Scott Pilgrim

It's just about a month away now - the theatrical release of the first Scott Pilgrim movie. I'm excited to see how they do it. The books are so crazy and fun and Michael Cera is such a fun and quirky actor. I can totally see him as Scott Pilgrim.

We've stocked up on the graphic novels again at Neptune. 1-5 is available for those you you who have not yet enjoyed the spunky fun of S.P. Volume 6 is coming Jully 20, so that will give you some time to get caught up with the first 5 installments and then pick up 6.

This is fun for those who like manga - it has that general feel to it. Also young adults and people who are looking for something different from the comic book super heroes.

Make your own Scott Pilgrim avatar. It's fun!

Transformers 3 Villain is...

Shockwave. Yep, it's official. The third installment of the Transformers movies will have Shockwave as the villain and be in 3D too, of course.

Read about it here.

Not a Transformers specialist and need to know who or what Shockwave is, let me tell you. Wikipedia says:

As the Decepticons' military operations commander, Shockwave's power is second only to Megatron's Army, and even that is disputed. His actions are carried out with the cold, brutal clarity and perfection one would expect of a purely mechanical being — his way is not that of blood lust, like so many other Decepticons, but rather that of a scientist attempting to solve a problem. And that problem is: how can he use his abilities to most effectively eliminate the greatest number of enemies? Unfortunately for the Autobots, it is rare that Shockwave does not find an answer.

Unlike most early Transformers Shockwave was not modified into an Earthly form, and retains his Cybertron alternate mode — a 35-foot-long ray gun. He possesses the power of flight in both modes, and commands the totality of the electromagnetic spectrum allowing him to emit beams of energy in a wide variety of forms. His high energy output makes him particularly fuel inefficient, but radioactive fuel sources stored in the reactor in his chest can help Shockwave to overcome this problem. Although his logical brain center is usually an advantage, human adversaries often pose more of a difficulty to Shockwave, as more intuitive and emotional thought processes often confound him.

While the animated series established Shockwave as fanatically loyal to Megatron, Shockwave's original bio and most fiction since have described him as coldly and patiently looking for ways to overthrow Megatron, not for personal power (as Starscream would) but simply because it was logical for him to do so. Shockwave concluded that he should rule so that no emotion should prevent the Decepticons from conquering the universe. This was retained in most comic books, where Shockwave became leader of the Decepticons.

So now you know. You'll be so informed when T3 3D comes out!

Why Mickey Rourke Scares Me

More Mutants

Did you see Wolverine over the weekend? It did well in the box office. Well enough, in fact, that 20th Century Fox is confirming not only a second Wolverine flick, but a Deadpool spinoff as well.

According to Yahoo! Movies: "Following the monster weekend for X-Men Origins: Wolverine, and a day after announcing that a Hugh Jackman-powered sequel is in the works, 20th Century Fox has confirmed to E! News that Jackman's costar Ryan Reynolds will be given his own spinoff and potential franchise-launcher as the Marvel Comics antihero Deadpool."

I thought the Wolverine movie was OK, not the worst film Marvel has put out, but not the best. Better than Spider-Man 3 but only slightly, nowhere near as good as Iron Man. To be honest I thought the evolution of Wade into Deadpool was one of the weaker points in the film. I won't get into a lot of details so that anyone who is reading this but hasn't seen the film won't have it ruined. I just thought that there was a story to tell and it wasn't told - it just happened without any explanation. But Deadpool does have mass appeal right now as a character, so I can see Marvel jumping on the opportunity to ride the money train. Sorry Gambit fans - no news yet on a film for the card carying mutant from the bayou.

Green Lantern: First Flight

This summer promises to be the Summer of the Lantern. Sure, Wolverine might dominate early, but Green Lantern and the Lantern Corps is sure to catch up in June. A new animated DVD by DC featuring G.L. is slated for this summer. Blackest Night kicks off with a Free Comic Book Day issue and then will continue on in June. Time to brush up on your Lantern trivia and gear up for this summer's hottest color - GREEN.

Below is a trailer for the GL Animated Movie:

Who's the Stooge Now?

If you haven't heard, Hollywood, unable to create any good new ideas, continues to attempt to revive old classics, the latest being the Three Stooges.

And which actors will take on the rolls of Larry, Curly & Moe? They say it will be Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Jim Carrey. From my view point, Carrey is the only one who is even remotely funny. He's too skinny, but at least he's funny. Sean Penn???? Has he EVER been funny? WHY would someone pick him for the roll of Larry?

From totalfilm.com: Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro and Jim Carrey are lining up to star as Larry Curly and Moe – better known as The Three Stooges for the Farrelly brothers and MGM.Penn is apparently in place as Larry, while Jim Carrey is negotiating and considering an all-McDonald’s diet to gain 40 pounds for the role of Jerome “Curly” Howard. Del Toro hasn’t locked down a deal yet, but MGM and the brothers are convinced he’s the man for Moe.The Farrellys have been trying to get this thing moving for years – setting it up at Sony, Warners and now MGM, which has pushed to nab the rights to the team’s films and lives.

Anyone else think these are maybe not the best choices?

Official Wonder Woman Animated Movie Info

Dates, times, details, all here. Taken from AWN Headline news:

DC Comics and Warner Bros. Animation are set to release the all-new animated original movie WONDER WOMAN on March 3, 2009, distributed by Warner Home Video. WONDER WOMAN will be available as a Single Disc DVD for $19.98 (SRP), 2 Disc Special Edition DVD for $29.98 (SRP) and Blu-ray Disc for $34.99 (SRP). Order due date for all versions is January 20, 2009. The animated original movie will also be available OnDemand and Pay-Per-View as well as available for download day and date, March 3, 2009.

Produced by the multiple Emmy Award winning animation legend Bruce Timm, WONDER WOMAN is an origin story and features a stellar celebrity voice cast including Keri Russell (WAITRESS, FELICITY), Nathan Fillion (DESPERATE HOUSEWIVES), Alfred Molina (SPIDER-MAN 2), Virginia Madsen (SIDEWAYS), Rosario Dawson (SIN CITY), Oliver Platt (THE WEST WING) and David McCallum (NCIS).

WONDER WOMAN begins on the mystical island of Themyscira, where a proud and fierce warrior race of Amazons resides. They have raised Princess Diana, a daughter of stunning beauty, extraordinary strength and incredible fighting prowess. Diana possesses a host of super human powers granted to her by the gods and goddesses of Olympus and her strength and stamina are unparalleled. When Air Force fighter pilot Steve Trevor crash lands on the island, the rebellious and headstrong Diana defies Amazonian law by accompanying Trevor back to civilization. Meanwhile, Ares (the God of War) has escaped his imprisonment at the hands of the Amazons and has decided to exact his revenge by starting a world war that will destroy them all. It is up to Princess Diana to save her people and the world by using her gifts to become the ultimate WONDER WOMAN.

WONDER WOMAN: 2 Disc Special Edition and Blu-Ray versions will feature collectible packaging as well as 185 minutes of incredible bonus features such as:

-- WONDER WOMAN: A Subversive Dream -- She is one of the pillars of DC Comics. We examine why Wonder Woman is important in the grand scheme of the DC Super Heroes and how her raw strength and power helped define a new generation of empowered women, who realized that their gifts of intellect and strength were just as powerful as their male counterparts.

-- WONDER WOMAN The Daughters of Myth -- The riveting documentary historically defines the meaning of the Amazons and how this links in with the evolution of the Wonder Woman character from comics to screen.

-- Audio Commentary -- featuring commentary by Gregory Noveck (Senior Vice President, Creative Affairs, DC Comics), Bruce Timm (Producer), Lauren Montgomery (Director) and Michael Jelenic (Screenplay).

-- Bruce Timm's Top Picks
Popular episodes from the Warner Bros. archive of Justice League/Justice League Unlimited animation featuring Wonder Woman; all personally selected by Bruce Timm, producer of this Wonder Woman feature film. All formats include "To Another Shore" and "Hawk and Dove." Exclusive additions for the Blu-Ray and 2-Disk formats: "Paradise Lost, Parts 1 & 2."

-- Digital Copy Download -- Warner Bros. is including a Digital Copy of WONDER WOMAN on the DVD which will provide fans a legitimate means to enjoy their favorite action hero anywhere they want on their portable video device. Formats supported include: iTunes, Windows Media Player. Restrictions apply. Consult product packaging for details.

-- Sneak Peak -- The next DCU Animated Original Movie.

-- WONDER WOMAN: The Amazon Princess -- This featurette includes both a thumbnail history of the character of Wonder Woman featuring interviews with DC Comics creators and artists (Paul Levitz, Dan DiDio), and behind the scenes footage of the upcoming made-for-DVD release punctuated with interviews from the production staff and voice talent behind the film (Keri Russell, Alfred Molina, etc.)



***Not sure if I'd spend the cash for the bonus stuff, but I'll check out the film. The others were good, so I'm looking forward to one of my favorite heroines finally being featured.

Wonder Woman Animated Film

Coming in February 2009, as you can see by the image on the main page above. Below, along with some links, are some screen shots I took of the trailer.

The official web site is here.

The trailer can be seen here.

While it looks like WW will be doing some major fighting, I can't find a plot outline anywhere. I guess it's too soon yet. But you'd better bet I'll be keeping my eyes open for more information as February approaches.

Batman: Dark Knight Movie - Review

Whew! It's been a while since my last post. Sorry bout that. I've been SO busy and this coming week won't be much different. But Craig and I did make time to see the Batman movie tonight. Craig really has to see it since everyone comes into the store wanting to talk about it and if he's not seen it people just leave disappointed.

I'm going to tell you what I thought - I liked it, but didn't love it.

Why? My opinions are below the picture, so don't read on if you don't want to know about the movie. I will mention specific things, so you WILL be spoiled if you have not seen the movie. You have been warned - do not read on if you don't want Batman movie spoilers.

In the mean time check out Jimsmash's recommendations for good Batman stuff. I can't top his post.


What I really did enjoy - Joker. I thought that part was written and acted very well. He was nuts, yet completely rational. He was irrational and reactive while having a plot to make everyone act as evil as he was. He made chaos while keeping control. He needed Batman to make all of his evil plans work. A more frightening Joker was almost impossible! The transformation from Harvey Dent to Two Face was also very good. I could see what happened to him drive him crazy. And the makeup was very well done.

What I didn't like - Batman. I felt like the character was written poorly in this film. He needed advice from everyone. He didn't do much detective work. He did not come off to me as being particularly clever. And Batman's identity was known by too many people. Plenty of fights - but Batman was the looser in too many of them. Lots of flash and bang but not much story. While I really liked Batman in the previous film, I did not like the character this time. In the last film Batman was just getting started, growing and learning and becoming. But in this film it felt like he'd taking a step backward instead of forward.

I also didn't like that by the end just about everyone really WAS bad. No one could trust anyone. Even Batman was made out to be a bad guy by the end.

And WHY was Barbara the commissioner's wife? They had a PERFECT opening for Barbara as the commissioner's daughter. At the end the blond son could have EASILY been a red headed girl. The commissioner's daughter, who almost gets killed by a man driven to evil by the Joker, and then is saved by Batman, but sees him made out to be a criminal anyway. Might that young girl grow up to want to be like Batman or help Batman? Sure! Now that would have been a nod to fans - to have the child be Barbara instead of some unnamed blond boy.

The story seemed weak. There was plenty going on. Lots of bad guys - the mob kings, Joker, Two Face, we even saw Scarecrow. Lots of people died and things blew up. There were fantastic effects and great choreography, but it just felt like the story lacked substance. Either that or it was so deep that I didn't get it on the first viewing.

It was a good film. Fantastic cinematography. Great acting. Freaky Joker and the Two Face makeup was awesome good. Lots of explosions. It topped the Batman films of two decades ago by miles - portraying a dark Gotham with real crime and real fear. But underneath all of the flash and bang I found it missing something that would have sent me home saying I loved it. Instead, I didn't love it. I only liked it.

Oh - a side note - is it just me or is the Spirit film looking more and more like Sin City? We saw a new trailer with Batman and I felt like it was a second Sin City film more than a Spirit film.

How about you? What did you think of the movie?

Stark in Hulk

TV spot showing Tony Stark as part of the Hulk trailer.



Don't miss the Hulk! It starts this coming Friday.

Game Time - Indiana Jones Lego

It's cute. It's fun. It's adventure. It's Indiana Jones. It's Legos. All in one great game.

There are few games that Craig & I can play together on the PS3, but this is one of them. We each get to play a fun Lego character from the movies. Right now we're on the second film, probably about 2/3 of the way through Temple of Doom.

If you've ever watched Invader Zim you might remember Zim's statement, "Destruction is Nice." We constantly say that while playing this game because there are so many things to smash up and get the rivet/treasure from. Each adventure includes a bit of the movie done Lego style at the beginning and end - where you see gestures and hear noises but there isn't any actual talking. That's what makes it so surprising when you finish a film and then the credits run for about 5 minutes with a dozen people credited for the voices.


The weather has been making watching TV difficult, since we have DirectTV - which has problems getting a signal in this kind of bad weather. So we've been getting some good playing time in. In fact Craig's loading it up now. So that will end this post.

I recommend the game - it is as good as the Star Wars one in terms of story, visual quality, fun and jokes. Check it out!

Blogged with the Flock Browser

Are You Ready for Iron Man?

You know, or you should, that Marvel's latest super hero movie, Iron Man, is coming out this week. Personally I am pretty excited. While I've never been a huge fan of the Iron Man character, I do like star Robert Downey Jr, who will be playing Iron Man. And from the trailers I've seen I think he will make a great Tony Stark. Special effects have come a long way and it should show on a movie like this, where a human character flies.

Writer of Lying in the Gutters, Rich Johnston, says in this week's column, that he got to preview the film.

He says about Downey's performance: "Robert Downey Jr. as Tony Stark totally owns this role, puts a large slice of ham on a plate, eats it up and spits out an incredibly engaging performance. A soulless self satisfied epitome of selfishness given a rude awakening, yet still retaining much of the man he was. The downside is that Downey just pushes everyone else off the screen. It's hard to admire any performance as much as his, everyone becomes a cypher in his shadow."

And the effects: "what about the Iron Man, the jet fighters, the different suits, the explosions, the weapons the... well, some very dodgy science aside, it looks and sounds great. Lots of very convincing and visceral hitting things, blowing them up and feeling good about it, It's very much the anti-“Superman Returns." The vision of a world already high-tech - with hologram interactive displays, live windows and touch sensitive security systems makes an Iron Man improbable, but not impossible, which eases a skeptical audience in. "

The movie has an 83% so far on Rotten Tomatoes. Not bad.

Oh, and let's not forget that there should be an Incredible Hulk sneak-peak crossover in the movie. Yep, if you hadn't heard, there is a brief moment where we see the Hulk in this movie.

So, whatcha going to do this weekend? See a midnight showing of Iron Man, go to bed, get up around 10 am and get ready to head to Neptune Comics for Free Comic Book Day. Grab some goodies there. Go home and play some Grand Theft Auto 4 (new tomorrow, look at those graphics!!). Get up Sunday and head out to Oconocon at the Olympia resort in Oconomowoc. Say hi to us there! Then head home, watch the Simpsons, and get ready for another work week. That's your weekend - sounds pretty fun if you ask me! See you soon.

Movie Review - Vantage Point

Yesterday Craig and I saw the movie "Vantage Point." The movie has a fairly star-studded cast and the premise sounded interesting. It is the story of an assisination attempt on the President of the United States while he is preparing to give a speach to kick off a world-wide conference against terrorism.

It begins with GNN, a TV news station, covering the event. We see the different camera angles and are in the production trailer watching as they set up the story for consumpion by the American public. Then it all goes crazy when two shots are fired at the President and shortly after a bomb goes off, causing more damage to the area where the President had been.

Then we begin to learn what is really going on as the story is retold several times, each from a different perspective, or vantage point, as the name of the movie indicates. It was a different way to tell the story, I thought, unwrapping the layers of deception and conspiracy and heroism slowly as those 20 minutes are retold over and over. But, after about the third view point we were starting to wonder how many times they could really tell the same story. The good thing was just as we were starting to get a bit bored by seeing the same story again, it picks up, showing more behind-the-scenes things that we did not see in the first few times the story is told.

Overall I thought the movie was OK. Not great, but not horrible. If you are looking for an action movie that can distract you for a couple of hours, this will do the trick. Craig and I both found bits of the movie predictable, so there were not a lot of unexpected or unpredictable twists. I think had they done something more unpredictable it would have made the film a little bit better. But the acting and pace of the film were good and the storytelling, while predictable, was also believable. There are plenty of tense moments and high-speed action scenes, so if you like action movies, this one isn't bad.

Justice League: New Frontier Movie

Just a reminder that Justice League: New Frontier D2DVD movie will be coming out at the end of the month. You WILL want a copy. Check out the video below.

Excited about Indiana Jones

I just saw the trailer (below) - yeah I'm a few days behind the curve on this one, but I've been busy. And I'm really excited about it. It looks like they're literally taking Jones out of retirement and even having a bit of fun with the fact that he's aged since the last film. I am still not sure about Shia, but we'll see how he does. He was very good in Trasformers, so I'll keep my fingers crossed. But it looks like lots of cool effects and plenty of action. It should make for a GREAT summer film!

Some Link Action

It's been a long day and I don't have opinions to share right now. Instead I'll share some good links.

Battle Pope animated bits via Spike TV. Fun!

The writer's strike may be over soon. If it ends this weekend here's when TV Guide says we'll get new episodes back.

Interesting column on the recent trends in comic book sales.

If you love Indiana Jones then you'll be able to celebrate that love on Valentine's day, when the trailer releases, during Spiderwick Chronicles.

Upper Deck takes a stab at the mini game business, starting with World of Warcraft. If it does half as well as the card game it should be awesome.

Iron Man Movie - update

The photo above is the newest image being released from the Iron Man movie (May 2nd, 2008). It's the full suit - which looks pretty dang good. I wonder if Downey is in it, or if they put someone else in it, or if they just CGI it onto him.

There have been reports that there will be a bit of an Iron Man/Hulk movie crossover. How cool is that? William Hurt, who is playing the roll of General Ross in Hulk, confirmed that he's also in a scene in Iron Man. I have also heard, but not found a confirmation yet, that there will be an Iron Man appearance in the Hulk movie. Guess we'll wait and see.

WOW - Heath Ledger has Died

This has been all over the internet now for a few hours, but I'm still quite shocked about it.

Ledger wasn't an extremely well known/popular actor yet, but at 28 years old and the recipient of an Oscar nomination, he was on his way. He will be The Joker in this summer's Batman movie, which has finished filming and is in post-production now. That will make seeing him in the film that much more eerie for me.

He was found in bed with a bottle of sleeping pills nearby. So far the police do not have evidence of fowl play or suicide. I guess they're assuming he accidentally took the pills and overdosed to the point where he couldn't wake up. We'll see if those facts change at all in the coming days.

It's always sad when someone young, with such a promising future, dies this way. I feel for his friends and family.

Newsarama has details & other links here.

Indiana Jones

This May's Indiana Jones movie should do very, very well at the box office. I am sure Craig and I will see it.

But the thing I'm most excited about - the Indiana Jones Lego video game. I played the Star Wars ones and they were so cute and fun. The Indiana Jones one looks great too (trailer). Hopefully it will come out right around the same time as the movie and not months later because I already want it now. The Lego video games are ingenious! Great for any age and any language. I believe the Batman one will be coming out sometime in the fall of this year - so it's possible that not one, but TWO awesome Lego games will release this year! *scream & dance with glee*

Hulk Movie

June 13th, 2008, is the current date that the new Incredible Hulk movie is scheduled to begin. This time it will star Edward Norton as the Hulk. Over at The Beat, Heidi has a couple of pictures - but so far not much has been released about the film. I love this still and hope it's in the movie - it is VERY reminiscent of the TV series from the late 1970's - early 80's.

While I didn't mind the Ang Lee version as much as most, I do hope this movie is even better. Interest in the Hulk character is at an all-time high now following the Planet Hulk and World War Hulk stories, so hopefully they do the character justice and can bring even more fans into the world of comics.