Comic Con Comics!

Both DC and Marvel made it much easier to hear about their movie announcements than their Comic Book announcements, but I was still able to look around and read about some of the big things happening or coming soon from "the big two". Here's what jumped out to me this year:

AT DC:

In Green Lantern: Emerald Warriors, written by Peter Tomasi, Guy Gardner begins a secret mission for the Red Lantern Atrocitus, which will pit him against Hal Jordan and likely have them butting heads again for good! I think this is a good move for the character, provided he is still sympathetic in some way.

Superman has been taken over by J Michael Straczynski in a story arc called “grounded”. Superman is taking the time to walk across America and be reminded of the lives and struggles of the common man that he has dedicated himself to protecting. I think this is the perfect story to tell right now. Superman can only punch so many things, and we’ve had a lot of big action in his titles lately. For a character like this to remain fresh, we have to be reminded of who he is as a person, and this story has great potential to do that.

Straczynski is also taking on writing chores for Wonder Woman, with what I predict will be terrible results. The story involves monkeying with reality and changing Wonder Woman’s origin and costume. This sounds like the same kind of gimmick event storytelling made famous in the 90’s. It got old quick then and it’s no more welcome now. Much like with Batman, I’ll be waiting for the smoke to clear and things to return to normal and then hope to see that someone still remembers how to tell a good Wonder Woman story without resorting to cheap tricks. Gail Simone, we miss you already.

AT MARVEL:

Ultimate Comics Thor- This October, Marvel will begin a four-issue limited series by Jonathan Hickman and Carlos Pacheco that explores the origins of the Ultimate Marvel Universe Thor. I’ve always found this version of the character interesting because of the way we aren’t sure if he’s insane or not. It seems that it has now been established that he is the real deal, not an insane man with enhancement gadgets. So an origin story is not as appealing to me as it might have been a couple of years ago. But if the Ultimate Universe takes a turn for the better real soon(I was not a fan of Ultimatum), I may pick it up in a trade paperback.

In August, Namor: The First Mutant by Stuart Moore and Ariel Olivetti will debut as a new ongoing series that will explore more of Atlantean culture and the new kinds of vampires that have recently been introduced to the Marvel universe. Partially influenced by H.P. Lovecraft, the story will deal with Namor uncovering lost secrets of the ocean that may prove too much for humanity to deal with.

Tron: The Betrayal by a variety of writers and artists will arrive in October as a two issue limited series that serves as a prequel to the upcoming movie. The story picks up soon after the first movie ends and serves as a bridge between the two movies. The cover looks great, but the idea of multiple creators contributing gives me a lot of reason to pause, as those kinds of books tend to lack consistent quality or at least a consistent voice and style.

Batman: Under The Red Hood (DVD Review)

For those unfamiliar with the comic book story this animated movie is based on, this is about the death of Batman's second Robin, Jason Todd, and the mysterious character and events that serve as a follow up to this event years later. I'll try not to give out any spoilers, despite the fact that most of the audience for this DVD movie has already read the original story.

The adaptation is very well done, handled by Judd Winick, who wrote the original story and campaigned to make this movie happen. All the key elements remain and the complex DC Universe continuity elements have been streamlined and made self-contained for the movie.

The animation looks great and blends cell and CGI styles effectively. Action is dynamic and explosive and a fight scene between Batman and the Red Hood near the end is one of the most well choreographed sequences I've seen even in live action movies. I spent a lot of time grinning while I watched the action in this movie.

Batman's dialogue isn't always the best, but Nightwing is written pretty well. The best material seems to be given to the Joker, played by John DiMaggio, who delivers it wonderfully. But I did miss not having the higher pitch and brighter timbre I prefer in the voice of the Joker, however. This interpretation seemed slightly influenced by Heath Ledger's version, which I do not consider an overall step in the right direction.

The rest of the voice acting is very strong. Bruce Greenwood is a natural voice for Batman and Neil Patrick Harris continues to surprise me with how different he can make his voice sound with just a few subtle changes.

Once again, this movie is pretty short. A little under 80 minutes. But the pacing of the story still makes you feel as though you've seen a complete film.

The obvious philosophical theme of this movie is: Do the ends justify the means? Generally, we all recognize that we are not the ultimate judge of other human beings. And so our default response is (and likely should be) "no". However, something else inside of us recognizes the injustices in the world and silently screams out for someone to step in and dish out justice. This film has potential to springboard into conversation about justice and the role of God in ultimately bringing it about. But the way the subject is explored (vigilantes and psychotic killers) is a bit far removed from the average person's experience, making worthwhile conversation something you will have to steer purposefully toward, rather than naturally arrive at.

The additional features make the DVD (and especially the Blu-ray, which has an extra documentary) worth buying, as they go into the history of Jason Todd's death in the comics and the origins of Robin as a character. The 10 minute Jonah Hex short is fine for a single viewing and certainly much better than the recent live-action movie. But it isn't very memorable and seems to be chosen only to coincide with the live action movie. I would have preferred an Aquaman or Martian Manhunter short.

Rated PG-13 for violent content and some drug references.


Quality: 9.0/10

Relevance: 7.0/10

www.spiritblade.net/paeter
www.spiritblade.net/podcast

Jotted Down Thoughts Of Comic Con (Movies/TV)

Here are some jotted down thoughts of the TV/Movie coverage I've taken in from Comic Con this year. For my expanded thoughts, check out - http://paeter.libsyn.com/index.php?post_id=633259

GL Footage: Sounds like we aren’t missing much. 3 weeks shooting left. Reminded of Matrix Reloaded.

Reynolds-We get to really spend up in the air and fly. We can bank and make right turns and do somersaults. The flight part for me has been one of the most fun parts of filling the Green Lantern shoes for me."

CGI Costume(still a “work in progress”), Parallax, Other GLs in movie/plans for future, Reynolds reportedly stripped of sarcasm.

Johns says “we are developing a flash movie”

The Cape- Last honest cop in city is framed and then presumed dead. To protect his wife and son, he remains dead to the world but fights to make a difference as his son’s comic book hero, “The Cape”. Trained by corcus performers, cape uses ancient fighting styles that utilized robes as weapons and applies those techniques to using his cape as weapon. CGI okay, concept may have potential. Also uses circus illusionist tricks to do things like disappear in smoke. A bit of a Batman, but with less dark intensity.

Series will also apparently involve him trying to reconnect with his son. The family drama mixed with action and theme of justice has potential to resonate powerfully and I’m looking forward to checking this series out!

No Ordinary Family(abc)- Not to be outdone by The Cape, Michael Chiklis plays thr father in this sci-fi family drama about a family who gains superpowers. Obvious comparisons will be made to the Incredibles and the Fantastic Four (especially with Chiklis involved) but on G4, Chiklis and co-star(wife) Julie Benz implied that the show will not be about them all jumping in unison to fight crime, despite the father character wanting to go that route himself. The show has the potential to be what Heroes was in its first season and should have remained. A grounded story about real people in real life situations who happen to have super powers, and how that would change their lives and the world around them.

Green Hornet- With Seth Rogen as the lead, I’ve been planning to overlook this one, assuming it will be a stup[id spoof of the genre and little more. But the trailer I saw over the weekend made me think that it may actually be the world’s first semi-serious everyman superhero flick. It definitely has some humor, but much of the action seemed to have a serious tone, as well as the concept of the Green Hornet posing as a villain in order to root out criminals.

Tron Legacy trailer looks very cool and it appears they are pulling out all the stops. This movie will likely have a ton of effects shots, much like the first one. Apparently, a program Flynn created a few years after the first movie serves as the villain for this flick. As a result, the program is supposed to look like a younger Jeff Bridges. Looks good… except when he talks.

Captain America- Got my first look at the costume for cap and have mixed feelings. I think it looks about as good as it can on film. They went wih something very close to the Ultimate Univers ww2 cap. But somehow it still looks a little outlandish in the real world. But they’re only a few weeks into filming, so who knows how it will look in th end.

Thor- These costumes look terrible. They seem to be a return to shiny rubber superhero costumes. If anything, the source material is an excuse to go in a more gritty, chainmail metallic direction with the costumes. But they decided to move toward plastic instead. I don’t get it.

Waiting For ComiCon

Well, I was hoping to have some cool stuff to blog about regarding ComiCon, but between my busy day and the relatively few podcasts and videos that have become available so far, there isn't much to talk about yet.

Not sure what my plan is yet for the podcast. I may do two weeks about ComiCon, putting the first podcast out early next week and the second on Saturday of next week to give me time to take in the coverage available.

Either way, I'm in a bit of a waiting mode now, so I might as well play some more Dragon Age!

Dragon Age All Over Again!

This week, after playing Lelianna's Song and The Darkspwan Chronicles, I turned around and started a new game of Dragon Age: Origins. After getting through every origin story the game has to offer, I saved my anticipated favorite for last and started playing the game as a mage.

I'm really diggin' the experience so far. It's not as slow going as playing a mage in Neverwinter Nights, since mana regenerates between combat so you don't have to be quite as careful and strategic with your use of spells. But it still plays very differently from the Hack N Slash style game I had with my human fighter the first time through.

In my first game, I tried to make my character look as much like me as possible (though with much less flab around the waist) and made choices that I would try to make if I were courageous.

This time around, I'm creating my alter ego and making darker choices that seek out power and control of my life. All in all, it's already been a very different experience, despite playing the same main plot. But that's Bioware for you!

Gaming Bliss!

Over the weekend I "finished" Mass Effect 2 and realized that the last two years have been extremely kind to me in terms of video games. There was a time when Japanese RPGs like those produced by Square Enix (Final Fantasy, Dragon Warrior/Quest) were the ultimate in gaming for me. I still look back on many of those games fondly and keep a copy of them on my shelf.

But in recent years, I discovered a company you may have heard of called "Bioware" who has changed my expectation of RPG gaming forever and raised the bar so high that the competition doesn't even fall in the same category.

Beginning with Neverwinter Nights, I was stunned with the length of the initial campaign and expansions included in the Diamond set. Easily 100 hours of gaming. Not to mention the freedom I had to micromanage my battle strategy or play a much simpler, faster game, scaling the difficulty to suit my playing style.

And speaking of freedom, Bioware has virtually ruined me for any new RPGs that ask me to watch cutscene after cutscene in which I have no choices to make. It used to be something special when a game at two or three endings. I've given up trying to count how many endings and game paths are possible in a Bioware game.

In Star Wars: Knights Of The Old Republic, I had the choice of following the path of light or darkness or anywhere in between. And naturally had to make several saves near the end when crucial choices began taking me down the paths of several very different endings.

I started playing Dragon Age Origins last fall and was once again stunned. Not only are there multiple endings, there are multiple beginnings! Six of them! Each with about an hour or more of unique gameplay! Not only that, but the people you interact with treat you differently throughout the game depending on the background you choose, or the race you choose, or how you treat them in the many instances in which you are given freedom to choose how you will speak or act.

This weekend I "finished" Mass Effect 2. I've put that in quotes because now that the game is done, I still get to play it! Back on my ship, my crew members all congratulate me on the big accomplished mission, while still being ready to explore the galaxy and take on smaller missions I may have missed the first time through! I nearly spazzed out in nerdly joy when I realized that even after 40 hours of gaming, I could still go back and comb the galaxy for the 8-10 quests I've since discovered online that I missed!

Woohoo! Bioware rocks!!

Inception (Movie Review)

Inception is the latest film from writer Director Chris Nolan, now well known for re-launching the Batman franchise with great success. The story features Leonardo DiCaprio as the leader of a team who infiltrates people’s dreams in order to secure their deepest secrets.

Comparisons have already been made to The Matrix, though viewers should not go to theaters expecting remotely the same experience. Inception is much more an action/sci-fi/drama than a straight up action/sci-fi flick.

The story is fascinating and only leaves you in the dark for the first 20 minutes or so. (Possibly just a little too long.) Performances are solid, though no one stands out. Still, the movie finds a way to make you care about even incidental characters.

Though DiCaprio is the lead, the story follows an ensemble cast of interesting characters, and by the end of the movie’s two and a half hour runtime, you feel as though you’ve experienced an epic story with a lot of things happening.

Those interested in concept driven sci-fi will find plenty to think about as the “rules” of the dream world are unraveled and depended on for the story’s progression and moments of tension. As unlikely as this story is, the framework provided for it gives it a sense of realism. But this is no brainy, sterile, cerebral sci-fi affair. There is plenty of intensity and action to keep the average viewer involved.

One scene in the movie has an antagonist (of sorts) ask DiCaprio what he is feeling as a way to determine what is real. It is interesting that the perceptive viewer can pick up from the script that “feeling” is not a determiner of what is real. The stronger theme is about dealing with reality, rather than allowing yourself to be ruled by your emotions. This theme isn’t dealt with in a way that provokes conversation, but it’s certainly there.

I should point out that although the trailers for this movie are filled with special effects shots, the movie itself has a much smaller percentage of them. The realistic feel of the film may actually be a letdown to geeks looking for a more mind-bending movie. But this is a great film that many will enjoy, including the geek.

Rated PG-13 for sequences of violence and action throughout.

Quality: 9.0/10

Relevance: 7.0/10

www.spiritblade.net/paeter

www.spiritblade.net/podcast

The Sorcerer's Apprentice (Movie Review)

The early trailers for this movie grabbed my attention with the spectacular magic effects and semi-serious tone. But the PG rating and youthful protagonist made me fear that we had just another run of the mill fantasy movie for kids. Thankfully, this was not the case.

Nicolas Cage plays Balthazar, an immortal sorcerer who studied under Merlin. Morgana LeFey, Merlin’s ancient nemesis, is about to be unleashed on the world by an evil sorcerer(played by Alfred Molina), and Balthazar is in search of the stereo typical chosen one who alone has the power to defeat her.

Enter college student and science geek, Dave. The “Prime Merlinian”. (AKA, Chosen One) By a twist of fate, his life intersected with Balthazar and before long he is studying under him to prepare for the battle to come.

Yes, it’s a very simple plot. But the performances by the cast keep things engaging. Cage and Molina are especially fun to watch in their roles. Cage is not what you would expect from an immortal sorcerer and his odd characteristics serve the part well. Molina is unchallenged by this role but has great instincts and fits his character like a glove.

Although the film is rated PG, the tone, when it comes to magical dueling, is serious and often potentially deadly. The visual design also keeps things dark enough to suit a geek who didn’t come just to show his kids this movie.

There are a ton of cool effects in this movie. Giant monsters, animated objects and plenty of “magical energy” being thrown around. The latter was my favorite part, as it is seen so rarely ever since Peter Jackson decided it wasn’t cool. The other effects still look like CGI, but they serve the movie well.

About half of the jokes(usually those of the protagonist) are attempted with too much force, but there are many other moments that are genuinely funny when they aren’t trying so hard. Likewise, the movie successfully pulled me in to real emotional involvement near the very end, only to screw it up by having the protagonist talk too much.

As for philosophical relevance, there isn’t much. We briefly hear the familiar pop-spirituality mantra of “believe in yourself”, but it’s not a theme of the movie. “Do what feels right” is also found once in the script, but spoken by a bad guy for a change.

Real world sorcery may come up, especially given that Abagail Williams, of the Salem Witch Trials, is a character in this movie. Unlike Merlin, her ties to historical witchcraft connect the film more readily to reality, suggesting by implication that sorcery is real and this movie describes its true nature. But I think saying this movie promotes real-world sorcery would be looking for a fight.

While a few performance elements are hit or miss, the movie as a whole is very cool and fantasy fans shouldn’t miss seeing this one. And while there is a chance that you might find yourself discussing the Salem witch trials and the existence or nature of magic, it's a pretty small one.

Rated PG for fantasy action violence, some mild rude humor and brief language.


Quality: 9.0/10

Relevance: 6.5/10

www.spiritblade.net/paeter
www.spiritblade.net/podcast

My First Time Watching "Scanners"!

Growing up in a solid Christian home, my parents kept us away from anything with an R rating. But now, as a discerning adult, I go back now and then to check out the classics that I missed in childhood.

One movie that I finally got around to watching for the first time yesterday, is Scanners. A sci-fi horror classic that had already become known to me by word of mouth for it's..."explosive" elements.

Even for the time in which it was made (1980), the acting was pretty bad. And unusually bad was the lead actor (who I don't think I've seen in anything since).

But the story was interesting and it had enough random weirdness now and then to make me think the odd acting was a stylistic choice at times.

The movie built suspense well with the high-pitched "scanning" sound effect building to a crescendo. And with the potential power of scanning shockingly established near the beginning of the movie, the suspense thereafter was only heightened by the fear of what might happen.

Some of the effects were bad. In one seen, it was pretty clear that a man was being shot WITH blood, rather than using blood-filled squibs to simulate gunshot wounds. But other effects were great and stood the test of time well, particularly one scene in which a person's head explodes and another near the end where veins begin pushing up below the skin and then erupting. Visceral, chilling stuff.

And you just have to love Michael Ironside. That's all there is to it.

A wiki indicates that a remake is in the works, which I would love to see. But if you're a sci-fi horror fan and haven't checked out this classic, see if you can find a copy to rent or borrow. It's a little slow for about 20 minutes in the middle and the acting by the lead can be pretty bad. But I think you'll want to be able to say you've seen this one.

Predators (Movie Review)

I love monster movies. And I don't mean that in the sense of old cheesy black and white flicks with guys in foam suits. I mean well done, seriously scary, modern creature features from the 1980's forward. The Alien movies, John Carpenter's The Thing, The Terminator, Jeepers Creepers and of course... Predator.

I love the first film, dig the second film and also really enjoyed the first "Alien Vs. Predator". (The less said about the second AVP, the better.)

Predator is a modern movie monster that has been long overdue for a third installment of his own. So "Predators" was a welcome presence in my local theater, and it should be in yours too.

This is a great movie. Monster movies often fail to have interesting characters supporting the creature featured. This sometimes works fine on the creature's first outing into film, though not well afterward. And the best creature movies also have interesting characters running down all those darkened hallways.

Although there was nothing especially unique about any of the actor performances, the characters in this movie kept me interested until the very end, feeding me bite size bits of information about them throughout the movie until near the very end some crucial details are revealed. The script did a great job of keeping me guessing over who would make it through the movie and who wouldn't.

The title creatures look better than ever and modern special effects give a fresh coat of paint to the familiar cloaking devices and energy weapons of the deadly hunters.

The movie also gives us a deeper look into the culture of the Predators. The plot features a group of humans who have been abducted by the Predators to be hunted on a game preserve world. Laurence Fishburne plays a man who has been surviving for quite awhile on the planet, and he provides some interesting exposition about how the Predators hunt.

If I have to be critical (and it's a review, so I do) I'd say that the movie falls short of a higher quality score because of some CGI creatures that still look like CGI and a slightly underwhelming performance by the Predators.

In previous Predator appearances, we've seen more cool gadgets and hunting techniques than in this movie. Only one new gadget is revealed in this movie (that I can recall) and it serves as a strategic aid rather than an actual weapon. And several of the weapons in previous movies are absent here. Pretty much all you'll see for predator weapons are the gauntlet blades and energy weapons, plus the cloaking device. And although the story and atmosphere are great, you see less of the title creatures than you might be expecting to, given that there are more than one of them.

In terms of worthwhile philosophical discussion you'll need to work really hard to start something up after this one. It's just a fun creature feature with an interesting story.

Enjoy!

MPAA- Rated R for strong creature violence and gore and pervasive language.

Quality: 9.0/10

Relevance: 5.0/10

www.spiritblade.net/paeter
www.spiritblade.net/podcast

Neverwinter Online?

Although I haven't played Neverwinter Nights in close to a year, it is still easily the RPG I have gotten the most pleasure from playing. And today for the first time I'm going to be testing out the online play for the game. If it works, it will likely open up a whole new world of enjoyment, especially since I just found a cheap copy of the game for Mark, my "Descent buddy", who lives six hours away.

If all goes well in the test tonight, then the good times will roll again and probably keep rolling for a long time!

I'm Launching A Forum!

Once again I'm in way over my head but having fun! Today marks the launch of The Spirit Blade Underground Forum!

It's a place for fans of Spirit Blade Productions and Christian Geeks in general to hang out, talk and explore ideas together.

Stop by and say hi!