2010 Golden Globes: Does Avatar Deserve A Golden Globe?

It's a shame I don't get cable where I can watch the Golden Globes at the comfort of my own home.  However, I am keeping the website up to help keep track of the awards as they come out.  And while it's fun to see Up!, Inglorious Bastards and other great films get some awesome awards, I can't get away from the best picture nominations.

As I'm sure you all know, the nominated films are as follows...


1. Avatar
2. The Hurt Locker
3. Inglorious Bastards
4. Precious
5. Up in the Air

Having not seen two of these films nominated films, The Hurt Locker & Inglorious Bastards, I can't really speak for them.  However, the other three nominations I have had the pleasure of seeing.  While Precious and Up in the Air are completely deserving of this highly acclaimed award, Avatar truly disappoints me in making the nominations.  A film such as Avatar truly does redefine the art of movie making as far as the special effects are concerned, but to put in the category one of the best films of 2009, I tilt my head in wonder.

There are many things that make a good movie, effects, music, editing, scenery, art direction, script, direction, acting, and so on and so forth.  However, the script and story are what make the movie what it is.  Precious and Up in the Air are truly great films in the fact that they create truly original story lines in an innovative way.  Along with top notch acting performances, those two film are very "human" stories written in an intelligent way.  In my opinion, the two said films are both very deserving of best picture.

Avatar, on the other hand, finds a new way of being one of the most unoriginal films I've ever seen when it comes to the story.  Every single event that takes place in the film is predictable and contains no originality.  Along with it's blatant racist undertones when dealing with American Indians and English colonists, the film's script and story are equal to that of Fern Gully, Dances with Wolves, The Last Samurai, Pocahontas, Aladdin, and other like stories.   If it hadn't of been for the films amazing special effects, it would have been another cheesy Disney "feel-good" movie, not worthy of Best Picture Award.

As I await the results of Best Picture, I'll keep my fingers crossed that the more deserving films beat out the average Avatar.  My top 5 best films (In no specific order) of 2009 would be these...


1. Up In The Air
2. Precious
3. Up!
4. Nine
5. Coraline

Of course keep in mind I haven't seen EVERY film that's come out last, including the two nominees Inglorious Bastards and The Hurt Locker.  But Expect they could replace a few films that I have in my five, as well as the Road.  Their are so many good films out there, and Avatar, a second rate story line makes the nominations.  I certainly hope America grows up a little and figures out that Avatar, while being a visual masterpiece, is nothing compared to truly amazing films.

Comic Book Review: JSA All-Stars #2

Book Information

Written by Matthew Sturges &

Co-Feature written by Jen Van-Meter

Art by Freddie Williams II

Co-Feature art by Travis Moore and Dan Green

Plot

Stargirl has been kidnapped and the JSA All-Stars frantically go on the search for their missing comrade.  But instead of finding the teenaged hero, they run into a team of their villain counter-parts, the Injustice Society.  As the JSA fights to free Stargirl, power struggles between Power Girl and Magog steadily increase, and team discover a secret beyond comprehension involving the mystery behind Stargirl.

My Thoughts

This issue is a little less compelling than last months JSA All-Stars #1.  Last month, Sturges was taking the time to develop the characters as apart of this new extension of the JSA, but this issue dives more into the mystery of Stargirl and why no villains dared attack her.  It makes for an interesting read, but does lack some of the qualities #1 had.

One of the most annoying aspects of the Justice League was the other counter-part team, the Injustice League.  Now, after a very long hiatus comes the return of the Injustice Society.  It worked in the beginning, but how can Matthew Sturges have this overly used plot device in his JSA run and not burst into laughter at the ridiculous nature of it?  I can only hope that the Injustice Society is short lived and forgotten about, never to be brought back again.

Mr. Sturges is, however, appealing to my twisted nature with his pedophile main villain, Johnny Sorrow.  The sweet sixteen hero, Stargirl, find herself in the midst of the adult villain, professing his love to her.  This creepy and seedy plot twist adds to the already conflicted storyline of a splintered team trying to find its stride in the crime fighting world.  Johnny Sorrow is a very interesting character addition to the JSA title and it would be nice to see him as a consistent villain for the JSA; he has everything a good villain should have, lust, a power hungry attitude, and a twisted way of getting what he wants.

However, like most of the issues in the JSA for the past three months, this issue is nothing more than one big fist fight for 30 pages, under the leadership of our annoying friend Mr. Magog.  With his constant disagreement of their tactile methods and moral judgments, I’m beginning to wonder why the heck he’s even on the JSA.  Further more, because everyone else seems to disagree with virtually everything Magog commands, I wonder why they decide to leave the regular JSA and side with him in the first place?  I feel a lot more confused about this spilt up now that it’s happened.  Something has to change in order for the All-Stars to maintain some sense of team unity and loyalty.  And based on the cover of issue #3, we may see just that.

The art is no different from issue #1, over the top muscle definition, very well endowed women, and unproportional body types.  Power Girl’s boobs are still shooting right out at my face, which causes me to loose focus on the story and just stare in utter amazement at the size of her mountains.  It’s as if Freddie Williams II told himself “I’m going to see how big I can make her boobs and get away with it.”  Well, he certainly is doing just that, as well as ever so slightly increasing the size of Stargirl’s boobs.  I’m so happy Sturges is NOT doing the art for Wonder Woman right now; he would completely ruin her in every possible way. 

Even with Sturges’ obsession with PeeGee’s boobs, the energy within his art is undeniably strong.  The action in every panel is powerful and moving and causes me to get even more engrossed into the art work.  Sturges is good with the energy, but needs to tone down the “boobage” just a bit.

Overall

This issue is entertaining, however a couple of notches down in quality from last months issue.  I certainly hope the tension between Power Girl and Magog is resolved next month because I know everyone is waiting for that inevitable PeeGee punch to the jaw of Magog.  And seeing how no comic book readers are true Magog fans, there will be a congregational cry around the world on February 10^th, where every comic book junkie will cry out “Hallelujah” and praise Power Girl for being the completely awesome hero she is.

Rating:  5 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming February 10^th, 2010

Co-feature art by Travis Moore and Dan Green Cover by Freddie Williams II
In "Constellations" part 2, the All-Stars are on the trail of the villains who've kidnapped one of their own while internal turmoil creates drama in the ranks! And after what went down in the JSA ANNUAL this month, it looks like Magog won't be on the team much longer!

In the co-feature, Liberty Belle and Hourman trek to Venice alongside Icicle and Tigress in an amazing race to learn the secret of the ancient Staff of Legends

Top Ten Comics For December, 2009

10. Justice League of America #40
James Robinson finally brings a quality Justice League book to JLA fans.  It's very moving and undeniably worthy of a top ten spot for December

9. Blackest Night: JSA #1
This book has a lot of fun moments in it as well as keeping it emotionally exciting

8. Supergirl #48
Supergirl whines a lot, yet the mystery set within this story is getting really good!

7. Secret Six #16
What can I say about Gail Simone except that she is the best writer with DC right now.  This issue rocks!

6. Power Girl #7
Exceptionally corny, yet quite original.  You'll laugh with every page turn.

5. Batman #694
Tony Daniels is truly keeping us on our toes with this edition of Batman.

4. Blackest Night #6
I definitely didn't see that one coming.  Nice job and shocking the crap out of us Mr. Geoff Johns.

3. Green Lantern #49
It was nice to see John Stewart get a whole book dedicated to him after so long.  This was a much needed issue.

2. Wonder Woman #39
While I was confused with a portion of the story, this issue really did bring down the house for me.  After reading it I said "yeah, this is definitely in my top 5 for December."

1. Blackest Night: Wonder Woman #1
Yes, Wonder Woman takes the top two spots, and reasonably so with Rucka and Simone writing at the helm.  This first issue of Wonder Woman's Blackest Night tie-in was truly incredible.  The emotions stemming through her could have brought down the mightiest mortal, but not her.  Wonder Woman also found a new way of killing the Black Lanterns, with her love.  It burned so bright that it singed the zombies to nothing but piles of ash.  Another clue that Wonder Woman has a big role to play in this series.

And one cannot complain about Nicola Scott's amazing artwork.  She is equaled with artists like Ed Benes and Jim Lee.  This was a perfect comic book.

TV News: Dollhouse Gets The Shaft

As expected, Fox Networks treatment of Joss Whedon is shown once again in the cancellation of what could have been another great show.  The final installment of the short lived show aired yesterday, but will air again on January 29th.  Joss claims he loved doing the show and will miss it and only regrets not having the opportunity to flesh his show out even more.

Whedon also states that, even with the incredible fan reaction to Dollhouse, a comic continuation of the TV series will be unlikely.  Fans continually pick up his Buffy comics, which is what caused them to also asked if Dollhouse would continue on the comic book stands.  But sadly, even with the incredible fan reaction to Dollhouse, a comic continuation of the TV series will be unlikely,

"I don't think it's a comic. It's a TV show...apparently not a Fox show, but it is a TV show. There are themes in it and ideas that could work in a comic, but for me to spend the amount of time it would take keeping the comic true to what's already out there when I'm already doing that with 'Buffy' would be a ridiculous waste of my time. And ultimately that would net me a piece of something that belongs to Fox. It just makes no sense to do a comic with 'Dollhouse.' I don't get it, and I'm not sure I'd read it. And in the amount of time it would take, I intend to do more comics, but I intend to do new comics. I'd like to throw some new ideas. And I'd like to continue 'Buffy' and make sure we don't flip there and we really keep it coming."


I hope this will be a wake up call for Whedon.  He needs to realize that Fox will never give him the respect he deserves.  Fans love what he does, but Fox constantly puts him in bad situations. At least go with Warner Bros., they will at least put you in the right time slots and give you the best chance to grow.  Good luck in the future Whedon!

Comic News: Birds of Prey Relaunches with Simone and Benes at the Helm...

Gail Simone and Ed Benes will be returning to the famed "Birds of Prey" title with an all new relaunching.  Simone redefined what it means to be a female in comics and still keeps that thread going.  No writer in history has ever brought women in comics to life as much as Simone has, and now she's going in full force with the return of the ground breaking title.

I had never read the previous run of Birds of Prey but I heard rave reviews about it.  I'm happy to see it's coming back so I can get a taste of what Simone brought to the table a few years back.  However, it sounds like Simone is going to take an all new approach with the woman super team,

"Even if you've read every previous BoP issue multiple times, I think you're going to really feel the ground shift a little with this. It's going to be a blast," Simone tells Comics Alliance. "It's Black Canary putting her boot in bad guys' faces and the Huntress taking no *&^% from anyone and Oracle being smarter than anyone else in Gotham. That's what I loved about the book in the first place.  It's classic Birds of Prey but maybe just a little tougher and a little naughtier. I've been given some really surprising approvals and I think long-time readers and newbies will find it quite unlike any other comic on the stands. I've always said the secret of the book is that it's a female buddy cop story, basically, and that is a surprisingly rare thing in all media."

The relaunching will come to comic book stores this Spring with the returning cast, and possibly some new additions.  Whatever happens, I know that with Simone and Benes running the show, this will a quality run.  I'm not sure I can wait until Spring!

Comic Book Review: Justice League #40

Book Information
Written by James Robinson

Art by Mark Bagely & Rob Hunter

Plot

Dr. Light, Vixen, Gypsy and Zatanna face their past which comes to them as risen Black Lanterns.  With hope down and the Black Lanterns taking them on at full force, The four women must now find their strength within themselves to counter the attack before they fall at the zombies hands.  But how can they defeat those who are already dead?

My Thoughts
James Robinson throws me for a loop all the time.  I cannot for the life of me keep up with him.  50% of the time he writes awfully planed stories, and the other 50% is top quality writing.  There is no real set pattern with Robinson; he’s up and down with me all the time and I find myself unsure how to rate him in my mind.  This recent issue of Justice League was a vast improvement from last few months.  It’s not perfect, however, but is still very entertainment and enjoyable to read.

The emotional strain on the Dr. Light, Vixen, Gypsy and Zatanna is very interesting.  Granted, it took the Black Lantern threatening each of them with something very personal, but this trend is beginning to show up a lot in the Blackest Night tie-ins.  The heroes are starting to become a little fed up with all of the emotional attacks and are firing back with a vengeance.  In the case of Dr. Light, the Black Lantern Dr. Light threatens her children, in which case she severs the connection the black ring had with a burst of white light, defeating the risen Lantern.  The Black Lanterns seem to be able to handle a few emotions coming from one person, but when a full array of emotions are coming from one person, the Black Lanterns are easily defeated.  The ending of Blackest Night might not come down to combining the different lights in the emotional spectrum; rather harnessing the power of the emotional spectrum into a single force that Nekron won’t be able to counter.

Mark Bagely is really growing on me as of late.  When I first started seeing his artwork, I wasn’t sure what to think.  But now that he’s consistently doing more stuff in comics, I’m becoming a real fan of his style.  The fight scenes between each of the Black Lanterns were amazingly detailed and full of color.  Dr. Light’s powerfully destructive white light beam was almost blinding it was so real.  I’m not too familiar to with Rob Turner’s art work but he seems to compliment Bagely very well.  At times the panels seem cluttered with chaos, but it serves this issue and its purpose quite well.

I am worried about Robinson completely wiping out the league and starting fresh with a whole new cast.  Vixen has been one of my favorite league members and to not have her on the team is a huge disappointment for me.  However, it looks like the new line-up will be starting next month, but I don’t feel the transition into the new league will be smooth enough to work.  I can only keep my fingers crossed.

Overall
A very enjoyable installment of the Justice League title.  I worry about the coming issues seeing as how Robinson is not consistent enough for me to trust him to always deliver, but I will still anxiously await the formation of the new League.

Rating:  8.5 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming January 27th, 2010

Be here for the start of a new Justice League era! The JLA have been getting a pounding in the last couple of months, but NO MORE! The team regroups with a new roster that will transcend time and space! Make way for the World's Greatest Heroes – Batman, Green Lantern, the Atom, Green Arrow, Donna Troy, the Guardian, Cyborg, Mon-El, Starfire, Dr. Light and, yes, Congorilla! 

This issue features two covers by Mark Bagley which are separately orderable. Cover a features Green Lantern and Green Arrow; Cover B features Batman and Mon-El. The cover images will be revealed online before the issue's Final Order Cutoff date.

Comic Book Review: Superman #695

Book Information

Written by James Robinson

Art by Bernard Chang

Plot

Mon-El, having escaped the clutches of General Lane, now has an opportunity to strut his stuff.  But can Mon-El over come the lies being spread by General Lane, and the oncoming attack from Bizarro and the Parasite?  And how will the Science Police deal with the fact that Mon-El has been someone they’ve known for the past few months? 

My Thoughts

As Superman continues to progress with Mon-El at the foreground, the more bored I become of this story arc.  James Robinson has really drug the “World against Superman” storyline out to the point of no return.  Once again, we the readers find ourselves in the midst of another narrative that does not involve General Lane, New Krypton, or anything that would help propel the New Krypton storyline into a successful conclusion.

Robinson is attempting to give Mon-El new direction in preparation for his time on the new incarnation of the Justice League.  Mon-El was thought to be dead during his time in captivity, and now as a way of bolstering up the confidence level among the people of Metropolis, Robinson has him fight The Parasite and Bizarro.  This fight doesn’t do anything to help the story, nor does create a new sense of purpose within Mon-El’s persona.  Along with this, we have the science police whom Robinson has also not served very well either.  This new order of law enforcement being created by Robinson is quite flimsy and weak and I wonder how much of this is going to stick once Superman returns to his own title.

Now one thing I do give Robinson credit for is his ability to build up a mystery.  I’m very interested to see how the Legion plays into this whole story and if everything being unveiled only seems to be contrived in Robinson’s writing.  In addition, the mystery surrounding Jimmy Olsen’s return from his seemingly deadly experience is driving me nuts.  Now, maybe I had read the Jimmy Olsen mini series to understand more of what’s going on, but I certainly want to know what that thing was that seemed to save Olsen’s life.  There are some great aspects of this issue that give a lot of potential for future issues.

The art in recent issues is up and down with me.  This one in particular was decent, although not fantastic.  Bernard Chang typically does a good job, but isn’t consistent enough for my tastes.  He has moments of brilliance, and moments that initiate my artistic gag reflex.  His characters at times are so wooden and lacking emotionally, and other times he is an utter genius and outdoes some of the best artists in the business.  With this issue in particular, generally it goes above the normal artwork quality that has been laid on the pages of Superman.

Overall

The return of John Henry Irons seems to be a fleeting idea with very little purpose, which lies the major problem with the Superman title since Mon-El took over, one too many plots.  When you attempt to jam pack a title with a lot of side stories, the main story becomes less interesting; almost unnecessary.  And the worse part of it…nothing is resolving fast enough for it to work.  Robinson truly is killing the Superman title.

Rating:  4 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming February January 27^th, 2010

"Man of Valor" Part 3! Picking up plot threads from ACTION COMICS #885, the Guardian, Nightwing and Flamebird are hot on the trail of General Zod's Metropolis sleeper agent. But just as they're about to uncover who the sleeper is, tragedy strikes, which leads to a completely different revelation. Seeds for this issue's surprising twist were planted all the way back in James Robinson's first issue – so don't miss it!

Comic Book Review: Superman World Of New Krypton #11 (of 12)

Book Information

Written by James Robinson & Greg Rucka

Art by Pete Woods and Ron Randall

Plot

Superman and Adam Strange come closer to solving the mystery of the phantom sniper gunning after the council members of each respective guild.  But the closer they get, the more terrifying the results become.  As the space duo continually pushes through to solve this mystery, they are at the same time threatened by the very people whom Kal-El is trying to defend.

My Thoughts
Out of the eleven issues that have been published in this series, this has got to be the strongest one.  It kept my interest pumping through every page, mainly due to the confidently humorous man that is Adam Strange.  I really had my doubts about introducing galactic space ranger in this series, but Strange has shown a lot of promise.  His ability to subtlety make fun of the idiocy portrayed by the Kryptonians and the detective skills makes you chuckle underneath your breath.

I do get a little frustrated by how dumb these Kryptonians are.  It took an Earthling to show these aliens what it means to be a “super sleuth.”  The intelligence level is not represented well in the Kryptonian race and I blame Mr. James Robinson who has portrayed an entire world of living and thinking beings as no smarter than the humans we know here on Earth.  But of course, that may be the whole point that Robinson and Rucka are trying to make; to allow Superman and Strange to outshine every living being on New Krypton and become the real hero in the reader’s eyes.  Having Rucka on board has really helped Robinson’s below average story telling.  Rucka has always been a top notch writer and he was able to give the WONK series the boost it really needed that Robinson was unable to provide.

Woods and Randall do possess artistic talent, but once again they bring us the quality that is only equaled by a children’s picture book.  I feel as if I’m opening the pages of a baby book, the only difference is this issue is made of paper while a baby book made of cardboard.  The use of color is quite good, but the figures are too wooden and unproportional for me to enjoy the artistic value of the book.

Overall
This series, while fun to read, I fear will be a complete let down once the final issue comes out next month.  I really can’t comprehend why this was made into a separate series.  DC could have kept this whole arc in the actual Superman title and given Mon-El his own mini-series.  I have a feeling that once I read next months issue, I will be left unsatisfied and empty inside from reading this series.  This issue, in and of itself is great thanks to Rucka, but overall, the series I fear is going to be a complete let down.

Rating: 6 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming February 3^rd, 2010

Now that the conspiracy involving New Krypton's council has been brought to light, can Superman keep his people from tearing each other apart? And what does a skull-shaped ship flying towards New Krypton mean?

Geek News: Star Wars Burlesque...A Nerds Ultimate Fantasy Right?

I found these photos at the L.A. Weekly website.  It's frickin awesome, but at the same time...scary.

It really doesn't get much better than this right?  Oh and for any men getting turned on by the fact that a woman is popping out of a man's body...you might want to reconsider your sexual preference ok...

Comic Book Review: Green Lantern #49

Book Information

Written by Geoff Johns

Art by Ed Benes

Plot

John Stewart takes a trip down memory lane, in the worst way possible.  Can John Stewart endure the emotional torment of seeing the ones he loved back from the grave?  As a former American soldier, Stewart must call upon his life experiences to defeat the oncoming horde of Black Lanterns and show that his serious and stoic manner is not such a bad thing after all, especially when it comes to fighting an entire planet of Zombie Lanterns!

My Thoughts

The re-examination of a character is always an exciting thing.  Green Lantern fans have always listed John Stewart as the most underused Green Lantern in DC’s history.  When taking time to deviate from the regular story to take a deeper look into a character’s personality, the writer must take care in making the story connect with readers in a very emotional way, and this book does just that.

What makes John Stewart so different from the rest of the Corps is his strike force mindset.  While the rest of the corps always rely on the ‘logical’ thing, Stewart calls upon his life experiences and memories of war to battle the hundreds of risen Lanterns out to do him harm.  It was very nice to finally flesh John Stewart out and allow readers to become more familiar with him.  The lesson we learn from this issue…Don’t antagonize a war veteran!  Otherwise, you are in for a major fight!

As much as I like Doug Mahnke and his art in Green Lantern, I almost had an orgasm when I discovered Ed Benes would be doing the artwork for this month’s issue of Green Lantern.  No artist comes close to the talent level of Ed Benes in my humble opinion.  The two paged spread of Stewart using his ring to create his army construct was a detailed stroke of genius.  The battles scenes were also an amazing piece of work in which Bene’s colorists should be given a raise.

Now as much as this issue rocks my face off, I find it strange that this story is found in the regular Green Lantern title.  This feels more like a Blackest Night tie-in and should have been kept separate from main GL titles.  But who knows, maybe Geoff Johns didn’t have enough time on his watch to write a tie-in for Blackest Night, and this might have been something johns had his heart set on writing.  In any case, it is a good issue.

Overall

In and of itself, you couldn’t ask for a better issue.  I found the supplemental story at the end a little strange and corny, but this issue is definitely a must have.

Rating: 9 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming January 27^th, 2010

BLACKEST NIGHT spreads with an oversized anniversary issue! Surrounded by friends and enemies, Hal Jordan goes into battle with a being he will never defeat – the Black Lantern Spectre! Can Saint Walker, Sinestro and the others put a stop to this bizarre Spectre rebirth? 

Plus, Atrocitus reveals a tie to a power that may make him the most unbeatable of all the Lanterns!

Movie News: Spider-Man's New Director

James Cameron To Direct Spider-Man Reboot?
James Cameron is being rumored to direct the new Spider-Man reboot franchise.  Apparently James Cameron wrote a treatment to Spider-Man back in 1991, so Sony is looking to enlist Cameron to take the lead in bringing this reboot to life.

I find it unlikely that this rumor is true seeing as how he has six films in development which include a fifth Terminator film, and a film adaptation of the Japanese hit "Heavy Metal."  But even if the rumors do turn out to be true, It worries me because Cameron is mainly known for his "action films" and not so much his "literary films."  I remember watching "True Lies" staring our esteemed governor Schwarzenegger and thinking this was nothing more than a "hit 'em up and shoot 'em out type of film."  This trend of film making follows Cameron like an annoying tick, and he can't seem to get out of that rut.

I'm praying that Cameron will find a decent writer to help boost the Spider-Man franchise up a few notches and put out some quality Spidey films come 2012.

Jonah Hex Reshoots

The entire cast of the upcoming Jonah Hex film is being taken back to L.A. to reshoot multiple scenes and a few new script additions.  Apparently Warner is unsure of their DC adaption and feel it doesn't meet the needed standard to be successful.

From what I'm hearing, it sounds as if the story was lacking substance and needed some revamping.  The newly improved script will now focus on more story based dialog and less on action packed mayhem.  I personally have never read Jonah Hex, but I've always enjoy comics that featured him as a guest star.  He's a rather interesting addition to the DC Universe and I might start picking up the trades for his title.

I am sad to see Megan Fox is in the cast of the film though.  I wish everyone would start to realize that Fox may be a hottie, but an actress she ain't.

Blake Lively Casted As Carol Ferris In Green Lantern

You heard it, an unknown! I'm not too familiar with her, which means new faces are being put into the next big comic book film. Which makes me happy!
That's all for now!

In Brightest Day.....

Yeah, I'll definitely be picking this up!  This will be a bi-weekly series to start in April.  I wonder if I should wait until it comes out in a trade......

Movie News: More on Spider-Man 4, Green Lantern Starts Filming, Avatar's Grossing Continuation, And Wolverine Two

Post-Production Blues For Spider-Man 4
Things haven't been looking great for Spider-Man 4 recently.  According to comicbookmovie.com, the script has been met with less than enthusiastic criticism.  Below come from an e-mail sent to the script writers....

- More of the same campy, tired scenes by Raimi including starting off with a musical number (while Spidey fights terrorists). Ugh! Raimi wanted "Walkin' on Sunshine" whereas the studio wanted Taylor Swift. Double Ugh!

- Vulture WAS the villain only, get this, Malkovich was set to control the a Vulture 'robot' ala Avatar by laying in a pod and fusing his mind with the Vulture Avatar. The 'Vulture' was set to be 10-ft tall and blue.

- The Pascal and Raimi are battling over where or not JJJ should yell at Peter over his being discontented at his pay to "Go start a blog" vs. "Go tweet a tweet."

- A scene where Peter is in his room watching a youtube clip of a Vulture attack, imagining how he'd fight him when he accidentally shoots out webs. Aunt May comes in and Peter has to hide the mess. Sigh
Additionally, it appears that the personal battle between Raimi and the Studio execs been allowed to affect the script with Raimi deliberately planting ludicrous things in the script just to piss the studio off such as:

- A scene involving full frontal nudity of Peter/Toby.

- A villain named the "Meddler" who gives bad advice to Peter and always butts into his life who is modeled after Pascal.

Now this came from a source that isn't the most reliable.  However, I did happen to stumble upon a qoute from Toby McGuire himself which supports this claim that Spider-Man 4 production is not up to par....

"Like anything, it's a process," Maguire said, "We're just in the midst of the process. We have a lot of great stuff in terms of story and script. We're just trying to dial it in and get it ready as quickly as possible. Of course, these movies are a very big undertaking and take a lot more time than a drama or something more straightforward.  Not only do I have specific ideas, but the ideas are evolving on the page. It's all happening right now. It's all sort of coming together. It's very exciting to me. I think the evolution of the character is really exciting, to be rooted in the history of what we've done already and to have a continuity, yet have a progression or evolution."

However, it is now official that Spider-Man 4 is now scrapped from production. And now a reboot of the entire Spider-Man franchise is being put into motion.  What does that mean?  Exactly what it sounds like, Spider-Man will be taken back to its roots with an all new cast and take on the origin story.

I find this relieving yet awful.  Sam Raimi took the Spider-Man franchise by storm which helped to redefine the comic book movie genre.  It was a daunting task and Raimi did all he could with it.  However, to be honest, the Spider-Man films, while still a lot of fun, aren't great films.  They are exceptionally hokey and painfully over-the-top.  It would be nice to see a reboot of the whole story that takes a much more serious and more mature approach to the hero.

Green Lantern Has The Green Light!

On the 7th of January, Green Lantern was given the green light to begin production!  Filming is to begin sometime in March. This is nice to hear since there have been nothing but delays in getting this film underway.

I'm certainly glad to hear the film is finally going, however I wonder how long it will take to get casting set.  Martin Campbell is not known for his timeliness.  Keep your fingers crossed!

Avatar Keeps Topping The Box Office

It's no surprise that Avatar continually racks up in the cash at the box office, but currently it's going above and beyond expectations.  It's only been out for approximately 4 weeks, only having a 26% decrease in sales, but still grossing a $50 million income.  I would say that's pretty darn impressive if you were to ask me.  Of course this now brings it to the second highest grossing film in history, next to Titanic.

I am, of course, not surprised by this bit of news.  The general public all seem to go for the flashy, more predictable films rather than enjoying the more intelligently written films.  I'm not trying to imply that Avatar is not worth seeing, but it's the visual aspect of the film that makes it worth the price of admission.  The story however, not so much. Films like Lord of the rings, V for Vendetta, From Hell, The Spirit and Sin City are much better films than Avatar purely on how well the script is written.  If you were to take the story in Avatar, and remove the incredible visual effects, you would have a bad film.

I will accept the fact that most people will rant and rave about this film and how "awesome" it is.  But truly, this film is only doing as well as it is because of its visual originality and genius, not because of it's story.

Wolverine the 2nd???

It looks like fan based demand is going to be met.  Hugh Jackman hinted at a sequel to the X-Men Origins: Wolverine film.  At the people's choice award ceremony, Jackman received the award of "actor favorite" by fans.  During his acceptance speech, he mention a film he will be shooting this summer called "Real Steel," following by this qoute, "Wolverine will be back."

According to some sources, the film will focus on his travels in Japan.  This could mean the relationship between Logan and Yoriko will be revealed.  But I certainly hope it is a step up from the below average Wolverine film Marvel Studios put out.

The One Who Will Save Us From Blackest Night Is.....

Oh man, the connection is so obvious that it's disappointing!  However, it is funny.  Nice job whoever you are..

The Heretics Blog Is Looking For Writers!!

Yes, The Heretics Blog is looking for writers to post comic book reviews, movie review, opinion articles, news, and other topics relating to comics, movies and other pop culture and geeky stuff.  Please e-mail Jimmy Trapp at jamesqtrapp@hotmail.com or find me on facebook and ad me.  Please include a description about yourself and why you would like to be apart of the Heretics Blog.  I am looking specifically for Marvel readers so we can equal out the DC/Marvel balance of things.  Thanks and I hope to hear from some interested people soon. Thanks!

Comic Book Review: Blackest Night Wonder Woman #2

Book Information

Written by Greg Rucka

Art by Nicola Scott

Cover by Ryan Sook

Plot

Wonder Woman fights with herself a she does battle with Mera.  Will Wonder Woman be able to break free of the black rings hold on her, or will she fall to the hands of a friend?

My Thoughts

After the first issue of Wonder Woman’s Blackest Night tie-in, I was really excited for this installment.  However, as good as I thought the issue was, I was a wee bit disappointed in its unnecessary storyline.

I opened up the first page to discover that this second issue doesn’t connect with the first.  This isn’t a bad thing necessarily, but it was quite a surprise to discover this.  The other tie-ins for Blackest Night have been series; where as Wonder Woman was more self-contained and segregated from each other.  I wasn’t sure why Rucka decided to do this, or why DC allowed this to happen.  Wonder Woman is such a power horse in the DCU and the potential that was this tie-in was wasted by constructing the three issue spread like this.

I did enjoy the triple dialoging that Rucka put into this story.  Observing Diana Struggle with herself was an interesting approach and a great emotional story telling tactic.  There she was, Wonder Woman fighting off Mera, but deep inside Diana was powerless to stop herself.  We’ve been given two major clues in this series to show that the risen lanterns, and the alive heroes who inherited black rings, aren’t actually themselves when becoming a Black Lantern.  The first was when Deadman’s body rose while his soul was still in tact, and now the second clue lies with Wonder Woman.  Something else is controlling the dead bodies of heroes, while their soul/consciousness remains the same.  Rucka is an incredible story teller, and this issue proves it.

Nicola Scott brings us another incredible display of artistic talent which is constantly portrayed in The Secret Six.  She’s completely on par with Aaron Lopresti and maintains a consistently fantastic array of clean lines and fully expressive faces.  Thank you Nicola for delivering such powerful artwork to DC comics.

I wasn’t sure if I understood the dream sequence Diana had.  What was the point of bringing Batman to her dreams in that manner?  I’m sure we all know that Batman has an even bigger part to play in this story, but it really didn’t make sense.  And having Aphrodite give Diana a Star Sapphire ring seemed rather strange as well.  Is Aphrodite a Guardian, or was it a way of making sense to Diana when she’s was struggling to be free of her Black Lantern state?  I don’t know, do you?  Please enlighten me.

Overall

It is wroth buying based on Rucka’s quality writing, with exception to a few little gripes about the story telling structure.  However, nothing new is pushed into the foreground which makes this issue easy to skip.  This issue would have been better served being published BEFORE Blackest Night #6.

Rating: 7.5 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming February 3^rd, 2010

Following closely to the events of BLACKEST NIGHT, this miniseries event concludes as the Amazonian Princess comes to terms with who she is and what her role is in the world. But will her acceptance make her more appetizing to the Black Lantern hordes – or could that emotion be their undoing?

Lego's Blackest Night!!!

This photos was just too awesome not to post.  I found this on another person's blog, Geek Orthadox.  It would be cool to have another Lego video game based on Blackest Night.  How twisted would that be?  What type of aspects of that type of game would you like to see?

There's a couple of hilarious aspects of this photo I find amusing..
1st - Batman is alive and kicking
2nd - Of course it's Power Girl who debuts the first set of Lego boobies. 
3rd - Is it just me, or is Black Hand grinding to nothing?
4th - I know they are Legos, but the zombies sure don't look scary!


Best photo of the year thus far!

Comic Book Review: Wonder Woman #39

Book Information

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Aaron Lopresti & Matt Ryan

Cover by Aaron Lopresti

Plot

Wonder Woman undergoes some major changes within her world and her personality.  With a massive attack by an aquatic monster, released by the traitorous Alkyone, and Zeus trying to maintain his proclaimed rulership of Themyscira, Wonder Woman must now fight back her rightful place as Wonder Woman and win back the respect of her fellow amazons.  Plus!  We finally learn the strange reason for Wonder Woman’s lighting producing abilities.

                                                  

My Thoughts

It’s obvious that Gail Simone’s purpose from the get-go was to establish Wonder Woman in a much more relevant and powerful light within the DC Universe.  Having redefined many of the characters in Wonder Woman’s life, such as Zeus and Hippolyta, and giving Wonder Woman and much more dominant place within DC, Wonder Woman has finally been placed upon a pedestal that is deserving of the long winded DC heavy hitters.

The story begins with Wonder Woman fighting off the monster unleashed by the scheming Amazonian warrior, Alkyone, who claimed Diana to be the offspring of the satanic beast.  This was rather strange, yet interesting even though I’m not sure I fully understood the reasoning behind that claim.  I had always been under the impression that Wonder Woman was not conceived, but made from the very sands of Themyscira.  This aspect of the storyline seemed rather contrived and out of place, especially since it didn’t seem to affect the Amazonian Princess or Hippolyta in the least.

Aside from that rather confusing and unnecessary part of the story, the plot progresses positively and left us with even more to look forward too later this month!  I’m actually quite sad Alkyone was killed; she was such an interesting villainess who truly believed this new path she was leading the Amazons down was the correct path that would only benefit her people, bringing the two separated colonies together in peace.  Of course, knowing DC and their powers of resurrection, they may bring her back to once again to challenge Wonder Woman.

The main storyline focused on the relationship of Zeus and Achilles with the rest of the Island of Themyscira.  To watch Hippolyta herself rise up against Zeus was an incredible sight to see.  Maybe you feel I’m being silly and rolling you’re eyes at me, but in the face of a God who controls the power of lighting and could vaporize me in an instant, I’m not so sure I could hold my ground and fight back.  But I’m sure we all can relate to the difficulty of standing up against the religious powers of America and how scary it can be.  But an even more powerful, and humbling sight was Zeus finally find himself powerless against the Amazons.  Here we have the womanizing and egotistical Zeus saying he is powerless and confused about what was happening.  I found it very…to put in his own words…mortal.

The pregnancy overhaul continues to shock and amaze me.  Next month should be interesting as this new story arc descends upon us and begin to explain what Ares’ dastardly plan actually is.  I have my theories, but I should never jump the gun when it comes to Gail Simone.  Now, even though the power of lighting within Diana’s bracelets has been made a permanent characteristic of Wonder Woman (kind of corny and ridiculous if you ask me!) I still look forward to how it assists or hurts Wonder Woman’s life as a hero.

Poor art and composition is NOT a defining feature of Lopresti’s artwork.  Month after month I praise Lopresti as an artist to the same degree with Simone as a writer.  There is nothing but strong figures, incredible compositions and beautiful scenery, which is a consistent feature of Lopresti’s artwork.  Not only that, but he knows exactly how to compliment Simone’s story telling better than any artist in the business.  Lopresti is THE Wonder Woman artist and DC would be stupid to enlist the artistic talents of anyone other than Lopresti when it comes to Wonder Woman.

Overall

And above average issue.  It contained a powerful storyline which is propelling us into a new storyline with a lot of potential.

Rating: 8.5 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming January 27, 2010

Written by Gail Simone

Art by Aaron Lopresti and Matt Ryan

Cover by Aaron Lopresti

Wonder Woman faces The Crows! Five mysterious young men with a dark and terrible secret have arrived on Paradise Island with one mission: To kill Wonder Woman!

Pedophile Batman and Superman

These photos are all over the web, so I'm sure you've seen them before.  However, I think they are priceless so I decided to post them on my blog.  So funny, yet so disturbing!

Comic Book Review: Blackest Night #6 (of 8)

Book Information

Written by Geoff Johns

Art by Ivan Reis & Oclair Albert

Plot

Having failed to stop the Black Lantern corps by combining all spectrums of the light, the leaders of the different corps have turned to Ganthet to deliver them from this deadly situation.  As the rest of the world fights on to defeat Nekron and his continually growing corps, Ganthet calls upon the assistance of some very unexpected individuals.  But the question still remains, what is the fate of our beloved heroes who escaped death and are now under the rulership of Nekron?

My Thoughts

So, not having access to a comic book store that took advantage of DC’s “Green Christmas” early bird special over Christmas, I was subject to hearing all the great, unexpected surprises issue #6 brings to the table.  And of course, it does!  However, I’m not entirely sure if this issue is deserving of all the praise it has been receiving.  Maybe it’s the fact that I was bombarded with raving reviews and expected too much, but I am unable to get as excited about it as the rest of the world.

Of course the issue is fun and exciting to read, however the first half of it is more of a recap of what we already knew.  In fact, I would say the only new realization we come to is how the Lantern rings have the ability to replicate themselves another ring, in which case Ganthet sends those replicated rings out to find worthy alleys in this battle against the Black.

I do wonder what the point of reintroducing Ganthet back into the Green Lantern Corps was supposed to accomplish.  For starters, aren’t the guardians their own living power battery?  Why does he need a ring?  Was it for the sole purpose of replicating the rings?  And if so, did I miss a key story line that helped outline the fact that the Green Light controls the others?  That part of the issue felt very contrived and forced in my opinion.

Now, the second half of the book is quite entertaining.  It all seemed to fit so perfectly, like all of the original creators of the Flash, Atom, Scarecrow, Wonder Woman, Mera and Lex Luthor had divinely ordained Geoff Johns to one day write this story.  Flash getting the Blue ring of hope, Wonder Woman receiving a ring of love, Lex Luthor selfishly nabbing onto an orange ring, Mera spurting blood as a red ring wraps around her finger, Atom taking hold of an Indigo ring of compassion, and Scarecrow being inducted into Sinestro’s corps of fear…It’s absolutely perfect.  Almost too perfect!  I wonder if this plan of action by Ganthet will play out like his hoping.  And what will this mean for the future of these heroes?

Ivan Reis again takes my breathe away with his spectacular artwork.  The interesting thing I’m finding to be a common thread with this series is, the further along we get, the brighter each issue seems to become.  The covers were very dark toned in the beginning.  But as the stories progress, the more colorful and bright they become.  If this was on purpose, kudos to the artistic team!  Wonderful work and I can’t wait to see what happens next month!

Overall

A lot of fun, but a little underwhelming.  Not what I thought it was going to be…which could be part my problem.  However, without a doubt this issue has started something that is going to take the DCU by storm!

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

Next Issue Coming February 24, 2010

Sorry, but the cover says it all.  We wont know anything till February 24.  AAHHH!!!