I've been sick with a bad cold since yesterday. Had to call-in to work, unfortunately. I hate calling-in sick. I need to make that money, know what I mean? But I think I'll be good to go for tomorrow. If not, I'll tough it out.

Today I bought and assembled a book case. I almost passed out from how sick I was feeling but I got it done and it looks great with all my trades and Hard Covers in it. Its one of the last pieces of furniture I needed to buy for my new place. I'm moving into a studio apartment in Orlando in a few weeks. Pretty excited about it. Once I move in, the last thing I'll need to buy is a couch, which I've already picked out. Just can't get it yet because I have no place to keep it until I move.

Bought the new Motion City Soundtrack album today from iTunes. It's called Even If It Kills Me and its the best thing I've heard from them yet. I'm so proud of Pierre (vocals) for making this such a great album, and doing it sober! Good for him. It proves his talent wasn't in the drugs and booze.

Its an amazing record. So fun and upbeat as far as the instrumentals but the lyrics are so sad and beautiful. They really do tug at your heart strings. Check it out if you haven't. Its worth it.

I'll be watching MCS with Anberlin on Halloween night. That should be fun. I haven't decided yet if I'm dressing up. I've got a pretty sweet idea for a costume. So we'll see.

I'm also watching Dashboard Confessional next Saturday, October 6th. Its gonna be a sweet sweet show.

Rocco Deluca and the Burden

2007-09-13T12:45:00.000-04:00

I just watched "I Trust You To Kill Me," a documentary chronicling 24's Keifer Sutherland going on tour in Europe with Rocco Deluca and the Burden as their tour manager in the winter of 2005. 25 minutes into the viewing of this DVD, I had to pause it, walk over to my computer, and purchase the band's debut album over iTunes. I was just so blown away by Rocco's talent and passion, along with the Burden's collective talents.

The documentary itself is awesome. Great film making. Its moving, its funny, its beautiful, its soulful, its loud and its quiet. The hour and forty five minutes flies by and by the end you feel like you know these guys. Particularly Kiefer and Rocco. The two of them seemed to be such kindred spirits, searching for the same thing together. Both working hard and giving it their all. You find yourself rooting for them to succeed.

Show after show, hotel room after hotel room, party after party, and interview after interview... You just see them grow and develop into something amazing.

The album is also titled I Trust You To Kill Me. Its absolutely beautiful. The lyrics have so much pain in some parts, and so much love and passion in others. Some tracks are just plain fun but never lacking that soul. The band consists of Rocco on guitar, primarily Dobro, which just gives it a sense of exotic mystery (if that makes any sense to you). The Burden, the three piece that backs Rocco consists of a bass player, a drummer, and an additional percussionist. We're talking bongos, maracas, tambourines and so on. Its just such a unique sound, you can't help but feel captivated and give it your full attention. Although its obvious to me this album is also perfect for background jams while on a road trip with your significant other, or your best friend, while you laugh and tell stupid stories.

The album is incredible, but I can tell Rocco held back a little on it, as the live footage in the documentary shows some insane solos not present on the album. So if this crazy good band comes to your town, don't miss them.

In closing I want to bring up Rocco Deluca's voice. He's one of those rare vocalists that can do it all. He can hit a high beautiful note, a low deep calming tone, or a loud obnoxious scream. Its for fans of Led Zeppelin, Johnny Cash, Jack White of the White Stripes and Brandon Boyd of Incubus. At least those are some of the bands and singers that come to mind when I listen to I Trust You To Kill Me.

Pick it up, and support a great band.

Broke, Bored, and Contemplative

2007-09-09T18:57:00.000-04:00

First thing's first! It turns out that Tom Welling, who plays Clark Kent on SMALLVILLE, will be playing Superman in the upcoming Justice League movie. A film that will include Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and more

I'm not sure how I feel about this. He's a great CK, and I'm sure he'll make a fantastic Superman. He's a very talented actor, after all. My issues lie with the fact that there will now be two actors portraying Superman on film at the same time. Brandon Routh, you see, will still be reprising the role in the Superman Returns sequel, THE MAN OF STEEL. That's a little odd. There'll also be two different actors portraying Batman, but lets not cross that bridge just yet or I'll never be able to shut up. Also there's the problem that Tom Welling will also still be doing SMALLVILLE. Which will mess up my mojo with the show a little. Seeing TW portray Superman in his prime on the big screen one night, then at home on my TV, I'll see him as a young Clark Kent, still learning to harness his abilities and training for his future? Odd.

I suppose the Tom Welling casting news is good news as it gives SMALLVILLE fans what they've wanted for years: Tom Welling in the Superman suit. It also gives SUPERMAN RETURNS fans what they want: Brandon Routh continues as big blue in Superman's solo movies. Every body's happy! I suppose I'll have to reserve judgement until I see the film.

INVINCIBLE

I'm still reading INVINCIBLE in trades. I'm up to volume 6, and waiting for my local comic shop to order volume 7 for me. It's been so rich and fresh and original. I've enjoyed every volume. I especially enjoy the way they handle his personal life and juggle the superhero alter ego. Very fun.

I recently discovered one of my managers at work is a comic geek too and she asked what I recommended. So I'll be lending her the first two volumes of INVINCIBLE and hopefully she'll be hooked like me.

RUNAWAYS

I also finally got volume 2 of RUNAWAYS in hard cover, over sized format. It's just such a gorgeous book. I'll be collecting that entire series in hard cover over sized. Its just one of those books that REQUIRES it.

I'm way up to volume 9 on ULTIMATE SPIDER-MAN and still loving it. I especially love the new Black Cat and I really liked the introduction of the X-Men gals.

The art continues to wow me and it breaks my heart a little to know that eventually, once I'm caught up to the monthlies, this artist wont be working on the book anymore. But until then, I'm getting trade after trade of great work. Good times.

And, finally, I bought THE ULTIMATES vol. 1 and enjoyed it. It was "okay." Not amazing, but it definitely laid the groundwork for a really great series and I hope it picks up. The art was gorgeous. I enjoyed the Captain America origin and the Wasp & Giant Man marriage issues. Iron Man's armor is not doing it for me, but Tony Stark's being handled perfectly. Thor is interesting. Not much else to be said about this book.

Of course, all of these books were purchased over the span of the last month, not in the recent week. My comics are not directly responsible for my current financial situation. I've been paying off many bills and getting less hours at work. Combine the two, and you end up with a thin wallet. But business will pick up soon and times will be much better.

Incubus

2007-09-02T23:33:00.000-04:00

Last week, I went to the Incubus concert. It was by far the best show I've ever been to. Amazing. What they did with lighting alone was leaps above anything I've ever seen done before.

Mr. Boyd was in rare form. Last time I saw him he played a relaxing tune on his bongos. This time, he went for a full out percussion duel: His Bongos Vs. Jose Pasillas' Drums. His vocals were spot on and his performance made the concert what it was: Perfect.

Every other band member got their air time as well. Solos galore but none seemed forced or out of place. Each one fit its respective song perfectly. I really have absolutely nothing to complain about in regards to this concert.

West Palm in general was refreshing. I took my sister so she could attend the concert with me, and my mother so she could get out of the house and Kissimmee. Showed her around town, took her out for meals, and she caught up on her reading in the Hotel while my sis and I were at the concert. She seemed pretty happy to have come along.

In somewhat related news, the craziness of going to West Palm for a concert wiped out my finances for the week. I'm pretty broke and will remain so until Friday when I'll receive a less-than-satisfactory pay check for a pay period lacking in overtime hours. :( So I don't expect to be spending much for a while since I still have debts to pay, and money to save. I was planning on buying a brand spankin' new guitar next week but it may need to wait until next month. I will however still get that second shelf I need.

I'm off tomorrow and plan on doing a full update about the books I've been reading lately. Lots of good stuff to talk about there.

I also just finished watching Zodiac for the first time. It was wonderful. Loved it.

Okay, I'm sleepy. Good night.

Excitement

2007-08-26T19:49:00.000-04:00

So I've got a lot to be excited about these days.

I'm very excited about INCUBUS on Wednesday night. It'll be at the Sound Advice Amphitheatre in West Palm. I'll have "VIP" passes and best of all, its: FREE!!! My favorite four letter word.

I'm also excited of all the new furniture filling up my bedroom that will soon fill up my new apartment. I've lived in apartments but have never had my very own furniture before. So that's pretty awesome. It's also refreshing to finally have every comic I own bagged, boarded, ordered, labeled and stored in long boxes. That was no simple or quick task. Also my graphic novels and trades are all up on a shelf looking all awesome and what-not.

Finally, I'm ecstatic about starting Full Sail this January. The wheels are in motion and it looks, so far, like it's going to happen without a hitch. So that makes me a very excited bear.

Yikesabee!

2007-08-18T13:27:00.000-04:00

Forgive me blogger, for I have sinned. It has been ten days since my last blog entry.

Heheh. Boy, I've been doing a lot this past week, or so. I've purchased and built shelves and an "entertainment center/unit... thing." I've shelved and alphabetized all my graphic novels, trade paperbacks, and DVDs. I've emptied out all my old skinny clothes and stupid crap lying around my room. Moved out my old dresser, making room for the new... everything in my room is changing around a bit. Pretty nice. But a lot of work.

I've been working at the House of Blues, as usual. Lots of new people there. I've been training a lot, and working as MC (Master Coordinator) more and more often lately. And of course there's the little matter of this girl at work I've been crushing on... nothing's going to develop there. Turns out she's got another relationship she's pursuing. So, there that is.

As for the books, I've been reading a LOT lately. I just finished Volume 7 of Ultimate Spider-Man and it just keeps getting better and better. The relationship between Peter and MJ is written brilliantly. And having Peter be more of a focus than Spider-Man is a welcome approach to the story. The drama with Aunt May is very interesting and I'm curious to see where it leads. And having Gwen Stacy living in the Parker house as a problem child is very weird but it only adds to the obvious fact that the ULTIMATE universe is very very different from the regular Marvel Universe. Its definitely my favorite title to read in trades right now and it's sparked an interest in me to check out The Ultimates, and Ultimate X-Men.

Blue Beetle is pretty great. Just went through Volumes 1 & 2 and am anxiously awaiting #3. I have no previous history with Blue Beetle but I definitely enjoy the character, the powers, and the mystery surrounding them both. Good times.

I've also been diving into INVINCIBLE which is just brilliant. At first I thought Volumes 1 and 2 were good but a tad "slow" at getting to anything important. After reading Volume 3, it turns out the first two volumes were building up to something very big. Mark's (the protagonist) world gets turned completely upside down and inside out all at once. It's incredible what he had to endure and all the groundwork that's been laid for future stories. I'll definitely continue to pick up this title in trades until I'm completely caught up.

World War Hulk is just plain awesome. I love it. Its fun. It's brutal and exciting and yet it still has a lot of brains to it. Not to mention John Romita Jr's my favorite artist and he's kicking some serious ass on this title. Some of his best work, ever. Especially that first issue.

And the last one I want to at least mention is the indie title: Faker. This book is truly original and interesting. It follows a group of friends in college. Each one with their own problems and agendas. Then one of them comes back from being away and it turns out everyone in their little click remembers him, but no one outside the group does. His records are wiped out, his professors don't remember him... there's absolutely no record of him having ever existed outside of his group of friends. This combined with the teaser that "one of them isn't who they say they are" makes for one very interesting read. It's only on its second issue so pick them both up and I guarantee you'll be hooked.

INVINCIBLE

2007-08-07T09:35:00.000-04:00

I just finished reading Image's INVINCIBLE by Kirkman & Walker by recommendation from my LCS owner and friend. I liked it a lot. The story was an original take on the classic Superhero with a nice little twist.

CREDITS:
Writer, Letterer - Robert Kirkman
Penciler, Inker - Cory Walker
Colorist - Bill Crabtree

SYNOPSIS: "Mark Grayson is just like most everyone else his age. He's a senior at a normal American High School. He has a crappy part time job after school and on weekends. He likes girls quite a bit, but doesn't quite understand them. He enjoys hanging out with his friends and sleeping late on Saturday (at least until the good cartoons come on). The only difference between Mark and everyone else is that his father is the most powerful superhero on the planet, and as of late, he seems to be inheriting his father's powers."

I really like this Mark Grayson kid. I look forward to seeing him grow as a hero. He's not the most popular kid in school but he's not a total outcast either. Just your average normal high school kid. He just happens to have a secret identity. I don't know how crazy I am that he named himself "Invincible." I thought that would only end up being the name of the comic and the hero would have a more clever name. But I think his lack of cleverness is the whole point so I'll let that slide.

The writing is fantastic. All this little things like superheros in civilian clothes sitting around the dinner table talking about their day. That's just funny. The author is a total geek and it shows and that's fantastic. He leaves little easter-eggs and homages. Like there being a "TWIN PINES MALL" which is a blatant reference to Back to the Future. There's also references to Superman and other heroes. Just gotta keep your eyes open.

I loved the art. A LOT, despite a few problems. In some action scenes, it was difficult to figure out exactly what was happening. Who was doing what and what was the result. But other than that, the art was great. I especially liked how all the females in the book were beautiful and sexy without being half-naked or scantily clad. They were realistic. Especially since they were mostly high school girls. Very cool. And I like the whole "swirlies" on knuckles and chins thing this artist does. Reminded me a tiny bit of the Disney HERCULES movie, while still having this very realistic yet cartoony clean look. Kind of Freddy Williams II -ish. I'll be looking for more stuff by this artist.

Overall the book was interesting and funny and pretty darn cool to look at so check it out. I'll be picking up volume 2 as I get the feeling its about to get way better.

I recommend this book. 3.75 stars out of 5.

August Shows at Sound Advice

2007-08-01T12:50:00.000-04:00

As a House of Blues employee, I'm also a LIVE NATION employee. And, as such, I get a pass into the Ford and Sound Advice Amphitheatres in Tampa and West Palm, respectively. Well, there's some pretty damn good shows coming in August to SOUND ADVICE that I definitely plan on going to.

JOHN MAYER
Aug. 8th, 2007
w/ Ben Folds and James Morrison
I don't know if I'll have my Live Nation pass in time for this, but here's hoping because I've never seen the Mayer in action and I hear he's amazing Live.

PROJEKT REVOLUTION
Aug. 10th, 2007
with bands like: Linkin Park, Mindless Self Indulgence, My Chemical Romance, Taking Back Sunday, and The Bled

Mainly I want to attend this for Linkin Park. I've only seen them Live once and that was years ago when they toured with P.O.D. in support of their very first full length record. They were good then. They must have progressed so much over the years so I really want to see how they've turned out.

Taking Back Sunday may be fun to see again too.

and the must see of the month:

INCUBUS!!!
Aug. 29th, 2007
w/ Simon Dawes and The Bravery

Color me excited. The last time I saw Incubus, it was at the T.D. WATERHOUSE in Orlando (terrible place to see a concert.) and I was WAY up in the nose-bleed section. A pair of binoculars would've been helpful.

Not this time. I'll DEFINITELY have my pass in time for this and that means I'll get the VIP treatment. I'll be down in the pit, in front of the stage, just mere feet away from the band. Good times ahead.

The Incredible Hulk Concept Art

2007-07-30T10:08:00.000-04:00

SDCC Iron Man Footage

2007-07-29T23:31:00.000-04:00

Here's the footage shown at the San Diego Comic Con by Jon Favreau. Iron Man is going to kick some serious tail...

I am SO psyched for this movie!!! Next summer is going to be amazing. Iron Man, The Dark Knight, The Incredible Hulk... WOOO!

The Dark Knight T E A S E R ! ! !

2007-07-28T15:21:00.000-04:00

MxPx - Secret Weapon

2007-07-19T11:05:00.000-04:00

Band: MxPx
Record: Secret Weapon

EDITOR'S NOTE: Okay you guys, there's something you need to understand. MxPx is my favorite band... ever! In my eyes, they can do no wrong. Every record they put out, I love at first, and it becomes my favorite for a few weeks. Then, the excitement dies down, and I discover how I really feel about it. That said, my favorite MxPx album is their most recent full-length, Panic, with Slowly Going The Way of the Buffalo, and The Ever Passing Moment tied as close seconds.

Track List:

01. Secret Weapon

02. Shut it Down

03. Here's to the Life

04. Top of the Charts

05. Punk Rawk Celebrity

06. Contention

07. Angels

08. Downing

09. Chop Shop

10. You're on Fire

11. Bass So Low

12. Sad Sad Song

13. Never Better Than Now

14. Biting the Bullet

15. Not Nothing

16. Tightly Wound

ALBUM REVIEW: So, how do I feel about Secret Weapon, you ask? To be perfectly honest, I waited a few days (I've had this record since Tuesday) to write this review because I wanted to be absolutely positive how I felt about it. Oddly enough, I didn't love it right off the bat like I typically do with MxPx records. I had some conflicting feelings with it. Some songs I felt were absolutely amazing, showcasing some of their best work yet. And other songs, I felt, had no heart to them, and sounded like something Mike (Bass/Vocals/Writer) just slapped together lyrically for the sake of having more "hard and fast" songs on the record.

That was my initial reaction. Upon further listening I realized, that those songs were just as great as the rest, and weren't just thrown together. On the contrary, they were probably even more difficult to write. The record is called Secret Weapon and it carries a theme of war and espionage, which is most apparent in those songs. And much like country music, each song tells a story, be it true or fictional.

The band's claim that this record would be a return to their roots, even more so than Panic were absolutely true regarding the instrumental elements. But the lyrics and harmonies are definitely something new and exciting that MxPx has not done before. When you listen to the record, keep in mind that it is something very different to what we've heard before.

So once I finally tore down that wall I built up when I heard how different it was, I realized that this is their most ambitious record to date. They tried so many new things, and its obvious from the song titles alone!

Aaron Sprinkle (Anberlin, Mae, Emery) produced yet another amazing album. Its clear he put Yuri Ruley (Drums) to good use, as the drums on this record are the best I've heard from Yuri since Life In General although they're much more interesting on this record. Mike was challenged as well, with high vocals and crazy bass solos we haven't heard from him before. And finally, Tom (Guitars) gives us his best work ever, with awesome riffs, and fun solos. This album has it all.

In the end, despite my initial reactions, this album has definitely won me over, and is now tied with Panic as my favorite MxPx album... in fact... it may even have knocked Panic out of the number 1 slot.

Pick this record up! You will not be disappointed!

5 out of 5 Punk Rawk Stars!

Jason Libs, Evette, and Fullsail

2007-07-15T07:56:00.000-04:00

For those of you who haven't heard of Jason Libs, he's a local act down here in Orlando Florida and he's pretty darn good. If you're ever in the area, come by the House Of Blues front porch. You can hear him play out there at times. He's got a record out called "When All Else Falls Away." Check it out.

You can find him on MySpace and most likely also on iTunes.

Today, I'm heading over to Fullsail College to take a tour of their studios. I'm going to get to see the sound stages and editing rooms and all that stuff. I'm super excited. I'll be starting film school there in January, hopefully. I'm taking my younger sister along. She's going to USF for Creative Writing and once we both graduate, we're going to make a dinomite team.

Here's some Evette for your drooling pleasure:

Transformers Re-Update

2007-07-11T23:44:00.001-04:00

Maybe I wasn't clear about this before:

TRANSFORMERS is by far the best movie of the year, and my new favorite movie!! GO WATCH IT! NOW!

The True Blue Update

2007-07-10T12:25:00.000-04:00

So I had my first day off in 2 weeks yesterday. And I'm still exhausted. I shouldn't even count it as a day off. I didn't work, but I spent all day at Disney's Animal Kingdom. Walking around, looking at cool animals, riding "DINOSAUR" and a really crappy excuse for a "Raging River" ride... pretty fun day.

Afterwards I came home, showered my nasty sweaty self, and then my pops, my sister and myself all went out to watch... TRANSFORMERS!!!!

Transformers: Holy crap! What a freakin' amazing movie! So so so so so good. Michael Bay haters are eating their words right now. It did not disappoint. Not even a little bit. It was exciting, and funny, and impressive, and Optimus Prime is a bad ass, and Bumble Bee is my favorite... Starscream was pretty insanely cool too. Watch Transformers.

Anyways, moving on.

Here are some things that make me happy: Smallville, Lost, Scrubs, and Comics.

Smallville Season 1 was way better than I expected it to be. The Pilot was brilliant. Season 2 was even better. The season finale Exodus was pretty darn great and the Christopher Reeve guest appearance was very cool to finally see.

I've been slacking on Lost but that's just because I've been devoting so much time to getting caught up on Smallville. I'm buying season 3 on Friday so I wanna try to finish Lost season 1 before then and let you know what I think. I'll say this, it started off very slow... but by disk 3, it REALLY picks up and grabs you. I'm very curious to find out who else is on the island, what's going on with that French lady, and what the hell is that big monster thing?

I now own Scrubs seasons 1 through 5 and whenever I'm in a foul mood I watch an episode and it cheers me right up. Its hilarious.

So that brings me to LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD. I saw this last week and it was incredible. Very VERY good movie. I want to say its the best movie I've seen so far this year, but TRANSFORMERS picked up that honor. Live Free or Die Hard is definitely a close second though. Very exciting.

This is getting long so I'm going to wrap this up but rest assured that the regular format of full on reviews is coming back. I'll pick up with some comic reviews next entry.

Quickies are always nice.

2007-07-06T08:03:00.000-04:00

Its been far too long since my last update and I felt the need to at least confirm I'm still alive. But I wont really have time to post a proper update until tonight, after work. I have to actually sit down and collect all my thoughts. Right now they're all jumbled up in my brain.

I wanna talk about the issues I've read so far this month, and my favorites from last month. I want to talk about SMALLVILLE seasons 1 & 2, which I've just finished watching. I want to talk about LOST season 1. I want to talk about SCRUBS and how that show just makes me happy every time I watch it. I'd like to review LIVE FREE OR DIE HARD for you. And finally, I'd like to tell you about my life and how it's going so far... there's a lot I want to talk about but this morning, I just don't have the time. Tonight, I hope to find the time though. It'll be a monster of an update.

Posh Suicide

2007-06-22T08:24:00.000-04:00

A Pick-Me-Up

2007-06-21T13:34:00.000-04:00

I just deleted pics and text messages off of my cell phone. It bummed me out a little.

Enough downer entries, though. Here's an entry a little on the brighter side of things.

As of next month, I'm starting my money saving budget regarding my comics. I'm switching to Trades for almost all titles except the few I can't do without like Batman, The Spider-Man main titles and New/Mighty Avengers. Everything else, I'll be getting in Trades. This should save up some money.

I also plan to exploit my position at House of Blues to make it to no less than 1 concert per month, cuz dammit, I just need to get out more often. I also hope to go to my first comic convention this summer, and I intend to not miss Warped Tour this year although I've already missed Cornerstone. :(

I'm taking this new "single" lifestyle and doing something with it. I'm getting my life straightened out. I'll be starting at a new school in January (at the latest) to get my bachelors degree in film directing. I'm also going to take the opportunity to pay off my debts, get a new place, furnish it up, and maybe even fix up everything wrong on my car.

Here's hoping that these goals are all met by January so I can start next year off right.

I've been known to rush into things when it comes to dating and relationships and that's where I typically go wrong. I fall for some chick I don't really know well and get to know her by being in a committed relationship with her and that's just not a good idea for me it seems. This time, I plan on staying single for a long while and just get to know people. Hopefully make a friend that will someday become more. Maybe its better that way. Building a friendship first, then evolving into a romantic relationship. I'm gonna try that.

So anyway, these have been my thoughts as of late. In totally unrelated news, I just read Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 3 & 4. They just keep getting better and better. I can't believe I've been missing out on this series for so long. More in depth reviews of those to come.

The Dark Knight's New Batsuit

2007-06-15T10:34:00.000-04:00

I saw this last night and almost peed my pants. I was way too exhausted to write about it then so I went to bed but boy am I gonna talk about it now!

Okay, First off let me say that this is maybe not the best angle for a "first look." But I'm happy that they at least have him posing in an environment where you'd normally see Batman in the movie. For BATMAN BEGINS, their first look at the batsuit featured a full frontal view (which was great) on a purely WHITE background (which was terrible!!!) The batsuit is just not meant to be seen in front of an all white background. So at least its more fun to look at. I mean, it looks to me like he's standing on top of a cop car. How badass is that?!

Now lets get to the suit itself. I freakin' love it. It looks like an actual battle suit. Armored and bullet proof. It looks like the whole thing is made of cloth (which is a first for Batman) with the rubber pieces placed on top. This is genius for many reasons. Its probably not as hot for Bale to wear. Its easier to put on and take off. Easier to move in, and it eliminates the bulges we see when the actor moves around in a suit that is 100% rubber. It'll obviously look great on screen too.

I like that its a few different shades. Its not all black. The cape, cowl, gloves and boots look "blacker" than the rest which bring it closer to its comic book roots (gray and black) without actually being gray and black.

The cowl is VERY exciting. Its modeled after a motorcycle helmet, independent from the neck which finally provides for FULL MOTION OF THE HEAD!!! Something we've NEVER seen in a Batman movie before. The whole thing just looks great.

Now, I can also see some fans concerns that maybe it looks too "busy." And that's a fair statement, but really... I think it'll look much better in motion on screen than on a still picture from a bad angle. So please guys, hold judgment until the movie.

WOOO! So exciting!

... I'm ridiculously nerdy.

Catching up on Civil War stuff

2007-06-11T14:09:00.000-04:00

Civil Freakin' War... Its never ending. Heheh.

So when Civil War was coming out, I really enjoyed it, but I didn't read every tie-in there was. I, afterall, only have so much cash to spend. So I read the tie-ins that I was already reading anyways, like Amazing Spider-Man, Invincible Iron Man, and of course the main Civil War book. I never read the rest and I still felt like I got most of the story just fine. But now that they're all available in Trades, I've been getting caught up. I want to have the entire CIVIL WAR event in trades.

So far I've bought and read CIVIL WAR: YOUNG AVENGERS & RUNAWAYS and I friggin loved it. I thought it was great. It made me want to buy RUNAWAYS in trades after Vol. 1 to find out what happened to Gert. And unlike the RUNAWAYS/LONERS team-up, this team-up with the YOUNG AVENGERS actually worked and was fun and exciting. I'm glad I picked it up. It was also interesting to see the parallels in the two teams. Both had a Skrull shape-shifting member, both had a Sourcerer type member, aliens, and a technology related member. Very cool to see the two teams encounter each other and have members you didn't expect be the ones to get along. Great writing. And the art was phenominal!

I also bought CIVIL WAR: FRONTLINE volumes 1&2. I'm halfway through 1 and it's "okay" so far... but I'm going to tough it out and find out what happens to Speedball. Also I heard on a podcast that something happens in issue 11 thats a big freakin' deal. So I wanna find that out.

Next, after both FRONTLINE trades, I hope to buy the CIVIL WAR: WOLVERINE trade and see him go after Nitro. And I'm curious about the FANTASTIC FOUR Civil War book. I hope to have them all very soon.

Oh, by the way, I can't wait for WORLD WAR HULK!

Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End

2007-05-31T00:30:00.000-04:00

I'm going to make this one quick and painless. This movie blows. Seriously. This is one terrible movie. I wont deny that the special effects are amazing, but the story is horrible, dialogue is horrible, the 50,000,000 plotlines are terrible, and they manage to "jump the shark," not once, but a few times.

And I'm not exhaggerating by much with those 50,000,000 plot lines. Seriously, there was all the plot lines left over from the second movie, a ton of new ones, MOST of which were explained while at the same time making them way too hard to follow, and then even at the end of the movie when SOME were resolved, they managed to end the film with 3 whole new plotlines.

Its never ending.

As the Ninja from Ask A Ninja said: Its a neverending story, except there's no luck dragon.

If you liked the second pirates movie, you may like this one. If you didn't like the second, you'll probably LOATHE this one (as I did). Save your money. Wait for the DVD, rent it, and watch it with the captions on and a pad and paper. Be ready to pause and rewind as you take notes in hopes to keep all this crap straight.

Two VERY BIG thumbs DOWN!

Ultimate Spider-Man

2007-05-29T09:28:00.000-04:00

WARNING: SOME MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!

So I completely missed the train when it comes to Ultimate Spider-Man. You see, I'm not a fan of alternate continuities. In Marvel comics, I like the 616 continuity, and don't like anything that strays to far from that. Just like in DC, I absolutely HATE the idea of multiple Earths. Even though I know its the same continuity, I just hate the fact that you can have multiple Supermans, Supergirls, Superboys, Lex Luthors, Batmans, etc. all in one reality. To me, it cheapens the characters, and makes them less interesting because they're not unique. There's a whole mess of them and they all have the same powers.

No, Sir. Not for me.

So when Marvel started this "Ultimate" universe, I stayed clear of it. Didn't want to pollute my mind with this alternate continuity.

Then I started hearing from everybody that Ultimate Spider-Man was an awesomely awesome book. I could not find a negative review about this title. And Spidey being my favorite character, I recently caved and bought Volumes 1 & 2, just to see what I was missing and to decide if it was worth "selling out."

Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 1
This story wasn't terrible. But it didn't win me over completely either. It was "ok." I really enjoyed the fact that it took quite a few issues before Peter even put on the costume. I was disappointed to see the mechanical webshooters again. I felt that if they were going to make this alternate continuity, they could've taken the opportunity to just start him off with organic webshooters and skip that part. But that wasn't too big of a deal. I can deal with those again for now. I'm just a huge fan of the organic webshooters.

What I really didn't like, not one bit, was the Green Goblin. The fact that he's this huge hulking muscle bound monster, who isn't wearing a mask, was just too different for me to deal with. I can take slightly different origins but when the end product is too far off, then it just bugs me. This Green Goblin is actually a green faced Goblin. He's not Norman Osbourne wearing a mask. He's Norman Osbourne transformed into a beast and he can't switch back and forth (from what I can tell.) To me, that seriously limits the potential of all future Goblin stories. You wont have that Norman/Peter, Goblin/Spidey dynamic. A waste, in my opinion.

As for the art, it didn't impress me much either. Like the story, it was "ok." Not terrible, but I'm not in love with it either. I like Uncle Ben's pony-tail though.

Ultimate Spider-Man Vol. 2

Now this one really grabbed me. I absolutely loved this book. Volume 2 is where it's at. I loved the relationship between Peter and Mary Jane. I hate the fact that he calls her "Mary" (that's just weird for some reason,) but their best friends turning into more storyline is going great. They're awkward and funny and both trying so hard. Its great. The end of the book, where they have their talk in Peter's room was priceless.

As for the rest of the book: Top Notch as well! I love the new Electro. Looks way cooler and more menacing than the original, even though this one is still learning to use his powers. Then there's Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin! He was great too. I don't think they changed much from the original, but there wasn't much there to change. He's a big fat guy who runs the crime in NYC. Pretty simple. But he was finally interesting to me again. When he crushed that guy's BLANK with Spidey's BLANK on, and it was all caught on BLANK... awesome! lol.

The art really stepped up on this book too. I absolutely loved it this time around. I'm guessing the penciler didn't put much effort into the first volume thinking it would probably be the only one and then he'd move on to something else. Over 100 issues later, he's still there, and probably wishes he could get a do-over on that first volume. But he really picked it up in the second. Did much better and I was pleased.

So basically, Volume 1 was a bust, but Volume 2 really hit it out of the park and now I'm so incredibly curious to see what happens between Peter and MJ, and Aunt May, and what about hat stupid Goblin running around up there... and Fisk is missing, and Electro is probably honing his skills... I've fallen for the Ultimate trap. I'm in. Volume 3, here I come.

June Calendar for H.O.B. Shows

2007-05-28T01:39:00.000-04:00

The Downside to working at the House of Blues: So many great shows, so few days off!

Click the image for June's show calendar.

Highlights include: Rise Against, Unwritten Law w/ Zebrahead

Also, on the second its Girls In Wonderland '07... which is basically "LESBIAN PRIDE DAY"... so... lots of girl on girl action gonna go down that day. ;-)

The House of Blues & This Weeks Comics

2007-05-26T11:46:00.000-04:00

My new job is the shiznit! Yeah, its so darn cool, I actually said the word "shiznit." So I work at the House of Blues now. I haven't had a job where I was on my feet in a very long time, so my tootsies are definitely hurting. Especially after my double shift yesterday from 10am till 10:30pm! But hey, that's just good money.

I'm so freakin' excited about this gig. I mean, I've been to more shows at the H.O.B. than I can count, but now that I work there, I can walk through the venue while its closed to the public and I just feel like a rockstar. My managers rock, my co-workers rule, and the customers have actually been pretty calm so far. No incidents or meanie-heads. I love it. Fun stuff. I'm sure there will be some bad days with bad guests but that's true in any job.

As for the rest of my life... Its too soon to tell for sure but it looks like things are going to be alright. The new job will provide a lot of financial help so that other things can start falling into place.

I'm even taking my lady out to a special date on June 3rd, and she has no clue what's gonna go down. I'm all surprising and stuff. Smoooooth.

Here are the comics I'm for sure buying this coming Wednesday, although I'm sure I'll pick a few more off the rack:

New Avengers Illuminati #3

Silver Surfer: Requiem #1

Spider-Man Fairy Tales #1

Action Comics #850

52 Vol. 1

Countdown #48

And here are the ones I've got my eye on for the month of June:

Avengers: The Initiative #3

Iron Man #18

Omega Flight #3

Blade #10

Civil War: Fallen Son - Spider-Man #4

Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man #21

New Avengers #31

Sub-Mariner #1

World War Hulk #1

Amazing Spider-Man #541

Captain America #27

Civil War: Fallen Son - Iron Man #5

Immortal Iron Fist #6

Iron Man #19 (World War Hulk Tie-In)

Mighty Avengers #4

Sensational Spider-Man #38

Amazing Spider-Man #542

Legion of Monsters: Morbius #1

Silver Surfer: Requiem #2

Spider-man Fairy Tales #2

World War Hulk: Frontline #1

Countdown #47 - 44

Detective Comics #833

Nightwing #133

Batman Confidential #6

Justice League of America #10

Robin #163

The Joker's New Look

2007-05-21T09:34:00.000-04:00

So the online message boards are on fire, sites are crashing, and the internet is almost broken. What's all the hoopla about? The image above featuring Heath Ledger as The Joker in next summer's The Dark Knight.

Let me state, right off the bat, I trust Christopher Nolan. He hasn't let me down yet. Every movie he directs is better than the last. His choice in casting is always brilliant. He's turned Mrs. Doubtfire into a creepy killer, Tony Montana into an insomniatic cop, Jean-Baptiste Emanuel Zorg (The Fifth Element) into Jim Gordon, an American Psycho into Batman, Wolverine into a magician, Qui-Gon Jinn into Ra's Al Gul... I could go on and on.

So when it was first announced Nolan cast Heath Ledger as the Joker, it was obviously not my first choice, but Nolan knows better. And I trust in the casting.

Now he's hit us with this image that just screams "Crazy, Scary, Psychotic, Homicidal Maniac" and when I think of the Joker, those are the words that come to mind. Its a different look for Mr. J, yes, that's true. But its a welcomed and refreshing change. We've seen Romero and Nicholas do the Joker the same way. Now lets see something new.

The brilliant part, is that Ledger's already got an ear to ear smile all on his own. Wait till we see him smile in the make-up! And for the record, I like the cut smile. I'm curious to see the explanation for it in the movie. I'm sure its got its purpose and I'm anxiously awaiting to see it.

Anyways, the point of all this is to say to all those of you that're FREAKING OUT because its so different, to chill the hell out. Relax. Sit back. Sit tight. And watch the movie next summer. Then you can form an informed opinion. I could be wrong, this whole thing could turn out terrible. But I think that to be unlikely.

Ledger's going to shine in this role. And I can't wait to see what they do with Two Face!

In Nolan I Trust.

The Dark Knight - The Joker

2007-05-20T00:53:00.000-04:00

Ladies and Gentlemen! I give you Heath Ledger as THE JOKER!

MJ Statue Controversy

2007-05-19T14:52:00.000-04:00

Okay. So there's this big controversy going on about the statue of Mary Jane Watson-Parker pictured here. "It's too sexy!" "Its offensive to women!" "I'm a tight ass!" etc. etc. Waaaah waaah waaah!

Seriously, it's pretty simple. If you like this statue, if you think its cool and you want to decorate your mantle or your shelves with it, then pick it up and enjoy!

On the other hand, if you're offended by it, if you think its terrible, then DON'T BUY THE FRIGGIN' THING and move on! Walk past it in the store, or get off the web page you're looking at, or whatever.

Nobody's holding a gun to your head here.

Its not that big of a deal. And that's all I'm saying about it.

To be perfectly honest... this entry was just a big excuse to get this super sexy statue picture on my blog. lol. I don't care what you say... THAT'S HOTT! ;)

Shrek The Third

2007-05-18T22:15:00.000-04:00

I just watched the new Shrek movie. It was pretty good. Pretty funny. Only one new character, which I thought was odd. And he was completely normal which was odder. The movie wasn't as hilarious as the first two, and I still say the first one was best. But its still enjoyable. Not terrible. I could've waited for the DVD though.

Thats all I can really say about it. I'm not a huge Shrek fan. I like the movies, but its not something I'd run to the theatre on opening day to see. The only reason I got to watch it today is because I was spending the day with my sister.

Official THE DARK KNIGHT Synopsis

2007-05-17T16:49:00.000-04:00

"Batman raises the stakes in his war on crime. With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon and District Attorney Harvey Dent, Batman sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the city streets. The partnership proves to be effective, but they soon find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known to the terrified citizens of Gotham as The Joker."

Visit: The Dark Knight or I Believe In Harvey Dent.

All Star Batman & Robin, The Boy Wonder #5

2007-05-16T17:43:00.000-04:00

[Warning: This entry contains ranting, some swearing, and a few spoilers. If you have not yet read All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder #5, and plan on reading it, please go read it first, then come back here. If you don't care, please read my rant and don't worry about the spoilers.]

Okay, so this issue has been over a YEAR in the making. What took a year? The art. And yes, I freakin' love the art. But seriously, was this issue worth waiting a year for? Okay, let me start at the beginning:

So I love Frank Miller's work. So far, everything of his I've read, I've loved. Haven't read a bad piece of Miller work yet. Then there's Jim Lee. One of my favorite artists. Right up there with Benes, Rags Morales, Tim Sale, McNiven, Romita Jr., etc. And after a collaboration between Lee and Jeph Loeb on Hush, Miller and Lee on Batman is my dream team-up. When I heard they were doing this book together, I thought: BRILLIANT! Sign me up, I'm there!

Now, the first four issues took some hard critic and fan hits due to the fact that... well... it had been four issues and nothing had really happened yet. I, however, supported and defended it. I'd say stuff like: "Common guys, give Miller a chance. He'll deliver. It'll all work out in the end. There'll be a big pay-off so great that it'll make sense that there was so much build up." But seriously... in four issues, nothing happened. The requirements were there: We met Dick Grayson, we saw his parents murdered, and we saw how Batman snatches him up. That took one issue. What happened in the other three? NOTHING! Its been one hella-long batmobile chase. A cool chase, yes, but that doesn't merit three issues. And we've been introduced to Black Canary who... um... hasn't done anything either!

So after delays that spanned a whole friggin year ... And I understand Lee is a busy man and he's taken full responsibility for this long delay, but seriously dude, get your freakin' act together. If you can't do a monthly book, then plan shit out and let us know exactly how long its going to take, and then DO IT in time. If you had told us from the beginning it would take a bi-monthly format, then we would've expected that, or however long you thought it would take. But don't promise us a monthly title and then take a year to deliver an issue.

Sooooo... after the year delay, I'm thinking, "Okay... so far nothings happened. But I have faith in Miller's writing and if it took Lee a year to deliver this issue, it must be pretty kick-ass. I can't wait!"

Today I picked up the issue... read it... the art was brilliant, of course... but again... nothing freakin' happened! Nothing! People are still just standing around talking! And that's not the only thing wrong with it...

What the hell is the deal with Batman laughing maniacally like the Joker? What's with Alfred being all muscular and punching the snot out of that punching bag. He looked like he could take on Bruce! If he raised Bruce, I don't care how "early in Batman's career" this book is, Alfred should still look a heck of a lot older than he's looking in this book.

And what was with Wonder Woman being such a bitch? She's pissed, yes, but seriously, I think Miller just wrote her that way to "be edgy" for the sake of being edgy, and not necessarily because it helped the story along in any way. And then Superman shouting stuff like "THIS IS MY WORLD! MY RULES!"... Since when has Clark suffered a Bruce complex and talked like that?

And last but not least: What's with Batman kidnapping Dick Grayson being in the papers? Who's not going to put 2 and 2 together once Dick becomes Robin? And therefore: Who's not going to put 4 and 4 together when Bruce Wayne shows up sporting a newly adopted Dick Grayson? Everyone would know who Batman is!

I really hope Miller thought of all that ahead of time and has a way to have it all make sense. This may be the one work by Miller I end up NOT liking. And if Lee gives us anymore of these delays, it may also be the first time I have a major problem with Lee...

So here's hoping that issue #6, makes it to us next month, on time, and with a story where something actually happenes. I don't think I could deal with yet another issue full of nothing but eye candy. I love good eye candy in my comics, but I'm buying comics to read a good story... and so far... there hasn't been one on All Star Batman and Robin, The Boy Wonder!

Oh, and speaking of eye candy, at the top here you'll see the cover to this issue in the pencils only stage taken from Jim Lee's myspace blog. Secondly, you'll see the alternate cover, drawn by Frank Miller, showcasing Wonder Woman's perfect bottom and sexy legs... Yum.

NOTHING FREAKIN' HAPPENED!!! I DON'T GET IT!... ugh... okay. I'm done.

James Carrington

2007-05-13T00:24:00.000-04:00

I was going to review two recent musical purchases. Instead, I want to tell you about somebody named James Carrington.

I just discovered this British gentleman singer the other day through, oddly enough, STARKVILLE'S HOUSE OF EL which is my favorite Smallville podcast. His songs are just beautiful. Impactful. Touching. Soothing. Brilliant.

He sounds, to me, like James Blunt's lyrics colliding with Colin Hay's guitar, sprinkled with John Mayer's soulfulness.

Check him out on his MySpace Profile. Greatness is in his future.

Refreshment Recommendations

2007-05-11T08:39:00.000-04:00

Alright, so things are starting to simmer down in my personal life. My lady and I are working stuff out. It's been a terrible work week, but if my lady and I are gonna be square, that's good enough for me.

So I'd like to take a few minutes out to talk about a five books I say you definitely should be reading. And if you're not reading them... then you're a little caca pants and you need to get on that.

# 5 - ROBIN

Robin is one of my "top of the stack" books right now. It's been really good for a long time. Especially issue #156 where he talks a suicidal young kid down off of a ledge. All of his issues have been top notch lately and the creative team behind it don't seem to be slowing down much either. They've been tackling plenty of post Infinite Crisis, and 1 Year Later things like Tim Drake dealing with his father's death, Tim's love life, being officially adopted by Bruce, etc. Great read. Pick it up.

#4 - NEW AVENGERS

It was a mental struggle putting this title just at #4 and not higher on the list, but the other books are newer and need a little more attention. Just understand that if I could, without looking like a psycho, I'd put all of the top 4 books as tied at #1. But I digress. New Avengers has been a top stack book since issue #1! It hasn't gotten old or slow or sucky... This book rocks. I love that Spider-Man is finally on a superhero team. And I love the post Civil War situation where they're fugitives. Check out the latest issue. It reveals just what exactly the team is hoping to accomplish by being on the run like this. Also, the post Civil War issues have really played with the time-line. It's a very "Christopher Nolan" take on story telling, only this time in the comic medium. Great read, pick it up!

#3 - MIGHTY AVENGERS

That other Avengers book is just starting out but all ready we've got a kick-ass team, a hot, naked female Ultron masquerading as Iron Man, and THOUGHT BUBBLES! And not just any thought bubbles, but some of the funniest thought bubbles I've ever read. Like Tony gushing over Black Widow, or Ares thinking he could jump Wasp's bones... It's just a lot of fun.

#2 - JUSTICE LEAGUE OF AMERICA

The newest League book at DC is amazing. It's the same writer that wrote Identity Crisis, which is a fantabulous book, by the way. I say, if Brad Meltzer writes the script to the Justice League movie, then we'll be okay. Unfortunately, that probably wont happen. But this book has been phenomenal. Anybody that can get me to care about Red Tornado and Solomon Grundy is a damn good writer. And the art is freakin' amazing.
#1 - IMMORTAL IRON FIST

I'm gonna quote the writer of this book: "Immortal Kung-Fu Billionaire!" That's just damn cool man. If you're not reading this book, you're a dang fool. I love it. It's at the very top of my stack. Every time I pick this book up at the story, I almost consider risking my life by reading it on the drive home. But I don't wanna die. So I wait till I get home and then immediately hit it up. It's phenomenal. The art is cool and appropriate and slightly dark... The action is awesome. The story is captivating. Every part of it is cool. If you read nothing else, READ THIS BOOK!

Spider-Man 3

2007-05-09T09:22:00.000-04:00

Spider-Man 3!!!

Okay, so I think talking about spidey 3 is LONG overdue. So I'm going to put aside my girly problems for a little while and tell you all what I thought.

Initial Thoughts/Reaction: When I saw it the first time, I'll admit I was a tad disappointed. Of course the film entertained, and then some! There was plenty of action, plenty of laughter, and the story in general was pretty top notch. I was just disappointed in how certain things were handled. I'll get to that later. Overall its a great summer blockbuster, but it doesn't reach the bar set by Spider-Man 2 although I still think its better than Spider-Man (1).

On The Story: The story, as I said, is very good. Its completes the Goblin saga, it goes through the Black Suit, and it introduces Venom, although his part was too short. What I disliked on the story (MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD!) was the inclusion of the Sandman in the Ben Parker murder. That's messing with the origin and that, to us fans, is sacred ground. I think if they absolutely had to mess with the origin, they did it as respectfully as possible, but I just don't agree that they had to. I understand the point of it, it fuels Peter's rage with the Black Suit and it provides a way to redeem himself at the end, but they could've achieved that without Sandman. Story-wise, it's safe to say they could've lifted the Sandman storyline right out of the film and it would've been much better.

On the Actors: Everyone, on the cast did a superb job on this film. Tobey Maguire was awesome as Peter, and his Spider-Man has improved greatly. He especially did a bang up job on the emotional and "Dark Peter" scenes. It'll be hard to replace him for the next films. He's pretty much defined Peter Parker. I can't even think of somebody who could take his place off the top of my head... I'll have to give that some thought.

James Franko delivered his best performance of the series in this one. From bad to good and back, and again... Perfect. Spot on. I would've loved to see him in a Goblin costume but I understand why they avoided it like the plague.

Thomas Hayden Church, (right) despite his character being pointless, he really shined in this role. He was Sandman! Every time he showed up on screen, he was Sandman! Brilliant. Perfect casting.

Topher Grace was hilarious and scummy as Eddie Brock, and he was perfect as Venom. So good! A very different take on the Eddie Brock we know from the comics, but it was a good kind of different. Gave the character more depth.

Kirsten Dunst was as terrible as MJ as she's always been. Plus she looked really awful in this one compared to the previous two. Dunst, fire your make-up people. Seriously. She was one of the worst parts of this movie. On the other hand, I wouldn't want them to have recast the role. I'm a continuity freak.

Bryce Dallas Howard (left) was great as Gwen. She was underused and the character was poorly written (what's with the modeling gig?!) but Bryce deserved more screen time. And honestly, she should've been cast as Gwen way back in the first film and MJ shouldn't have shown up till the second. But there's no use crying over spilled milk. I hope she returns as Gwen for the next 3 films.

The rest of the cast were brilliant. Everybody from the previous movies came back including Willem Dafoe, Uncle Ben, The Mugger, Everybody at the Bugle (Betty Brant was awesome), J. J. Jameson was hysterical. Aunt May was sweet as ever.

In short, the entire cast really delivered in all their roles, sans Kirsten Dunst. The writing could use a tid-bit of work. And the film could've used one more pass through the editing room. But in general its a very entertaining flick. Lots of fun. Lots of laughs. Lots of thrills. Directing was great. The special effects were the best yet. These guys have gotten so good at what they do. There was no need to mess with the origin, but again... spilled milk.

Definitely, watch it! I watched it twice and I liked it much better the second time. Some of the best moments in the movie, were the little ones with the supporting cast. Like Jameson's scenes. Bruce Campbell's cameo. Ursula's scenes. etc. So give it a shot.

My Rating: (Included 1 and 2 for the sake of comparison.)
Spider-Man = 3.75 out of 5 stars.
Spider-Man 2 = 4.5 out of 5 stars.
Spider-man 3 = 4 out of 5 stars.

RUNAWAYS Vol 1. - My Thoughts

2007-04-22T21:24:00.000-04:00

Okay, I've been super busy this weekend, and haven't had time to write out a full and proper review on my latest reading. I'm still low on time, so I'm going to summarize what would be a rather lengthy review.

Runaways Vol. 1! Where do I start? My gosh, I friggin' loved this book. I had so much fun reading it. The concept and story was so original and imaginative. Definitely an instant "all time favorite." Right up there, for me, with Identity Crisis, The Dark Knight Returns, and The Long Halloween. Yeah, I'm a Marvel guy, but truth be told, my top 3 favorite books have always been DC properties. Its nice to have a Marvel Book finally up there in the top 5.

Anyways, so the art is absolutely gorgeous. I got so wrapped up in it, that in issues 11 and 12 when there was a fill-in artist, I totally got yanked out of the story, and I really didn't enjoy looking at those two issues as much as the rest of the 18. But the story never ever faltered. This book has everything. Mystery, Murder, Suspense, Romance, Comic Relief, and even SPOILER ALERT: THE UNDEAD! END SPOILER. So awesome!

So yes, if you get the chance, pick this book up. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I think the best part is that even though its a Marvel book, and there are references to the Avengers, and Captain America, etc., it still feels like an indie book. It feels so far away from all that goes on in the rest of the Marvel Universe, and that's a good thing in a book this original. Even when two heroes from the Marvel U show up, it still isn't enough to jar it from its "stand alone" feel.

On that note, I'd like to jump very quickly to the book I read afterwards which picked up with the Runaways as an ongoing series where they cross paths with the Loners. I thought it was "OK." Not great. I think part of the appeal of Vol. 1 is that it was meant to just be that stand alone graphic novel and it works beautifully that way. I don't think I'll be picking up the ongoing series as I feel the deeper and deeper these characters go into the rest of the Marvel Universe, the less they appeal to me. It almost cheapens the original story. Again, I think it's so original and inventive, that while Marvel did an amazing job with it, maybe it should've just been an indie comic. But that's just me.

So pick up RUNAWAYS Vol. 1! And make sure you get it in the Oversize Hard Cover format. The art just POPS right in your face. Its gorgeous.

Grindhouse

2007-04-19T00:21:00.000-04:00

So I had the opportunity to catch Grindhouse last night. It's the Rodriguez/Tarantino double feature. I loved one of the movies, and hated the other.

The first was Rodriguez's own Planet Terror. I'm going to go ahead and plead ignorance on this one. I had no idea this was a zombie flick when I walked into the theatre. Boy, did I learn quick. I love Robert Rodriguez's work. His cinematography and style is fantastic. But I just don't do zombie movies. They're not my cup of tea. I'm a total sissy when it comes to the excessive gore in zombie flicks. 28 Days Later... is one of my favorite movies, but I don't consider that a real zombie movie. Nor is there a lot of gore in it. But true blue zombie flicks, with the brain eating, and the beheadings, and exploding blood boils etc... It just doesn't make for a good movie experience for me. Sorry.

So while the style to the flick was cool and the directing and story in general were really fun, all that zombie stuff really ruined it for me. So I gotta give a thumbs down to Planet Terror, but that's totally a personal movie genre preference thing with me. If you're a fan of zombie movies, this might be the best one you've ever seen. Had I known it was a zombie movie, I honestly would've waited to walk in until Death Proof started.

I will say this though, Freddy Rodriguez freakin' OWNED that role. He really kicked a lotta ass in this flick and made it completely believable that he could be such a bad-ass, while still adding just the right amount of camp to add to the movie's theme of how cool, yet goofy movies were back in the day. Freddy nailed it. Big time.

Death Proof! Now here's the film for me. Ironically, being a Rodriguez fan, I didn't like his film. But not usually being a Tarantino fan, I loved his movie.

Death Proof was just plain fun. An ex-stunt man who uses his suped up car to kill people. That's just cool. And when the girls are driving around with the Zoe character on the hood of the car, that was just pure adrenaline. What really helped is that all those stunts were real, and at real high speeds, with the actual actress being her own stunt woman (as she started out in the bizz as a stunt woman.)

The film has about 40 minutes in the middle where the movies slows down a lot to introduce some new characters but the whole second car sequence at the end is completely worth the wait. Plus you get to stare at the amazing Rosario Dawson while you wait.

Kurt Russel was a pleasant surprise. He's old but he's still got it. Made me miss Tango And Cash. Of course, Rosario Dawson was gorgeous as always. I love that look on a lady.

Rosario Freakin' Dawson

What A Great Week

2007-04-17T12:56:00.000-04:00

This week is just awesome. I haven't had a week where I've had this much to read in a long time. I received in the mail yesterday RUNAWAYS Vol. 1, as well as a digest for the ongoing series #1-6. I've never read anything Runaways before but I was really interested in it once I saw a character called Ricochet guest starring in the current ongoing series. So I can't wait to get up to that point of the story because I've always really liked that character and miss him.

I'm also considering picking up LONERS which I think is being released soon as I believe he's in that as well. I'll definitely be writing about these two title's soon.

I've also got, waiting on the side, two books I bought last week. The first is Frank Miller's Sin City: The Big Fat Kill. It's the third book in the Sin City series, but I've been collecting them in backwards order so it's actually my fifth Sin City book. Two more and I've got the full collection and I haven't been disappointed yet, so I'm excited to read this one.

One thing I loved when reading book four: That Yellow Bastard was getting to really appreciate just how faithful to the book the movie was. In fact, in that particular story, they didn't add anything in the film, although they cut out some unimportant dialogue or repetitive narrative. Other than that it was pretty much word for word, image for image. It was really impressive to see that.

Finally, I've got Frank Miller's 300 waiting for me to read. That's a short one so I might read that on my lunch break at work today or something.

Another Frank Miller book that was very faithfully adapted to film. Can't wait for that.

And the best part about how many books I've yet to read?... tomorrow's Wednesday. That means NEW ISSUES ARRIVE! lol. I'm in comic heaven this week! :)

Thoughts on Civil War

2007-04-16T12:38:00.000-04:00

I just re-read Civil War. This time in TPB form. I thought I'd share my thoughts on it very quickly. Over all, I loved Civil War. I really enjoyed it the first time I read it, and I enjoyed re-reading today. It proves to me that it works pretty well in TPB. It didn't feel like you needed all the tie-ins to understand it, although I'll admit reading the Amazing Spider-Man tie-ins really help understand the Spider-Man moments in Civil War.

Especially when issue two shows Spider-Man unmasking standing next to Tony Stark, issue four shows Peter having doubts and "acting suspicious," and issue five shows Spider-Man betraying Iron Man and crossing over to Cap's side.

I think if they had included at least a little more of Spidey's story in the main CW book, it would've felt more complete. But even without that, I thought it was very well written. Beautifully illustrated. And over-all it just plain rocked. I don't even have a problem with the ending, as many other readers do. I think there's no other way it could've ended and while it may seem rushed, if you re-read it in TPB form, as I did, you'll find that issue 6 and 7 are both so fast paced with so much action that the ending just kind of fits right in as fast paced and doesn't disappoint.

Also, consider this, the ending is the end of the Civil War, but by no means is it the end of the Registration Act, the Initiative, or 42! All that stuff will continue and will not be resolved for quite some time. So its fitting that the end doesn't feel like the end... because its not.

I love what Civil War has done to the Marvel Universe so far. I love the idea of the Initiative. A super-team in every state, Hero training facilities, etc. The first issue of The Initiative shows all the things that can go wrong in that type of situation. It should provide for some great stories. Not to mention the New Avengers and Mighty Avengers books are both great right now, and I can't wait for a big battle between the two.

So, If you haven't read Civil War, here's what I recommend: Pick up The Road to Civil War TPB, along with Civil War TPB and as soon as the Amazing Spider-Man: Civil War TPB is released, grab that and give it a read. These three books should give you a pretty full Civil War experience that you'll enjoy.

Scattershots on future comicbook films

2007-04-13T11:45:00.000-04:00

Here's just some not-so-quick thoughts on 3 superhero films either currently in production, or in early stages of pre-production. Lets begin with Jon Favreau's Iron Man.

An image of the the Mach 1 version of the Armor has recently been released to the public. I gotta say, if this is any indication of what the updated armor will look like in the film, I'm more than excited! This images (right) is pretty much a real life interpretation of what we've seen in the comics. Its just plain cool as heck and really looks like it was put together with big chunks of junk.

When it was first announced that Jon Favreau would be at the helm of this film, I admit, I was a tad sceptical. I've only known him to have directed Elf, which I didn't watch, and Zathura, which I also didn't watch. At least I know Zathura was a very CG heavy film, and hopefully that experience will prove useful to him for Iron Man.

But then, when he announced that Patrick Zircher would be on hand to help with the design of the armor, I was ecstatic! He's my favorite Iron Man artist and that really eased my mind about it. Then, he cast Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark. That's when I said "Alright! This guy gets it! Now, I'm behind this movie 100%!" And I am. I can't wait. I'm really really excited about it.

Super Max!

Alright. This film's a little weird sounding at first. But maybe that's a good thing. You see, David Goyer is a dude I usually stand behind. His writing on Blade and Blade II was fantastic. I loved those two films. His story on Blade Trinity was still pretty good, but his direction on it was half-assed and so I don't really enjoy that part of the trilogy. But that's alright, because he completely redeemed himself for me with writing Batman Begins. Which to this day is still my favorite "comic book movie," despite how amazing Sin City and 300 were. Begins is still unmatched in my book. So he was trying to get the Flash made into a film and failed at that, but now he's got a new project in mind. It's called SuperMax and its a Green Arrow film... but... not.

I admit it's an interesting idea. The bulk of the movie would take place in a maximum security prison, where plenty of "supervillains" are being kept. The idea is to take Green Arrow, frame him for a crime, and toss him into the prison where he'd be surrounded by all the evil doers he himself put in there in the first place. Of course he has to escape and clear his name.

This movie could work. It wouldn't be too CG heavy (which is what Goyer sucked at the most in Blade Trinity), so that would be a good thing. The bad thing is that Oliver Queen would be on screen a majority of the time, not Green Arrow. What I would like to see is for this movie to open up with Green Arrow fighting crime. Throw him in jail. Spend maybe 45 minutes of the movie trying to escape the prison. Then, after the escape, bring Green Arrow back into the picture and spend the last half of the film, with him in costume, trying to clear his name.

That could work. And it would be a welcome breath of fresh air to those of us a little bored with the token "origin story" movies that Marvel has been making. Spider-Man, Hulk, DareDevil, Ghost Rider, Fantastic Four, etc. All origin stories. I'm done with that. Lets move on and have some unique stories told. So I'm cool with this new idea being done, but only if its done well and with plenty of Green Arrow action besides the prison scenes. I hope Goyer's up to this because while I'm totally behind him as a writer... the dude needs a little help with his directing. I'm going to watch his latest directorial endeavor: The Invisible as soon as its released in theatres and see if he's improved.

The Justice League

The Justice League... Now here a movie that has the potential to be incredibly awesome... or incredibly terrible and vomit inducing. My thoughts on it are simple. Keep the Campy stuff OUT. Use "comic relief" very sparingly. Take it seriously. And most importantly, keep Batman out of it.

Now that Batman part can make things tricky. You see, I've got no problem with Superman and Wonder Woman being in the flick. They're so super powerful that it makes sense to have them standing next to the likes of the Flash, Green Lantern, Martian Manhunter and Aquaman. But Batman is just a regular man. One who uses his reputation as an Urban Legend or a scary myth to fight his foes. Putting him in such a group as the Justice League would COMPLETELY destroy the image Nolan has created with Batman Begins, and that he hopes to continue with The Dark Knight. Not to mention that Christian Bale would never do that film, and there's no one else that could fill those boots until Bale is done with his trilogy.

Now the reason I say the Batman thing is tricky, is because he's known as one of the trinity, or the "big 3" and without him, Superman and Wonder Woman would just seem incomplete. But that's easily fixed. Even though Supes and WW would do good in a JLA movie, maybe they should just be kept out of it right now. Keep Routh in his Superman Movie Series, Keep Bale in his Batman Series, and start up a kick ass Wonder Woman movie. But use the JLA movie to launch NEW heroes we haven't seen yet. Aquaman, Green Lantern, Green Arrow, Martian Manhunter, Hawk Man, Canary, etc. Make a new group full of fan favorites and this film could be something really special.

And maybe it'll help my dream of seeing Marvel's Avengers in their own movie!

Good luck to these film makers. I look forward to enjoying these movies in the next couple of years.

Justice League of America

2007-04-11T11:36:00.000-04:00

Okay, I just read Justice League of America #7, And I felt I had to write and entry here. I freakin' LOVE this new book. Meltzer and Benes' run on this title is top notch. Its one of those titles that are at the "top of my pile." When I buy my books for the week, and this book is one of them, its the first one I read.

The art is phenominal. Very "Jim Lee" without over-doing it, like Lee sometimes does. And yet, I think it may be even better. Each character is its own and has its own unique look and face to it. You feel the action, and you enjoy the quiet panels as well. Seriously, really great stuff. Benes is now one of my favorite artists. Right up there with Lee, Romita Jr, Sale, and McNiven.

The story has also blown me away. The way Meltzer has taken his time revealing the team's line-up, while still giving us a great big dose of action and team work, showing us little by little why this particular line-up came to be. Its just great fun and almost felt like how the Avengers come together by an act of fate.

Very Cool.

And who knew somebody could make Solomon Grundy interesting for me again. Wow. Just... Wow.

I hope this creative team sticks around for a long long time. As long as they're writing and drawing, I'll be reading.

Monthly Pullbox List

2007-04-09T22:20:00.000-04:00

Alrighty, very quickly I just wanted to make a list of every comic book I currently read monthly. I'll do this once a month from now on as often as I remember, basically for my own knowledge, to keep track of what I read, and how my list changes (Grows, or Shrinks).

From MARVEL:

Avengers: The Initiative
Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man
Immortal Iron Fist
Blade
Invincible Iron Man
New Avengers
Mighty Avengers
Sensational Spider-Man
Spectacular Spider-Man
Black Panther
Fantastic Four

And a few #1's that I'll be checking out this month are:

Omega Flight #1
The Loners #1

And from DC, I collect Monthly:

Detective Comics
Batman
Robin
Nightwing
Batman Confidential
Superman Confidential
Action Comics
All Star Batman and Robin (although there hasn't been a new issue in over a year!)
Justice League of America

So lets see how this list changes over the next few months.

Commentification

2007-04-02T16:41:00.000-04:00

It was brought to my attention by a somewhat bratty sibling type individual, that my settings on this here blog prohibited non-members to post comments. I've rectified this monstrocity of a mistake, and now, anybody can post comments. so comment away!!!

the Pursuit of Happyness

2007-04-01T12:44:00.000-04:00

Last night I watched this flick and I just though I'd quickly share my thoughts on it. Its a mixed bag of feelings. Will Smith is fantastic in this film. Played the character very well and his son Jayded was very good as well.

There were negatives to the film while watching, that were corrected in my head once the film ended. I'll explain: It felt a little long. Bad times upon bad times fell upon Smith's character, and I get that the director just wanted you to get the full effect of just how bad times were, but at one point it was just like "OKAY! ENOUGH! Life sucks for him, I get it, move on!" But then when you get to the last few scenes in the movie, where (I wont spoil how) things get better, you realize that things getting better wasn't the point. The whole movie is bad times for Smith for a reason! That's the point of the movie. Everbody sees things getting better as being the end of the movie. Its no surprise. But what moves you is all the stuff leading up to that

So when you watch the movie, just kind of give in to what's going on and enjoy it. Its a great film, wonderfully put together and has a few really great performances in it.

On a sappy "I'm such a loser" side-note: The movie really inspired me to work really hard, shoot for my dreams and do everything I can to ensure that I can provide for my family. I intend to marry my girlfriend sometime this year, if I can pull that off, and this film really kicks you in the crotch and makes you go, "Crap. I gotta get my ass in gear and do something!"

So check out the movie. Great stuff.

Current Reads

2007-03-30T21:33:00.000-04:00

Alrighty roo. So I just started reading Frank Miller's Sin City: That Yellow Bastard. It's the fourth book in my collection. Three more and I'll have the full collection. I'll post a review of the book after finishing it. Probably in the next few days.

Tonight, At some point, I'll Re-read the four issues of Spider-Man: Reign and post a review of the story as a whole

I'm also picking up some new books lately, like The Immortal Iron Fist, The Mighty Avengers, Most of the Initiative run etc. So I'll post some random thoughts on those as they come to me.

Right now, I've got soreness happening. I need some aspirin and some Icy-Hot.

I'm gonna sit down and watch The Pursuit of Happyness. It really looks like a groovy flick. Will Smith has made some pretty fantastic films. Only screw-ups I can think of are: Men in Black II, and Wild Wild West. My thoughts on this movie later. We'll see if the rave reviews were deserved.

One last thing... Add me on MySpace.

Up, Up and Away!

2007-03-28T00:01:00.000-04:00

Alright everybody! Greetings and Salutations. My name's Adrian, but you can call me the A-Train if you so desire. That's my stripper name. ;)

I lead a pretty boring life at the moment. Not much goes on. Although I did recently start a new job. That's pretty exciting. Its hard. Challenging. But that's a good thing. Never a dull moment, you know? And if I work my ass off, I pretty much write my own paycheck. So I'm trying hard. I'm off to a slow start. But I'm doing my best.

Part of why I'm working so hard is my girlfriend. We've been together for quite a while now and hope to get married sometime this year. Its been an uphill battle to make that happen but hopefully now, with this new job, it'll finally happen and we'll start our life together.

She's basically my whole life.

I've been spending lots of quality time with my parents as well. We've managed to bond over a shared obsession with the show 24. We never caught the show on TV but we discovered the DVD sets recently and picked those up from the beginning. So we're now on the third disc of Season 3.

So far its the best season, but all accounts I've heard say this series gets better and better with each season. I read a review recently that claimed that "If Jack Bauer ever punches an Alien in the face (extra-terrestrial, not illegal), then this show will go down as the greatest show in Television history!" Seriously, I whole heartedly agree. Season 6, which is airing right now, sounds like its PHENOMENAL, so I'm trying to get through the box sets as quickly as possible, so that when season 6 hits DVD, I can pick it right up and waste no time getting caught up. Best part about that is that if there's a season 7, I can start watching it as it airs regularly every week.

I've developed a rather unhealthy obsession with film and television. But this will work to my advantage when I head to film school in January of Next Year. With some luck, I may actually fulfill my dream of working in the film industry. Preferably as a director.

For the moment this is all I feel like sharing with you. Its past midnight and I have to arise in less than 6 hours. So off to bed I go.

Good evening to you.

Review: Action Comics #846

2007-03-27T23:47:00.000-04:00

Issue: Action Comics # 846
Story: "The Last Son" (Part Three)
Writers: Geoff Johns & Richard Donner
Pencils: Adam Kubert
Colors: Dave Stewart
Cover: Adam Kubert

Synopsis: In Part 3 of the emotional story "Last Son," get ready for new secret identities, new villains, and a new mystery hidden within the Fortress of Solitude! Superman's life reaches a turning point as he confronts an evil power twenty times greater than his own in a battle that threatens not only his planet, but the boy from Krypton!

My Notes:

For those of you who haven't been reading Donner's run on Action Comics, for goodness sakes PICK IT UP! Run, don't walk, to your nearest comic shop and get the first two parts (Action Comics #844 & 845) and grab this issue while you're there because you're not going to want to miss this. This is the perfect marriage of Superman Comics, Superman: The Movie, and a touch of Superman Returns. It follows the story of a child that falls from the sky, and when encountered by Superman, speaks Kryptonian. The only explanation must be that this child is the real "last son of Krypton," right? If you haven't been reading, pick up the books to find out and don't read my review of this issue as it spoils the previous issues.

--My Review--

Story: I'm loving this story. When the kid turned out to be Zod and Ursa's child, I just about had a geek-anurism. It was a genious move, in my opinion, to make the kid Superman takes in be the spawn of one of his greatest foes. Great stuff. I love the way the Phantom Zone is portrayed with the triangular... glass... thing... that Donner used in Superman: The Movie and we've also seen it on Smallville. I'm not "ga-ga" over those goofy goggles Zod, Non and Ursa wear, but the rest of their look is pretty great, and in this issue, when Zod finally confronts Superman, Supes recognizes their outfits as "prison uniforms." The cliffhanger at the end of this issue is tremendous. Donner really knows what he's doing. I visualize his mind going "I get to do a comic book?! You mean... I can do whatever I want? No budget? No special FX limitations? I'm pulling all my tricks out of the bag!" And that's exactly what he's doing. Read It!

The Art: I don't think I've ever seen Adam Kubert's work prior to this run on Action, but he's quickly growing to be one of my favorite artists. Again, I'm not crazy about the dorky goggles the threesome are wearing, but other than that, Kubert's art is just plain beautiful.

My Rating for this Issue: 5 out of 5 stars!