Starfest 2010 Movie News Panel

My news segment from April 2010 at the Starfest Convention in Denver CO. Obviously stuff changes on a daily basis, and things have changed in the month since I did this, but it’s a good primer on the current info. Also I think it was entertaining and possibly the best presentation i’ve given of this type.

Iron Man 2 Thoughts

[edited just to remove references to this being a review]

Here are my thoughts on Iron Man 2:

What I liked:

They beefed up all the secondary characters really well, I thought Nick Fury, Happy Hogan, Agent Coulson, Natasha Romanov, were all well fleshed out and while not the focus of the story, really added to it.

The initial 45 minutes were really exciting, the first action sequence was great, and the story was set up well.

The last 45 minutes were also action packed, and really moved well, better paced and better action than the last film’s conclusion.

All of the action scenes worked great, just like the first film.

Smart villains, I thought both Whiplash and Justin Hammer were good foes for Tony Stark, and I was really surprised that they didn’t have Mickey Rourke playing a simple dumb brute, he was a really smart adversary.

The performances were good all around.

The “after the end credits” scene was totally worth waiting for (I won’t spoil it here).

Good continuation of the story, it’s great to have the origin out of the way, and this really worked to move the story forward.

What wasn’t as good:

The middle 45 minutes dragged a little, I thought they really dragged out the scenes with Hammer and Whiplash, and the discovery of his father’s “discovery” was a little far fetched.

I would like to see more of the action scenes in the daytime, both films had the final battle take place at night, and I think that’s cheating, let us see the fight!

The “final” scene with the senator was a really strange moment to end on, it really just laid there as a scene, not an upbeat moment like ending with “I am Iron Man”, strange choice from Favreau.

I personally didn’t like that Tony and Pepper end up together at the end, it really didn’t seem to be leading that way, it would have made sense that Pepper and Happy had gotten closer in the time that Tony had disappeared, and there were several moments in the film that suggested that (this is what happens in the comics). It would better serve Pepper as a character if she stayed President while not being his girlfriend and he has to respect her that way, it would also grow Tony as a character.

I did think Sam Rockwell’s performance was a little over the top as Justin Hammer, he could have dialed it back a little and it would have meshed with the other performances better, especially in his scenes with Whiplash.

I thought Rhodey’s motivations are very unclear, I was never sure why he chose to do what he chose to do at any given time, he should have been developed better as a character as far as his background to explain betraying Tony.

While I thought her performance was overal pretty good, and above average for a love interest in a Superhero Movie, I got really annoyed with Gwynth Paltrow’s character’s continual response to a dangerous situation to be staring at it. She did the same thing in the first film. How about trying RUN AWAY FROM DANGER INSTEAD OF STARING AT THE THING ABOUT TO FALL ON YOU!

My final negative was the music, the first film really benefited from a very original music score by Ramin Djawadi, it really added to the feel of the film, made it fun, and I think it was a big part of it’s success.

For this film, Favreau turned to a composer he’d used before, John Debney, who is extremely experienced, but I think that was the mistake, the score didn’t add anything to the film, it sounded like any other movie, it had no distinct musical feel.

Just because the negatives outweigh the positives, don’t come away from this thinking I didn’t like Iron Man 2, I loved it, and plan to see it a couple more times. My overall feeling about the movie is positive.

I wouldn’t bother criticizing it this thoroughly if it wasn’t worth it as a movie.

Tease-o-rama

May 20, 2011.  Put it on your calendar.

Free Comic Book Day – Saturday, May 1 – support your local shop!

This Saturday is Free Comic Book Day.  It is a day when you can walk into participating comic book stores and pick up a comic or two relating to stories/titles you know  or take a chance on a publisher or title that you don’t know about.  Expand your horizons and check out something dangerous.  Something you wouldn’t otherwise read.

And just because it’s called “Free Comic Book Day” doesn’t mean that all comics are free.  Last year, the first store that I went to had a buy one, get one free TPB sale.  What a deal!

So, go out, grab a free comic or two and bring your kids.  And, by all means, support your local comic book shop and buy some comics, t-shirts, trades, busts, etc., and let them know that you’ll be back throughout the year and not just one day out of 365.  They’ll appreciate it.

Starfest 2010 Video Room Schedule

Starfest April 16-18 2010 http://www.starland.com for more details.

Truly it is Up, Up and Away

Via Yahoo:

Superman comic sells for $1.5M, setting record

A copy of the 1938 edition of Action Comics No. 1 sold Monday for $1.5 million on the auction Web site ComicConnect.com. The issue, which features Superman’s debut and originally sold for 10 cents, is widely considered the Holy Grail of comic books.

There are about 100 copies of Action Comics No. 1 believed to be in existence, and only a handful in good condition. The issue that sold Monday was rated slightly higher than the one that sold in February; it had been tucked inside an old movie magazine for years before being discovered.

I don’t know about you, dear Superherocinema.com readers, but if I had 1.5 mil to blow on a comic book, I should probably re-evaluate my life.  I love it when comic books get great press like this (nary a Holy Cow to be found in the article) and the article comments on “pent-up demand” for ultra-rare comics, which is very cool that comic collectors like this are still out there in this economy.  However, that being said, if anyone wants to spend $1.5M on a book that they will secret away to a vault, I posit this for you.  Shouldn’t there be a comic book wing of a museum somewhere so that books like this and the Detective Comics that recently sold for $1,075,000 can be displayed and shared with the public?  Rock and Roll has a museum…science fiction has a museum (it’s in Seattle)…why not the pop culture niche and phenomenon comic books?

I’d be happy to donate all my versions of X-Men #1 to help it get started.

Hulk vs. Thor VS Hulk vs. Wolverine

Back in the day when I first started branching out from reading Spider-Man comics, I was drawn in by a little limited series called the Inifinity Gauntlet.  I was fascinated by everyday heroes fighting against and amongst cosmic beings.  The thought of Captain America making a stand against somebody like Thanos was awesome and awe-inspiring.  Now that you know my cosmic leanings, you may have guessed which of the two “movies” on this disc that I preferred.

While Thor clocks in as the longer movie of the two, it is totally worth it and makes quite the smashing punch.  I’m not well versed in all the relationships in the Thor corner of the Marvel-verse, but I didn’t feel at a loss as it was easy to pick up on what was happening and who was involved with who, etc.  It was amazing to think about how once Bruce Banner was removed from the psyche of Hulk that he might truly have no upper limits to his strength, endurance, and mindlessness for destruction.  If Hulk can (Spoiler Alert!) beat the tar out of Thor and take out pretty much everybody in Asgard, how would the writers resolve this plot!  Very well and by thinking about the Hulk’s Achilles Heel, that’s how.  I am a big fan of cosmic/god-like characters with great action and Hulk vs. Thor delivered.

On the other hand, we have a more down-to-Earth “Hulk” story.  I put Hulk in quotation marks because this story seems to focus more on Wolverine and his encounter with the Weapon X project with the Hulk thrown into the mix to stir up the pot.  Now I love seeing Lady Deathstrike torn apart as much as the next guy, but I can’t be the only one who found the one scene with her and Hulk screaming at each other pretty funny, right?  I appreciated seeing Deadpool getting his ass handed to him…even though he’s funny, it’s good to see him get a good pounding every now and then.

Overall, I like seeing the Hulk in vs. Wolverine, although it definitely felt like he was an ingredient and not the main course as he was in vs. Thor.  I give the Thor segment 4 stars out of 5 and the Wolverine one 3 stars.  May the Hulk continue to smash for many years to come.

The planet’s not called Hulk, but the movie title is…called Planet Hulk

I grew up loving Spider-Man.  (A weird way to start a review of Planet Hulk, but go with me here).  I started with issue 248 way back in the day and my mom purchased it for me at a local drug store.  She said to go over to the spinny rack and pick one out.  Sweet!  My 8-year old eyes perused the racks and I had narrowed it down to the one with a bad guy looming over Spider-Man and one with a big green monster on the cover.  I chose the webhead because the other one frightened me too much.  Yikes!

I don’t have that same fear of the Hulk now that I did then, however, so I was able to really enjoy Planet Hulk.   And this one was a great movie.  It had an emotional core with the Hulk and Caiera and great fighting scenes in the gladiator-style arena.  You can’t beat the ones in the beginning where the Hulk is just trying to get out and doesn’t play well with others, but when he joins the fight, it’s over pretty quick!  Hulk does indeed smash.

One of the scenes that has stayed with me weeks after I have watched the movie and is the most heart-wrenching is when Caiera attempts to save a little girl from the second invasion of the spore-things.  Truly sad and gives this film weight and makes it not merely a superhero movie, but a film with depth that will have you rooting for the Hulk and enjoying the beauty that is this movie.

Lego superheroes on Flickr – why didn’t they have these when I was a kid?

I found this via SciFi Wire and they are too cool.  However, I think that the box of random Legos that I have at home are at least 4 generations before the came up with non-square and non-rectangle Legos.  Has Lego technology really changed that much since the 80s when I thought it was too cool that I got a set of Legos that became an airplane when I went through the 30 steps?  Yes, yes they have.  Now you can put together the Batmobile in 15 and have Doc Ock’s arms twist in all directions as he chases after Aunt May.  True love!

Enjoy the link here.

The Five Stages of iPad Grief – On Apple and Buying

This isn’t exactly Superhero or Comic Book commentary, other than the fact that I would love to read comics on an iPad.

This is adapted from The Five Stages of Grief by Kübler-Ross.

1. Denial

Prior to the iPad’s announcement, I followed all the rumors, I’d decided that it just wouldn’t make sense for me as a product.   I could see the potential, but I didn’t think I’d be tempted at all.  “I have a laptop, I have a smartphone, what do I need with another device”.

2. Anger

Watching the announcement, there were two stages of anger.  The first stage was the fact that the Steve Jobs reality distortion field was in full effect; I was very quickly falling in love with the iPad.  I didn’t want to, but I started envisioning all the scenarios this device could work in my life.  Then the second stage was when I realized the limitations and the things I thought would bug me too much to work for me, the additional cost for the 3G version, the lack of the forward facing camera for the absolutely natural video conferencing that the device would be perfect for, etc.

3. Bargaining

This is when I started thinking about the ways I could justify buying an iPad, if I get rid of my smartphone, and go back down to a regular phone, I can justify the 3G fee.  My 1^st Gen MacBook is really old and out of warranty, so I need a new main machine, can the iPad function as my main machine?  Can I justify getting work to pay for it?  If not, can I sell my wife on it?

4. Depression

I just don’t know if I can convince myself to buy it, I mean, believe it or not, I’m not actually an early adopter, I never buy the 1^st generation of any technology, I was one of the last people to have a CD player.  I only just recently bought my first plasma TV.  I still don’t have an iPhone.  Plus I really want the 3G, so if  I order a 3G model and I don’t get my iPad when everyone else gets their Wifi model, will I still get that satisfaction in being one of the first?

5. Acceptance

You know you’re going to do it, just figure it out.