Life Imitates Art- The Dark Knight Rises & The Amazing Spiderman

We had a great teaser battle this weekend between DC and Marvel for next Summer's comic-flick showdown of the final installment of Nolan's Batman trilogy- The Dark Knight Rises and the first of the new Spidey reboot- The Amazing Spiderman.

Impressed with the powerful visual of Bane walking away from a shattered helm of the Batman that makes the comic-geek in all of us say--hells yeah!!-- they are calling out the breaking of the Bat.  Nice subdued, yet chilling imagery that conveys straight up what to expect.

As for The Amazing Spiderman teaser, I get that this is a darker take than the corny, goofball version and don't get me wrong-- I am feeling the creative vision of striking the spider-logo as a cast shadow-- but why is it that between both teasers you almost get the same, brooding feel...as if these two films could possibly convey similar emotions.  This is the mutheffin' Batman and Friendly Neighborhood Spidey we are talking about here.

And as for the "Untold Story" pitch, hmm...I am intrigued but don't quite know what we are getting, especially with this arcs inclusion of Peter Parker's spy-parents written into the plot-lines.  Two cool-ass teasers with one that is clear and the other not so much.  Both equally effective, in grabbing me and having me throw a fist pump in the air at my office.

Will we be seeing some more images from The Avengers sometime this week??  I sure hope so...

Via: /Film



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Life Imitates Art- X-Men: First Class

Its been awhile since I caught a film on opening day-- yes, it has been over 2 weeks since then-- call me slow, whatevs..on Hawaiian time, yeah.  And boy was I glad to have picked this film for the crazy lines and critical mass that was brought in with the 20th Century Fox / Marvel Entertainment reboot of their X-franchise line.  We all know how the original trilogy ended with a fizzle that left us all feeling with some contempt on their mishandling of the ever so legendary Dark Phoenix arc.  So when I first heard of the approach on reprising the franchise with a prequel tactic, along with the quality of talent attached to the flick, I was like many

intrigued and hopeful that they would get us back on track with some of that magic we experienced in Bryan Singer's first X-film eleven years ago.

Matthew Vaughn came in and did just that and more.  The talented ensemble cast was put together in a similar fashion to JJ Abrams Star Trek reboot with young, fresh talent and by that I mean casting some actors with chops and of course the necessary eye-candy. 

Though I expected James McAvoy (Charles Xavier) to be the primary centerpiece in cementing the dramatic performance to counterbalance all of the geeky, high-action-- I was way off-- cause the head of the class of 62 in this case was clearly shared between madman Michael Fassbender (Erik Lehnsherr aka Magneto) and the fantastic, douchebag-ness of Kevin Bacon (Sebastian Shaw).  So for the hardcore fans that are reading, my mutant lore is more steeped in the Claremont/Byrne classic run, a dash of 90's Romita JR/Jim Lee and of course the must-read masterpiece of Astonishing by Whedon/Cassaday.  I say all of this cause that First Class brand that has been out for some years was never a pickup for me..so from that standpoint color me clueless.

The inclusion of the Hellfire Club was a stroke of tasty, villainous genius as it provided much needed shine on the badassery of

Sebastian Shaw and the sexy January Jones (Emma Frost). 

THE GOOD

Hawt chicks galore!  Sure White Queen was great on screen showing off her sparkly assets, but she was hugely overshadowed by the equally sexy Jennifer Lawrence (Raven Darkhölme)-- who actually made me care about Mystique-- and yeah Dr. McCoy was right about her staying in her fake form ; P  And let's not forget the stunner of Troy & Get Him to the Greek, Rose Byrne (Moira MacTaggart.)  Was fabulous how they had her inserted as a CIA agent to bridge with the whole 60's espionage action.  Loved, loved, loved the Hell Fire Club whorehouse scene. 

THE BAD 
And this is the Run DMC/MJ definition.  Get it?  Got it?  Good.    Was Fassbender or Bacon's performance reflective of a young Magneto and the immortal Black King?  Hmm..a bit indifferent on that.  But was their interpretations of characters as it was creatively retconned by Ashley Miller, Vaughn and co. a good effing filmgoer experience?  Hells to the muthaf*cking yeah.  Fantastic background and superbly acted to see just how Magneto was born.  Children of the Atom like hwat!!  Sick add of Nightcrawler's father, so they can make use of the ever-so-sick bamf! effects but the tightest use of CG was all Sebastian Shaw.  Logan bar scene was bananas!

THE UGLY
Sorry, ugly is ugly.  And January Jones as the White Queen was FUGLY!  Emma Frost has so many more dimensions to her character than Jones coulda pulled off.  Maybe she shoulda traded roles with Jennifer Lawrence as her only shining moment (besides when she was in Diamond form) was when she was making the poor Russian dood get off with himself as she was brain-banging em from the couch.  Oh Havok sucked.  Oh yeah and that Darwin character sucked ass.  Umm, Banshee was alright but, Angel or Pixie or whoever she was yeah-- all of the ancillary mutants besides Beast and Banshee were a waste of screentime.  They might as well have put in Armor..oh yeah Asians weren't in position of power back then huh??  Finally, every damn time McAvoy touched his temple to give the cue to the audience, hey look at me I am using my telepathic abilities..really??  Meh-sauce.

Like Thor and the Iron Man films, X-Men: First Class propels Marvel far, far beyond the wack-ass films that we tried to forget were made...*cough..Spiderman 3, Fantastic Four, Punisher and (insert wack Marvel film here).  2 weeks late on this write-up, but how about that cool $200 mil that this film has grossed Internationally huh?  Not bad at all.  Only film beating X-Men: First Class in the Box Office is Super 8.

Though I am totally on the side of DCE when it comes to the source material, Marvel wins me over on the big-screen easy.  Fingers crossed for Green Lantern being more in the Dark Knight realm of goodness than what all the "critics" are saying.  Matthew Vaughn scores a fucking hat-trick for bringing us a round of solid comic book flicks with first Gaiman's Stardust, Millar's Kick-Ass and X-Men: First Class.  What's next yo?



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Life Imitates Art- Green Lantern

Call me simple, but when it comes to being entertained I prefer being taking in by a writers prose and words, reinforced with an artists illustrations as they were imagined and intimately crafted by a small team (colorists, inker, editor, et al) that has an authenticity to it-- a signature that is easily recognizable after spending enough time with the source material-- by all of that I mean the comicbooks.

Flashback to 2004-06 when a bunch of creators you may have heard of...Geoff Johns, Ethan Van Sciver, Peter Tomasi, Eddie Berganza, Dave Gibbons, Patrick Gleason, Dan DiDio, Ivan Reis and more helped to craft a world where this second string hero with a green power ring would be elevated to Batman-status.  I was sucked in around 2007-08. 

Alright so we are back to 2011, the world hasn't ended and my boxes of Green Lantern comics be it works of Gil Kane, John Broome, Neal Adams, Denny O'Neil, Alan Moore, Ron Marz, Doug Mahnke, Joe Prado, Tony Bedard, Fernando Pasarin and the aforementioned GL creators rivals my shelf space of all of my years of Bat-books from my childhood, so I guess that Johns and the rest of DCE would be happy with that success right?  Wrong.

So they got this movie coming out in less than a month, called Green Lantern.  The flick stars Ryan Reynolds, Mark Strong, Blake Lively, Angela Bassett, Peter Sarsgaard and a bunch of other fine actors.  Put your hands in front of you in a 90 degree angle, palms inward and bring them down to your waist in a waving motion chanting dududuhduh (via Waynes World-- this should make you forget about all of those other GL trailers, minus the Wondercon footage)...this is the only trailer you need to see.



The introduction of the vast, intergalactic scale of the Green Lantern Corps in this trailer made me think of how any book with the GL brand has become like coffee and cigarettes in my life.  A very, very bad habit to kick.  The production budget of Green Lantern is now at around $160 million, $20 mil less than Batman Begins and about $100 mil lower than the supposed Dark Knight Rises purse.

So GL is no Bats, but with Superman and Wonder Woman equating to small/big screen failures of late-- DC and WB Entertainment obviously has a lot riding on the mainstream success of the GL brand.  For me, I am definitely sold on it being a hit not only cause I am well, vested-- but the fantastic new footage rawks and if Geoff Johns says its good, well it just is. 

In Sinestro we Trust.


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"The Walking Dead" Season 2 Tidbits & No Michonne!

Sad face. Season 2 of The Walking Dead will unfortunately not include Michonne. In an interview with the Hollywood Reporter creator of the graphic novels Robert Kirkman did say that there is definite interest in working the character in to the show, but probably not until Season 3.

Kirkman also noted that they are currently in talks with Stephen King to have him write an episode and both sides are very excited about the prospect.

When asked about Merle (Michael Rooker) Kirkman replied "All I can really say is that everyone loves Michael Rooker."

Season 2 will hit the ground running in October, jumping right back where they left off when the group left the CDC.

Read the full interview here.

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Thor: Visual Treat for the Ladies

My girlfriends and I highly anticipated this Thor movie for months. We were excited to see Chris Hemsworth, the actor who portrays Thor, in all of his thunderous glory. With a talented cast of Anthony Hopkins (Odin), Natalie Portman (Jane Foster), and Tom Hiddelston (Loki), it appeared to be a promising action flick. We were also intrigued and curious about Director Kenneth Branagh’s, famous for directing Shakespearean plays, take on the famous comic book character.

After seeing the movie, my girlfriends and I were in love. Thor was an absolute dream boat. He was extremely attractive, muscular, and had moments of being adorable.

The five top key scenes that will leave the ladies drooling:

1. SHIRTLESS - Natalie Portman did a convincing job with the innocent, wide-eyed, and shy astrophysicist role around Thor. When she handed him a shirt (belonging to her ex’s Dr. Blake), Thor was topless. The scene was perhaps the most delicious 60 seconds ever.
2. SMILING AT JANE FOSTER INSIDE THE CAR - Thor’s hypnotic blue eyes and perfect smile made us ladies swoon. Jane Foster was totally smitten and we knew why.
3. MUD WRESTING WITH FEDERAL AGENT - When Thor broke into the security-laden area to recover his hammer, an agent attempted to accost him. They wrestled outside in the mud. Now we know why men want us to mud wrestle. It was sexy. It was rugby erotic. Muscles were flying. Pecks were showing. We weren’t sure it was PG or PG-13 at this point. We felt perverted.
4. BREAKFAST - When Thor served and assisted with breakfast, it was every woman’s dream. He was simply adorable and again, so very sexy at the same time. Who doesn’t want a beautiful man serving you breakfast with an incredible smile?
5. KISSING JANE FOSTER - When he promised a mortal that he would return for her and then kissed her, us ladies wanted to cry. It was so utterly romantic, we didn’t know what to do.

Finally, a comic book movie that left us ladies feeling good and visually satisfied with the main character. Thor was indeed a visual feast to our eyes.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND.

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Betty

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Life Imitates Art- Game of Thrones

It wasn't before Wondercon that I learned about the phenomenon of George R.R. Martin's The Song of Ice and Fire novels being brought to life by HBO as a new series The Game of Thrones.  After being jaw-dropped Sunday night in it's world premiere I was salivating at finding out more into the origins of the story as I was a bit lost being this was my first introduction to The Game of Thrones.  After spending sometime on twitter and the rest of the interwebs-- I realized just how vast of a world that Martin has created along with the huge fanbase of everything Westeros.   I get that this is a more gritty, racy and grounded telling of the fantasy
genre in comparison to J.R.R. Tolkien's masterpiece-- and for that and more I was utterly hooked.

Like last year's hot, new TV sensation, The Walking Dead-- I came in blind with knowledge of any of the source material-- and again, I lose some of my already sparse nerd cred.

But don't get it twisted, I am very much in touch with this fantasy genre -- in large part to my big bro-- that had exposed me as a youth to the genius works of Frank Frazetta, Boris Vallejo, Wendy and Richard Pini's ElfQuest and Wing Shing Ma's numerous Manhua (Chinese comics).  And of course my allegiance to Squaresoft and the Final Fantasy brand from FFVII to X. 

As watching on and taken through the various families/houses of the Seven Kingdoms & the mind-numbing, talented ensemble cast that was a lot to take in as a newb-- I naturally went to what I knew and saw shades of the potential for future "Wolf-Riders" in the sons of Stark when they found the 5 direwolf cubs.  Which based on some fanart I have found comes along, at least in the books.

Daenerys Targaryen played by my new crush (along with millions of others I am sure) Emilia Clarke, made me immediately think of Final Fantasy icon-- Rinoa Heartlilly.  For they both share an innocence and naive quality that
is admirable, but you know they also carry an inner-strength / powers that can be straight frightening (as a Dragon-summoner perhaps).  Along with the Princess of the House of Targaryen, I was drawn to the bastard

son of Lord Stark- Jon Snow (Kit Harrington).  Though not accepted fully by the rest of the House and clearly carrying a chip on his shoulder, Snow has a sense of wisdom and depth that surpasses his other brothers and is perhaps only fully appreciated by his father.  That is shown when they take in the pride of direwolves.

Hawaiian product, Jason Momoa gets to hone his inner-Conan as the horse-lord of the Dothraki, Khal Drogo.  Though practicing in what others would deem as uncivil acts eating blood-drenched, raw carcass and busting a crazy death-orgy-- it's obvious the true savage beasts of the show is the House of Lannisters.  Whether it be the incestuous, plotting twins looking to usurp the Iron Throne or their brilliant, calculating imp /nympho/ brother- Tyrion. 

Like you may have already read or seen (if you caught the first episode) Game of Thrones is filled with enough T&A to make you think the channel is on Cinemax After Dark, but don't worry ladies-- plenty of eye-candy for you too.

Ep. 2: The Kingsroad - Preview

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Life Imitates Art- Sucker Punch

With Zack Snyder's first step into live action film-making from his last two comicbook adaptations (Frank Miller's 300 and Alan Moore/Dave Gibbon's Watchmen)-- he proves in Sucker Punch that there is a place on the big-screen for his videogame/music-video/anime mashup of a flick.

Snyder's stylistic imprint is prevalent in this original story (Moulin Rouge meets The Matrix) that follows Babydoll (Emily Browning) and four other asylum inmates in their prison break that takes them through shifts in reality ala Inception, but being that each world is so visually distinct (psych ward/brothel/fantasy) you don't get lost or confused on what is really happening.

Snyder brilliantly plays on every fanboy denomination out there-- whether you are from the school of demon samurai, steampunk WWII-garbed zombies, fantasy-world of orcs and dragons or just the more techno-futuristic robot-- you get all of em wrapped into Babydoll's dreamworlds.  Where all of the epileptic action and innovative blue-screen magic was breathtaking, out-of-this-planet entertainment, sadly the drama and more intimate acting sequences were painful to highly excruciating to sit through.   

Vanessa Hudgens as Blondie, who I believe is the biggest name of the cast-- sucked the most, to the point where SPOILER ALERT...she ends up getting blasted..and the sold-out IMAX theater audience APPLAUDED.  I felt bad for like a second.

Thankfully there is some substance in performances by Aussie-imports Abbie Cornish (Sweet Pea)- wasn't used nearly enough in the script and the fledgling star Browning-- who blew me away in her haunting vocals of classic re-imaginings from The Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams," The Smiths' "Asleep," and The Pixie's "Where Is My Mind."  Actually, after listening over and over to the soundtrack I think that Snyder could pull a movie to music cross-over in the same way Michel Gondry and Spike Jonze went from music to film.  That's a complement to his sense of style period.

Really tough to draw comparisons to his earlier works that again lauded comicbook source material that were immensely successful along with stronger casts that had superior acting chops to sell the story.   But I was really blown away that Sucker Punch walked away this weekend with only $19 mil, where 300 and Watchmen finished with $71 and $50 mil respectively.  Whoa.

I just caught wind of these sick animated shorts that give us teasers and a backdrop for the main "bosses" that Babydoll faces. Check it!


And if you prefer waiting on this flick till DVD, Snyder indicated that there will be a Director's cut that should include some of the "dancing" that was obviously cut out to keep it PG-13. 


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SuperBowl Spots! Thor and Captain America

For some us SuperBowl XLV is less about the actual game and more about the mutlimillion$$ that take up the few minutes in between.  What got me out of my seat saying uh and ah was some fab Marvel film spots-- first up in May is Natalie Portman...I mean Thor.

And second, the first footage of Chris Evans as Chris America-- showing him go through his transformation into America's first Super-Soldier and how he rolls through from WWII to now-- hitting us the same week as Comic-Con.  Hey look it's the Red Skull!!

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Life Imitates Art- Anne Hathaway is Catwoman

Deadline NY, /Film and the rest of the web have reported on the official press release of Anne Hathaway accepting the role of Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Christopher Nolan's "The Dark Knight Rises". In addition, Tom Hardy who many believed was to be Hugo Strange, will actually play the role of Bane.

Sure, I get why many hardcore Catwoman fans have their hands in the air saying WTF?! but it's hard to argue that from a purely visual standpoint-- Hathaway will rock it on the big screen as Batman's longtime feline-fling.  I hope and pray to Buddha that the costume connects back to the current garb that was popularized by Jim Lee and Adam Hughes (emphasis on AH!).  It doesn't take much imagination to see how good Hathaway will look in black. 

BURBANK, CA, January 19, 2011 – Warner Bros. Pictures announced today that Anne Hathaway has been cast as Selina Kyle in Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight Rises.” She will be starring alongside Christian Bale, who returns in the title role of Bruce Wayne/Batman. Christopher Nolan stated, “I am thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Anne Hathaway, who will be a fantastic addition to our ensemble as we complete our story.” In addition, Tom Hardy has been set to play Bane. Nolan said, “I am delighted to be working with Tom again and excited to watch him bring to life our new interpretation of one of Batman’s most formidable enemies.” Nolan will direct the film from a screenplay he wrote with Jonathan Nolan, from a story by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer. Nolan will also produce the film with his longtime producing partner, Emma Thomas, and Charles Roven. “The Dark Knight Rises” is slated for release on July 20, 2012. The film will be distributed worldwide by Warner Bros. Pictures, a Warner Bros. Entertainment Company.

As for the ensemble villain cast to now house Bane, the man that broke the Bat-- I like the idea of Hardy bringing on more of the philosopher-warrior type role of the character--similar to how Bane is being written in Secret Six by Gail Simone.

Backtrack...let's not forget that the role of Catwoman has been popularized in past flicks by Michelle Pfeiffer and Halle Berry..I would have to say that Anne Hathaway has both the theatrical chops and straight sexiness to make her Catwoman work in Nolan's re-visioned Batworld.

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Life Imitates Art- Captain America & Spiderman

Yesterday the pop arts interwebs were overrun by these new images representing the expected Summer blockbusters of the next two years- Captain America and Spiderman.  As usual, most forums were blasting with raves and rants on both new costumes (the Cap costume shown prior was during his WWII days.)  Be it of Cap shouldn't having those lame wings, or Spidey on crack?!  What isn't often referenced is that both films show a direct linkage to the Ulitmate line of Marvel comics-- that are modernized, contemporary remixes on the iconic heroes.

As you can see with the ill cover from Adi Granov, the likeness of both fatigues are uncanny.  It almost seems questionable as to whether it was the concept art from the film is what changed Cap's look in the Ultimate line of books.  Not likely being that the Millar/Hitch Ulitmate's book that first highlighted this iteration of Cap was back in 2002.

And the same connection to the Spiderman film is equally visible with the reboot of the franchise taking us back to the world of  awkward, teen angst or back to High School, just like the Brian Michael Bendis classic.   

In each case, I say it works being that the movie audience of today has so many more needs to be fulfilled from a cinematic and technology standpoint that subtle retooling of a script (the Ultimate comics) helps with the budget and keeps the feel of the film true to hardcore fans and the mainstream.

One cool aspect to the Disney/Marvel films of being wrapped in an interwoven Universe and having guest appearances, will not be in play with the new Spiderman film being it is a Sony/Columbia product.  Bummers as it would have been neat seeing a teenage Spidey getting pointers from Cap or Iron-Man on the big screen.  Ah, we have the comics for that afterall!

Finally, I think we can all agree that times would be very different today if say the world of social media existed back in the 70's.  Aren't we happy that images like these aren't in the forefront of the wire and forum threads!!  Thank goodness for CG to avoid the horrid site of super-cameltoe and cheesy spandex!

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big O

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Snyder is Killing It

Frank Miller fanboy, Zack Snyder has become the authoritative guide on how to make comics sexy and demanding through cinema.  In 300, Snyder made a film that said it was cool for the female species to join their BF for bloody-gorefest, Watchmen redefined the hero-film genre-- showing its okay to be a fat superhero, walk around nekkid if you are hung like Papa Smurf-- and with Sucker Punch in just 3 months,  and Superman: The Man of Steel next...Snyder is running things in Tinsel Town.



Yo Zack!  You had me at cute chicks locked in an all girl prison, wearing private school unis and fighting demon samurais & giant robots!! For the HD quality res of the featurette released today go to Apple.com

And for the rest of the gallery too!

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big O

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New Trailer! Thor

This ain't no effing Teaser Trailer.

To answer SHIELD Agent Coulsen's question...Thor obviously got his training from my fellow asian right here!!  Love the setup of Odin outcasting Thor to Midgard -- that I got to enjoy from reading the first two issues of Ultimate Thor -- which Hickman was probably imagining in his script couldn't look this good in live-action.  Oh, yes it does.

And if that wasn't enough for you...how about two obligatory reasons why I want to watch this film?

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big O

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Life Imitates Art- The Wolverine

Bleeding Cool just released a leak on the upcoming Wolverine flick, which is adapted from Chris Claremont and Frank Miller's classic limited series.



The production notes listed a who's who of the Wolverine characters that are central to the more scaled down story of Logan and his roots in Japan that involves a love triangle and his early ties to the Hand.  Where the first film was loosely based on story threads from Origin and Wolverine V.1 #10 with an opportunity to showcase Ryan Reynolds for an upcoming Deadpool film...this sequel looks to do what they should have focused on originally, just Wolverine.

As if this wasn't enough to have us set a geeky-crotch tent-- Christopher McQuarrie (The Usual Suspects) is on as the screenwriter with Darren Aronofsky (Requiem for a Dream, The Wrestler) on the Director's chair and Hugh Jackman returning as our fave Canadian, beer-drinking furball.

Can't wait for all the crazy ninja-action, hopefully a Silver Samurai appearance and just good artistic film-making to make this follow in the steps of Batman's film refresh via Christopher Nolan.



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big O

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Life Imitates Art- The Walking Dead

Unless your in attendance at NYCC, you will have to wait until October 31st like the rest of us to catch the premiere of Robert Kirkman's The Walking Dead on AMC.  Like Kick-Ass, this will be another comicbook adaptation that will feed us to the trades/books to play catch-up on (yes, we don't read everything) while we wait for the next episode to hit. 



With the technology divide becoming less prevalent between the small and big screen-- and from what we have seen from the sizzle reel released by AMC a few days ago--The Walking Dead looks as impressive as many of the recent zombiefest, post-apocalyptic films that have been released.



About "The Walking Dead"

“The Walking Dead” tells the story of the weeks and months that follow after a zombie apocalypse. County Sheriff Rick Grimes (Lincoln) travels with his family and a small group of survivors, constantly in search of a safe and secure home. But the constant pressure of fighting off death on a daily basis takes a heavy toll, sending many to the lowest depths of human cruelty. As Rick struggles to keep his family alive, he will discover that the overwhelming fear of the survivors can be far more dangerous than the mindless walkers roaming the earth.

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big O

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New Footage! Superman/Batman Apocalypse

DCU Animated reminds us that is only weeks away from the release of their next full-feature film-- Superman/Batman: Apocalypse with new a new trailer titled "Run." Supergirl awakens from stasis and with no memory or knowledge on her ability, she serves up a can of Kryptonian whoop-ass all over the Gotham City Police Dept.

The character modeling no doubt pays homage to Michael Turner's artistic interpretation of Kara Zor-El, with those large anime-eyes and slender/long physique.  Can't wait till September 28th!!

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big O

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Life Imitates Art- Scott Pilgrim vs. the World

Ah yeah!  With the opening of the Universal Pictures 8-bit logo/midi-remix I looked around the packed theatre to see half of peeps thinking they were about to play Super Mario Bros, Sonic the Hedgehog or *insert classic videogame here*, while the rest of the house knew what was going on--just sitting back all smug-- ready for the NES-throwback, zany, air-juggle antics thanks to the massive Edgar Wright/Bryan Lee O'Malley combo.

You all should know by now, this flick is an epic of epic epicness. That is some big expectations to try and deliver on right? And well I really was ready with my librarian-level snark to catch some filmmaker slip-ups and rip this dood a new a-hole for fucking up this OGN classic. Well...

I was straight swinging by Wright's balls from the first 10 minutes in and that was not an easy feat being that I was already invested in O'Malley's 6 volume, 900+ page, 6 years in the making life work.  All of the witty, humorous subtleties found in each page was remarkably envisioned on the big-screen.  You knew Michael Cera was gonna bring it, I mean who else could play Scott Pilgrim?  Nobody.  Cera was Scott Pilgrim for 158 minutes and the rest of the cast were damn close to delivering on their roles as if they were pulled from the black & white pages like an A-ha music video.

But when it all came down to it the scene-stealers that sent the crowd into OH! and AHH! from their captivating nature or bust-a-gut in laughter was Ellen Wong as the pathetically, adorable Knives Chau and Kieran Culkin as the gay roomate/whore, Wallace Wells.

Despite the genius-infusion of videogame nostalgia, pixel-popping, RPG level-ups-- this film totally brings you to a time of youth when we are all about love, friendships, good music and just being part of the gang-- which really are themes that we never really grow out of right?   

After watching Scott Pilgrim vs the World today, I ended up rebooting the series and started reading from Volume 1 again, laughing to myself and reliving moments from the film- which I know I will be re-watching this weekend.  Oh and if you have an iPad-- you should totally peep out Comixology-- as they have put together a dope way to experience the story in its entirety and it even comes with a free digital comic!!

Last plug I promise-- one of Scott's high school flashbacks that didn't make the film, could we see a full animated version in the future??

Okay I need to go rock out to some Guitar Hero now, toodles!!




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big O

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New Trailer! Superman/Batman: Apocalypse

DCU Animated has been hard at work churning out those marvelous animated films with Crisis on Two Earths, Under the Red Hood and the next Superman/Batman story adapted from the fan-favorite, Return of Supergirl arc-- created by Jeph Loeb and Michael Turner.

Bruce Timm is back at the helm and they even have the lead voice talents of Kevin Conroy & Tim Daly returning from the Public Enemies film, which is always a nice touch in keeping that link to those oh-so-familiar protagonists.  What I am most excited about with this story is the deep connections that Loeb/Turner were able to unravel between of course Superman and Batman, but also Wonderwoman- who plays a role in mentoring Supergirl in using her powers. 

But lets not forget the mad-serious action like the DC Trinity taking on the army of Doomsday clones!!  How could they not include that--shoots!!  Superman/Batman: Apocalyspe hits shelves on September 28th.

With the news of the Black Adam short releasing with the DC Showcase DVD November 9th and the following DCU Animated film to be adapted from Grant Morrison and Frank Quietly's All-Star Superman run-- how can you not be hyped?!


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big O

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